The Origins of the Vajrayana Tradition
By Peter Della Santina
Let us begin by looking at the Vajrayana tradition briefly in the
context of the
Mahayana. The Mahayana tradition is divided into two paths, the practice
perfections (Paramitayana) and the practice of the Vajrayana (Mantrayana).
Vajrayana is a part of the Mahayana tradition. There is no distinction
between the two in
terms of their starting point (the experience of suffering) and their
The only difference is in methodology: whereas accomplishment of the
path of the
There are three names by which the Vajrayana tradition is best known: Vajrayana, Mantrayana, and Tantrayana. Vajrayana is the way of the adamant, or diamond. Vajra means diamond, the substance more durable than any other. The vajra is also the thunderbolt or scepter wielded by Indra, the king of the Brahmanical gods. The vajra is therefore a symbol of indestructibility and also of mastery over the universe.
A mantra is a short formula that generally has three purposes. First,
it is used as an aid to
concentration. Just as one can use one's breath, an image of the Buddha,
a blue flower, or
an idea as an object on which to concentrate one's mind, so one can
use the sound of a
mantra. Second, it is an aid to memory. When one recites the mantra,
Om mani padme
hum, for example, one remembers not only the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
skillful means and wisdom, and the necessity of uniting them. Third,
a mantra has the
power to enhance one's spiritual development, in that the repeated
use of mantras by
Tantra means the extension or continuity of knowledge. Literally,
tantra is derived from
the continuity of a thread in a fabric; by implication, it means following
the thread of
knowledge continuously and thus extending it to encompass all knowledge.
The Vajrayana arose as a result of the evolution of three currents of thought–currents that were already present even in the Buddha's own day. These were (1) the democratic current, (2) the magical or ritual current, and (3) the symbolic current. The democratic current sought to avail lay people of the highest fruits of religious life, such as enlightenment. An example of the democratic current at work in the early period of the Buddhist tradition is the attainment of Arhatship by the Buddha's father, Shuddhodana while still a layman. In the Mahayana tradition, this current was accelerated and amplified, so that the figure of the householder Bodhisattva became the norm.
The use of symbols was also present in the Buddhist tradition from the earliest period. For example, the symbol of the wheel was used to indicate the Dharma, and the symbol of the lute was used to explain the Middle Way. In the Mahayana, this use of symbols continued to play an important role. In these three currents of thought and action--the democratic, magic or ritual, and symbolic--we have the main streams that contributed to the growth of the Vajrayana tradition.
The phenomenon that we now identify as the Vajrayana tradition originated in India between the third and seventh century C.E. By the seventh century, the Vajrayana was flourishing throughout India. Nagarjuna and Asanga played a major role in its growth at the outset; later, the Vajrayana tradition was greatly influenced by the eighty-four Mahasiddhas. You may be surprised to find the names of Nagarjuna and Asanga occurring in this context, but the Vajrayana tradition is unanimous in calling them its founders.
Let us look at the traditional biographies of Nagarjuna and Asanga, which will help us understand the environment in which the Vajrayana originated and developed. According to the traditional Tibetan biographies of Nagarjuna, it was predicted that he would not survive beyond the age of seven. The biographies tell us that, when the boy's seventh birthday drew near, his parents, unwilling to watch him die, sent him away with companions and provisions on an extended journey. The accounts say that Nagarjuna proceeded north and eventually reached Nalanda University. There Nagarjuna met an adept professor by the name of Saraha. When Saraha heard of Nagarjuna's predicted early demise, he counseled him to recite the mantra of Aparamitayus, the Buddha of Limitless Life. After reciting the mantra throughout the night of his seventh birthday, Nagarjuna escaped the death that had been predicted for him.
Whether or not we want to credit this account as history, we can learn something rather important about the climate in which it was accepted as biography--namely, that it was one in which mantras were believed to have the power to influence reality. In the biographies of Nagarjuna we also learn that, during a famine, he sustained his colleagues in the monastery by transforming ordinary, base objects into gold. Here we have an example of the symbolism of alchemy. This symbolism became important in the Vajrayana tradition because just as the alchemist transforms base objects into gold, so the Vajrayana adept transforms the impure and defiled experience of ordinary human beings into the experience of enlightenment.
If we look at the biographies of Asanga, we find very revealing stories there as well. According to these texts, Asanga retired to a cave to meditate on the future Buddha Maitreya, practicing for three years without success. Discouraged, he left the cave at the end of the third year and almost immediately came upon a man rubbing a piece of iron with a feather. When Asanga asked him what he was doing, the man said he was making a needle. Asanga thought that if people had such patience even in worldly tasks, perhaps he had been too hasty in abandoning his practice, so he returned to the cave and continued with his meditation.
