Introducing Tibetan Buddhism

Chapter 2:The development of Buddhism in Tibet

Main topics covered• Indian Buddhism and the transmission of Buddhism to Tibet• The establishment of Buddhism in Tibet and the development of the main Buddhist traditions of Tibet• The twentieth century onwards

Key points 1• The techniques and practices of Tibetan Buddhism derived from late Indian Buddhism, and incorporated material from all stages of the development of Buddhism in India.

Indian Monastic Universities

The central shrine at Somapura Vihara (Paharpur, Bangladesh), one of the monastic universities of mediaeval India

Key points 2• Tantric Buddhism was developed much further in Tibet. The lama was a specialist in Tantric ritual and so important not only as a spiritual guide but also as an expert in handling Tantric power on behalf of the wider community.

• A major source of innovation within Tibetan Buddhism was provided by the revelations known as terma, revealed by a class of visionary lamas known as tertön.

The Buddha Śākyamuni

Modern Tibetan painting by Chamba, Dalhousie, 1971

Key points 3• Tibetan Buddhism developed in the form of a number of separate but related traditions, often grouped into four main schools: the Nyingmapa, Kagyüdpa, Sakyapa and Gelugpa. The Bon religion, which claims pre-Buddhist but non-Tibetan origins, has close similarities to Buddhism and is in some respects a fifth school.

Tsongkapa

Mural at Tirpai Gompa, Kalimpong

Key points 4• While not isolated from the outside world, Tibetan religion and Tibetan society developed largely on their own terms until the early twentieth century. The incorporation of most areas of Tibetan population into the Chinese state in 1949–59 marked a new period in which Tibetan religion has struggled to survive in the context of an unsympathetic and often aggressively hostile Chinese state. At the same time, Tibetan Buddhism has been re-established in areas outside Chinese control and has increasingly been taught through many parts of the world by refugee lamas and non-Tibetan converts.

The end