Vajrayāna Buddhism

"The Diamond Vehicle" — a tantric path to swift awakening.

c. 600 CE → · Tibet & the Himalaya · Dharmic

Vajrayāna, centered in Tibet and the Himalaya, builds on Mahāyāna with esoteric techniques — mantra, visualization of deities, and mandalas — drawn partly from Indian Tantra, promising awakening within a lifetime under a qualified guru. Its rich ritual, art, and reincarnating lama lineages (including the Dalai Lamas) make it one of Buddhism's most distinctive forms.

Key figures

• The Dalai Lama & lamas
• Tantric deities
• Padmasambhava

Texts

• Tantras
• Tibetan Book of the Dead

Beliefs

• Awakening in a single lifetime
• Transforming energy through tantra
• Guru-disciple transmission

Rituals

• Mantra, mudra, and mandala
• Deity visualization
• Empowerment initiations

Grew from

• Mahāyāna Buddhism
• Hinduism
• Bön

Connections in the atlas

• Nāgārjuna
• A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment
• Lhasa and the Jokhang Temple
• Klu (lu)
• Conch shell (shankha)
• The Shikoku 88-temple pilgrimage
• Tibetan astrology (Kālacakra)
• ? What are near-death experiences?
• The Mongols
• Treatment of the dead (ritual)
• Pure Land Buddhism
• Prayer beads