Guhyasamaja, Guhyasamāja, Guhya-samaja: 1 definition

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Guhyasamaja means something in Buddhism, Pali. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.

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In Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)

Source: archive.org: The Indian Buddhist Iconography

Guhyasamāja (गुह्यसमाज) or “the Tantra of Secret Communion” which is perhaps the first book inculcating Vajrayāna philosophy of Mahāsukha is a product of circa 300 A.D. which is the time of Asaṅga. [...] The Guhyasamāja was regarded as the most ancient and the most authoritative work of the Tantra school. [...] Indrabhūti in his Jñānasiddhi acknowledges the Guhyasamāja as the work of highest authority, and gives a summary of some chapters and the topics dealt with in this work. There is thus hardly any doubt that the Guhyasamāja is the original Saṅgīti which introduced for the first time the tenets of Vajrayāna into Buddhism.

The Guhyasamāja is written in the form of a Saṅgīti and is considered highly authoritative even now amongst the Vajrayanists, and is regarded as one of the Nine Dharmas of Nepal. This is evidently the first work of Vajrayāna, and Asaṅga quite conceivably may have had something to do with it, as it is commonly believed that the Tantras were introduced by Asaṅga after being initiated by Maitreya the Coming Buddha in the mysteries of Tantra in the Tuṣita heaven.

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context information

Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.

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