manuscript (c. 14th century, Newari) with a miniature illustration of
Avalokiteśvara Classes of tantric texts There are various ways to categorize and schematize the various tantric primary sources. The earliest Indian classification scheme is found in the work of the commentator
Buddhaguhya (c. 700). The Sarma classification systems was constructed by Indo-Tibetan scholastics and date to the mid-12th century based on Indian works. While traditional schemas classify tantric texts based on whether it is focused on "kriya" (ritual action) or "yoga" (contemplative practice), this does not mean that ritual topics are absent in the yoga tantras, which themselves contain extensive sections on
ritual. Likewise, texts labeled "kriya tantra" also contain teachings on yoga. Many tantric Buddhist texts have titles other than "Tantra", including sutra, kalpa, rajñi,
stotra, and
doha. The Major Buddhist Tantras also accumulated secondary literature, such as 'Explanatory Tantras' (
vyākhyātantra), commentaries (pañjikās, ṭīkās etc.) and
sadhana literature which outline specific tantric ritual practices and meditations.
Dhāraṇīs are an earlier class of
Buddhist texts which are not specifically "tantric" or "Vajrayanist" in nature. They may be found in classic Mahayana sutras like the
Lotus Sutra, and thus pre-date the development of Buddhist tantra. Dhāraṇī practices and texts were part of mainstream Mahayana Buddhism well before the rise of Vajrayana, and as such, are not "tantric" works nor specifically connected to esoteric or Mantrayāna Buddhism. However, some tantras and tantric works do make use of dhāraṇīs in a broader tantric context and later canonical collections included numerous dhāraṇīs into the tantra classification. Indeed, some scholars like Koichi Shinohara argue that the Buddhist tantric literature grew out of the earlier Mahayana dhāraṇī texts through a process of gradual expansion and the incorporation of new ritual elements (such as mandalas and visualization practices). There are between 1500 and 2000 surviving Indian Buddhist Tantric texts in Sanskrit, and over 2000 more Tantras solely survive in translation (mostly Tibetan or Chinese). In the Tibetan canons, there are 450 Tantras in the
Kanjur collection and 2400 in the
Tengyur. Some tantras, especially those of the Yoginītantra genre, have many erotic and sexual elements. The Guhyasamāja tantra, Hevajra, Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa, Saṃvarodaya, and Sampuṭikātantrarāja, all open as follows: “Thus I have heard: at one time the Bhagavān resided in the vulvas of the women who are the vajras of the body, speech and mind of all the Tathāgatas” (evaṃ mayā śrutam ekasmin samaye bhagavān sarvva-tathāgata-kāya-vāk-citta-vajra-yonī-bhāgeṣu vijahāra). Key Action tantras include: • The
Heart Sutra • The Dhāraṇī of
Vaiḍūryaprabha •
Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa (Root Manual of the Rites of Mañjuśrī), an early mantra-kalpa (compendium of mantras, compiled in stages beginning in the seventh century) •
Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtra (Golden Light Sutra) •
Mahāmāyūrī-vidyārājñī (The Queen of Incantations: The Great Peahen), one of the five texts in the
Pañcarakṣā scriptural collection • The Supreme Accomplishment of Invincible Averting,
Sitātapatrā Born from the Uṣṇīṣa of the Tathāgata, which contains a protective spell (vidyā) • Mañjuśrīnāmāṣṭaśatakam (The Hundred and Eight Names of Mañjuśrī) • The Bhūtaḍāmara Tantra (c. 7th century), an esoteric manual on magic and exorcism focused on Vajrapāṇi as Bhūtaḍāmara (“Tamer of Spirits”) • Tārādevīnāmāṣṭaśataka (The Hundred and Eight Names of
Tārā) • Subāhuparipṛcchātantra (The Tantra of Subāhu’s Questions) (mid-sixth to mid-seventh centuries) Some key Yoga tantras are: This view is not shared by other Buddhist Mantrayāna traditions like Shingon. This class of texts is called by different names, including Anuttarayogatantra, Mahāyoga, Niruttarayoga, and Yoginī Tantras. • Sarvabuddhasamāyoga-dākinījālasaṃvara Tantra (Ḍākinīs’ Network That Unites All Buddhas, early 8th century), one of the first Yoginī Tantras, introduces the practice of
gaṇacakra. Other "tantric" sutras include the
Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra, the source of the famous
Mani mantra, and the
Śūraṅgama Sūtra, which is included in the Chinese Tripitaka's Esoteric Sutra category. The Śūraṅgama text contains indic materials, but may have been compiled or heavily edited in China. Another class of tantric texts are verses, songs and other original compositions by tantric sages known as
mahasiddhas ("greatly accomplished ones"). Their tantric songs, variously called
dohā (rhyming couplets),
caryāgīti (songs of realization), and vajragīti, were often grouped together into collections, like the proto-Bengali
Caryapāda and
Saraha's Dohakośa. There are various works on these tantric sages. Sāṅkrtyāyana lists the following important siddhas:
Saraha, (Nāgārjuna), (Sabarapa),
Luīpa, Dārikāpa, (Vajra-ghaṇṭāpa), Kūrmapā, Jālandharapā, (Kaṃha(pā) Caryapā), Guhyapā (Vijayapa),
Tilopa,
Naropa.