Asanga meditated for twelve years in all without having any direct experience of Maitreya. At the end of the twelfth year, he once again left the cave. This time he came upon a dog lying ill by the side of the path, his body covered with festering wounds in which maggots were feeding. Having meditated on Maitreya for twelve years and thereby having developed great compassion, Asanga immediately wished to ease the suffering of the dog. He thought of removing the maggots but reflected that if he were to use his fingers, he would injure them. In order not to injure the maggots and yet relieve the dog, he bent down to remove the maggots with his tongue. The moment he did so, the dog disappeared into a burst of rainbow-colored light and the Bodhisattva Maitreya appeared before him.
Asanga asked, 'Where have you been all these years?' to which Maitreya replied, 'I have been with you all along--it is just that you were not able to see me. Only when you had developed your compassion and purified your mind sufficiently were you able to see me.' To demonstrate the truth of this, he asked Asanga to take him on his shoulders and walk through the village. Nobody saw anything on Asanga's shoulders except for one old woman, who asked him, 'What are you doing carrying that sick dog?'
Thus, in the biographies of Asanga, we find another important truth:
that whatever we
experience--the whole of reality--depends on the condition of our minds.
In the biographies of these two founding fathers, we can see various
elements that are
important to the Vajrayana tradition: the magical or ritual element,
element, and the element of the apparitional, or mind-dependent, nature
While Nagarjuna and Asanga are credited with being the founding fathers
the eighty-four men of great attainment, or Mahasiddhas, undoubtedly
work of disseminating the Vajrayana throughout India. These men were
examples of a
new kind of religious personality. Not necessarily monks of orthodox
priests of the old Brahmanism, these figures who played principal roles
in the spread of
Vajryana were laymen, naked ascetics, boatmen, potters, and kings.
If we look at the
accounts of these new heroes' lives and times, we will appreciate the
spiritual climate that
existed in India during the rise of the Vajrayana tradition. Let us
look at the biographies
Virupa is responsible for the origin and transmission of many important
teachings. He was a professor at Nalanda University, where he taught
philosophy all day
and practiced Vajrayana all night. He practiced for years and recited
thousands of mantras
without success. Finally, he got fed up and threw his rosary into a
latrine. The next night,
while Virupa was sleeping, a vision of Nairatmya, a goddess of insubstantiality,
before him and told him that he had been reciting the mantra of the
wrong deity. The next
day Virupa retrieved his rosary from the latrine and went back to the
Three important things are said of Virupa: he is said to have stopped the flow of the Ganges River so that he might cross it; to have drunk wine for three days nonstop in a wine shop; and to have held the sun immobile in the sky all the while. What do these feats mean? Stopping the flow of the Ganges means stopping the river of the afflictions, breaking the cycle of birth and death. Drinking wine for three days means enjoying the supreme bliss of emancipation. Holding the sun immobile in the sky means holding the light of the mind in the sky of omniscience.
In the biographies of Virupa, we have an indication of the premium that the Vajrayana places on experiential or direct knowledge. Virupa was a professor at Nalanda University, but that was not enough. In addition to the knowledge he acquired through study, he had to acquire direct, immediate knowledge in order to realize the truth for himself.
The same theme is evident in the biography of Naropa, who was also a professor at Nalanda. One day, while he was sitting in his cell surrounded by his books, an old woman appeared and asked him whether he understood the letter of the teaching contained in all his books. Naropa replied that he did. The woman was very pleased and then asked whether he understood the spirit of the teaching as well. Naropa thought that since she had been so pleased with his earlier answer, he would reply that he also understood the spirit of the teaching contained in the books. But the old woman then became angry, and said that although the first time he had told the truth, the second time he had lied. The old woman was Vajravarahi, another goddess of insubstantiality. As a consequence of the disclosure that he did not understand the spirit of what he had read, Naropa, too, left his professorial post and went forth as a seeker of the truth.
Let us conclude by looking at a few ideas from verses that are attributed
Mahasiddhas. In these verses we see the new type of religious personality
exemplified. We also see the use of various symbols to convey the importance
The first verse is as follows:
Here 'Dombi' is a symbol of Nairatmya, a goddess of insubstantiality. 'Your hut lies outside the village' means that, in order to really understand emptiness, one has to transcend conventional limitations. The rest of the verse means that, although emptiness may be touched by monks and Brahmins, only the yogi--the new type of religious figure who has no prejudices--can make emptiness his maid, that is, identify with emptiness.
A second example runs:
Here 'the wine woman' is a symbol of Nairatmya. 'Wine' is the wine
of going beyond this and that. 'The sign on the tenth door' means the
tenth stage of the
Bodhisattva path, the threshold of Buddhahood. Thus the verse means
that the wine
drinker enters the door of Buddhahood through abiding in nonduality.
With the increasing popularity of magic, ritual, and symbolism, and
strength of the democratic currents that promised the highest fruits
of religion to all types
From The Tree of Enlightenment: An Introduction to the Major Traditions of Buddhism, by Peter Della Santina. With permission of the author.