Gray, David (2007), The Cakrasamvara Tantra (The Discourse of Sri Heruka): Śrīherukābhidhāna: A Study and Annotated Translation (Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences), p. 118. Likewise in Tibet, Sakya Pandita (1182–28 – 1251), as well as later thinkers like Longchenpa (1308–1364) expanded on these philosophies in their tantric commentaries and treatises. The status of the tantric view continued to be debated in medieval Tibet. Tibetan Buddhist Rongzom Chokyi Zangpo (1012–1088) held that the views of sutra such as Madhyamaka were inferior to that of tantra, which was based on basic purity of ultimate reality. [47] Tsongkhapa (1357–1419) on the other hand, held that there is no difference between Vajrayāna and other forms of Mahayana in terms of prajnaparamita (perfection of insight) itself, only that Vajrayāna is a method which works faster. [48] Place within Buddhist tradition [ edit ] Tangut Auspicious Tantra of All-Reaching Union look specifically at Crowley's sexual magical practices (III ) and his adaptation of Indian Tantric The Tibetologist David Germano outlines two main types of completion practice: a formless and image-less contemplation on the ultimate empty nature of the mind and various yogas that make use of the illusory body to produce energetic sensations of bliss and warmth. [76]

There is an extended body of texts associated with Buddhist Tantra, including the "tantras" themselves, tantric commentaries and shastras, sadhanas (liturgical texts), ritual manuals ( Chinese: 儀軌; Pinyin: Yíguǐ; Rōmaji: Giki), dharanis, poems or songs ( dohas), termas and so on. According to Harunaga Isaacson,

Main article: Chinese Esoteric Buddhism The Jing'an Temple in Shanghai, China, which promotes the Chinese Zhenyan (Mantrayana) tradition. Vajrayāna texts exhibit a wide range of literary characteristics—usually a mix of verse and prose, almost always in a Sanskrit that "transgresses frequently against classical norms of grammar and usage," although also occasionally in various Middle Indic dialects or elegant classical Sanskrit. [90] Some traditions are related to Vajrayana, but are not to be seen as "Vajrayana" or "Mantrayana" proper. Vajrayana here referring to the Buddhist tradition based on the tantric literature of North Indian Mahayana, the Buddhist tantras and the works of the Nalanda - Vikramashila masters and the Buddhist mahasiddhas. However, these related traditions may have been influenced by Vajrayana proper and have borrowed practices from Vajrayana schools. This tradition practices and studies a set of tantric texts and commentaries associated with the more "left hand" ( vamachara) tantras, which are not part of East Asian Esoteric Buddhism. These tantras (sometimes termed ' Anuttarayoga tantras' include many transgressive elements, such as sexual and mortuary symbolism that is not shared by the earlier tantras that are studied in East Asian Buddhism. These texts were translated into Classical Tibetan during the "New translation period" (10th–12th centuries). Tibetan Buddhism also includes numerous native Tibetan developments, such as the tulku system, new sadhana texts, Tibetan scholastic works, Dzogchen literature and Terma literature. There are four major traditions or schools: Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu, and Gelug.

Ronald M. Davidson meanwhile, argues that Sanderson's arguments for direct influence from Shaiva Vidyapitha texts are problematic because "the chronology of the Vidyapitha tantras is by no means so well established" [30] and that "the available evidence suggests that received Saiva tantras come into evidence sometime in the ninth to tenth centuries with their affirmation by scholars like Abhinavagupta (c. 1000 c.e.)" [31] Davidson also notes that the list of pithas or sacred places "are certainly not particularly Buddhist, nor are they uniquely Kapalika venues, despite their presence in lists employed by both traditions." [32] Davidson further adds that like the Buddhists, the Shaiva tradition was also involved in the appropriation of Hindu and non-Hindu deities, texts and traditions, an example being "village or tribal divinities like Tumburu". [33]Representations of the deity, such as statues ( murti), paintings ( thangka), or mandala, are often employed as an aid to visualization, in deity yoga. The use of visual aids, particularly microcosmic/macrocosmic diagrams, known as mandalas, is another unique feature of Buddhist Tantra. Mandalas are symbolic depictions of the sacred space of the awakened Buddhas and Bodhisattvas as well as of the inner workings of the human person. [86] The macrocosmic symbolism of the mandala then, also represents the forces of the human body. The explanatory tantra of the Guhyasamaja tantra, the Vajramala, states: "The body becomes a palace, the hallowed basis of all the Buddhas." [87] Snellgrove, David. (1987) Indo-Tibetan Buddhism: Indian Buddhists and their Tibetan successors. pp 125-126. Initially, Crowley seems to have been repulsed by such practices, for example when he wrote with disdain Williams, Wynne, and Tribe. Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition, pp. 223-224. Increasingly, as the character Kate remarked in D.H. Lawrence Plumed Serpent , quoted above, sex was believed to harbor some deep, mysterious secret, the liberation of which was of

Today, esoteric traditions are deeply embedded in mainstream Chinese Buddhism and expressed through various rituals which make use of tantric mantra and dhāraṇī and the veneration of certain tantric deities like Cundi and Acala. [102] One example of esoteric teachings still practiced in many Chinese Buddhist monasteries is the Śūraṅgama Sūtra and the dhāraṇī revealed within it, the Śūraṅgama Mantra, which are especially influential in the Chinese Chan tradition. [103]The seats are well-known on earth to be spots within the lotus mandala; by abiding within it there is great bliss, the royal nature of nondual joy. Therefore the lotus seat is supreme: filled with a mixture of semen and uterine blood, one should especially kiss it, and lolling with the tongue take it up. Unite the vajra and lotus, with the rapture of drinking [this] liquor. [80]