Indian Tantric authors (c. 11th century), an influential Buddhist philosopher and tantric scholar practitioner who studied at
Vikramashila, a major center of tantric studies. As Buddhist Tantra became more widely practiced in the middle of the seventh century,
pandits (scholars) at mainstream Buddhist institutions like
Nālandā,
Vikramaśilā and
Somapura began to write treatises, commentaries and other works on Vajrayana Buddhism. Other tantric works were written by lay yogis,
yoginis, and
mahasiddhas which were outside of the traditional monastic institutions. Another important site for the development of Buddhist tantric literature was
Kashmir, a major center for tantric practice (both Buddhist and non-buddhist, such as
Trika Saiva Tantra). Benoytosh Bhattacharyya notes that there are two main chronological lists of prominent Indian Tantric authors, the first from
Tāranātha's works (c. 1575–1634) and the second from Kazi Dawasamdup's introduction to the
Cakrasaṃvara Tantra. Tāranātha's list: Not to be confused with the Madhyamaka philosopher of the same name. •
Śabaripa (c.657) •
Luipa (c.669) •
Vajraghaṇṭā (c.681) • Kācchapa (c.693) • Jalandharipa (c.705), wrote a commentary to the Hevajra tantra • Kr̥ṣṇācārya (c.717) • Guhya (c.729) • Vijayapa (c.741) •
Tilopa •
Nāropā Other important Indian tantric authors include: •
Buddhaguhya, wrote a commentary on the
Mahavairocana Tantra •
Mañjuśrīmitra (8th century), an important author on non-conceptual meditation which is a precursor to later Tibetan
Dzogchen texts. He wrote
The Transcendent State of Bodhicitta (Tibetan:
Byang chub sems bsgom pa)
, considered a key work of early Dzogchen
Semde literature. •
Vimalamitra (8th century), wrote commentaries on the
Guhyagarbha tantra and is also associated with translations of Dzogchen Semde texts •
Padmasambhava (8th century), wrote a commentary on the 13th chapter of the Guhyagarbha tantra, a work on Mahayoga, and
Garland of Views, a doxographic work. •
Śāntarakṣita (725–788), whose authorship of the Tantric work
Tattvasiddhi is attributed by various authors, but this is debated by scholars such as Ernst Steinkellner. • Vilāsavajra, 8-9th century author of the
Namamantrarthavalokini, a commentary on the
Mañjuśrīnāmasamgīti. •
Jñānapāda, also known as Buddhajñāna, Buddhaśrījñāna, *Buddhajñānapāda, *Śrījñānapāda (fl. c. 770–820 CE). He was a very influential tantric author and a commentator to the Guhyasamājatantra. A key work of his is the Mukhāgama, a collection of his teachings and the Ātmasādhanāvatāra, a major tantric treatise. •
Virūpa, a famed yogin and author. He is likely the author of the
Amṛtasiddhi, the source of the earliest system of
Hatha yoga • Āryadeva, author of the
Lamp that Integrates the Practices (
Caryāmelāpakapradīpa), a commentary on the Guhyasamāja Tantra. Not to be confused with the Madhyamaka philosopher of the same name. • Candrakīrti, 9th century author of the
Pradīpodyotananāmaṭīkā, an extensive Guhyasamāja commentary. He is not to be confused with the Madhyamaka philosopher of the same name. • Sakyamitra, commentator on the
Guhyasamāja Tantra • Nagabodhi, commentator on the Guhyasamāja Tantra •
Ānandagarbha, author of the
Vajrajvālodayā, a sādhanā manual • Bhavyakīrti, 10th century author of a commentary on the
Cakrasaṃvara Tantra, the
Śrīcakrasamvarapañjikā-śūramanojñā-nāma. • Bhavabhaṭṭa, 10th century author of the
Śrīcakrasaṁvarapañjikā, a Cakrasamvāratantra commentary • Jayabhadra, Cakrasamvāratantra commentator • Durjayacandra, Cakrasamvāratantra commentator • Vajrapani, Cakrasamvāratantra commentator • Tathagataraksita, Cakrasamvāratantra commentator • Bhavabadra, Cakrasamvāratantra commentator • Viravajra, Cakrasamvāratantra commentator • Manibhadra, Cakrasamvāratantra commentator • Śraddhākaravarman, a Guhyasamāja commentator and author of
Yogānattaratantrārthāvatārasaṃgraha • Prasantajnana, Guhyasamāja commentator • Vimalagupta, Guhyasamāja commentator • Cilupa, Guhyasamāja commentator • Vajrahasa, Guhyasamāja commentator • Kāṇha, author of the
Yogaratnamālā on the
Hevajra Tantra. • Bhadrapāda, author of the
Śrīhevajravyākhyākhyāvivaraṇa, on the Hevajra Tantra • Vajragarbha, author of the
Ṣaṭsāhasrikā-Hevajra-ṭīkā •
Ratnakīrti, 11th century •
Ratnākaraśānti (i.e. Santipa), wrote the
Muktāvalī, a commentary on the Hevajra and the
Hevajrasādhanopāyikā •
Vāgīśvarakīrti, a well known tantric author who was colleague of Ratnākaraśānti at Vikramaśīla •
Maitrīpāda (c. 1007–1085), a.k.a. Advayavajra, author of several influential works on meditation • Pundarika (11th-century), a commentator on the
Kalachakra who wrote the
Vimalaprabhā (Stainless Light) • Sucandra, wrote a Kalachakra commentary in sixty thousand stanzas • Hevajratantra-Yogaratnamālā, a Hevajra commentary by Kr̥ṣṇavajrapāda (11th century) •
Abhayākaragupta, 11th-early 12th century CE, wrote numerous tantric texts like Vajrāvali and Kālacakrāvatāra. •
Dīpaṅkaraśrījñāna, also known as Atīśa (c. 982–1054), who was influential in the transmission of Buddhism to Tibet. He most famous for his
Bodhipathapradīpa. East Asian tantric literature Tantric Buddhism arrived in China during the
Tang dynasty, when numerous esoteric works were translated into Chinese. During this era, three great tantric masters (
vajracharyas) came from India to China:
Śubhakarasiṃha (637–735),
Vajrabodhi (671–741) and
Amoghavajra (705–774). They worked on translations of classic tantras like the
Vairocanābhisaṃbodhi Sūtra and the
Vajrasekhara Sutra, and also composed practice manuals and commentaries in Chinese. They are considered to be the founding patriarchs of
Chinese Esoteric Buddhism and their writings are central to the East Asian Mantrayāna traditions. The tradition was passed on from later figures like
Huiguo to various Japanese Buddhist disciples who founded the Mantrayāna lineages in Japan. One important figure is
Kūkai (774–835), the founder of the
Shingon school.
Kūkai's numerous works and commentaries on tantric practice are foundational texts for the Shingon tradition. One of the most important works of Kūkai is his magnum opus, the
Jūjū shinron (Treatise on Ten Levels of Mind), along with its summary, the
Hizō hōyaku (Precious Key to the Secret Treasury). The
Tendai school meanwhile also maintains its own collection of Mantrayāna texts, commentaries and practice manuals, composed by traditional figures like
Saicho,
Ennin and
Annen. The original works of Annen (841–889?) are particularly important for Tendai esotericism, especially his
Shingonshū kyōjigi (On the Meaning of Teachings and Times in Esoteric Buddhism) and the
Taizōkongō bodaishingi ryaku mondōshō (Abbreviated Discussion on the Meaning of Bodhicitta according to the
Garbha and Vajra realms)
Tibetan tantric literature As Vajrayana Buddhism developed in
Tibet (beginning in the 8th century CE),
Tibetan Buddhists also began to compose Vajrayana scriptures, commentaries and other works. Eventually, a vast literature of original Tibetan Vajrayana compositions developed. There are many types of indigenous Tibetan tantric literature. Each school of Tibetan Buddhism maintains their own collections of texts composed by the lineage masters of their tradition and considered to be canonical by their sect. These include commentarial works, original treatises, meditation manuals, sadhanas, ritual texts, poems and hymns, as well as new revelations (such as treasure texts and "pure vision" texts). ' text called
The Cuckoo of Rigpa, found at
Dunhuang. The
Nyingma school for example, maintains a large collection of texts which are part of their "
Dzogchen" (Great Perfection) tradition. This class of tantric Buddhist texts is divided into three divisions: the "Mind Series" (
Semde, the earliest Dzogchen texts, c. 9th century), which includes tantras like the
Kulayarāja Tantra (All Creating King), the "Space Series" (
Longde, c. 11th–14th centuries), and the "Esoteric Instructions" series (
Menngagde, c. 11th–14th centuries), which include the
Seventeen Tantras and the
Vima Nyingthig. The Nyingma school also maintains other collections of texts called "
Terma" (Treasure Texts). These texts were revealed by "treasure revealers" (
tertons) at different times in Tibetan history. Examples include the
Bardo Thödol (the "Tibetan Book of the Dead"), the
Longchen Nyingthig,
Dudjom Tersar and the
Yuthok Nyingthig. The
Kagyu school on the other hand maintains several collections of tantric texts which are unique to their school. These include the Collected works of
Milarepa (
Mila Gnubum, which includes his many songs), the Collected works of
Gampopa (Dagpo Kabum, including
Jewel Ornament of Liberation), and, for the
Karma Kagyu school, the works of lineage masters like the
Karmapas. The Kagyu tradition emphasizes the esoteric practice of
Mahamudra, and as such, they also maintain many collections of texts that focus on this method. The seventh
Karmapa Chödrak Gyatso (1454- 1506) collected many Indian Mahamudra sources into the three volume collection called
The Indian Mahāmudrā Treatises (
Tib. ''Phyag rgya chen po 'i rgya gzhung''). In the
Gelug school, the tantric works of the founder
Tsongkhapa and his direct disciples are generally seen as foundational texts. The
Sakya school and the
Jonang school likewise maintain collections of the tantric works of their founding figures, such as
Sakya Pandita and
Dolpopa respectively. == See also ==