What is Tibetan Buddhism?

Tibetan Buddhism is the form of Buddhism that developed in Tibet and spread through the Himalayas, Mongolia and parts of Russia and China. It brings together the Mahayana ideal of the bodhisattva, the tantric methods of Vajrayana, and a strong tradition of monastic study and debate.

How Buddhism came to Tibet

Buddhism reached Tibet from India and China from about the seventh century CE. Tibetans remember the Indian teacher Padmasambhava, who is said to have helped establish the teachings there in the eighth century, and the founding of Samye, the first monastery. After a period of decline, a second wave of transmission from India began around the eleventh century.

Tibetan scholars translated a vast body of Indian Buddhist literature. The Tibetan canon has two parts: the Kangyur, the words attributed to the Buddha, and the Tengyur, the commentaries of Indian masters. Many of these texts survive only in Tibetan.

The four main schools

Four main schools are usually named:

• Nyingma, the "old" school, tracing itself to Padmasambhava
• Kagyu, linked to the teachers Marpa and Milarepa
• Sakya, named after its main monastery
• Gelug, founded on the work of Tsongkhapa in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries

There is also the Bön tradition, which has its own history and is often counted alongside them. The schools share most of their teachings and differ in lineage, emphasis and style of practice.

Teachers and lamas

A spiritual teacher is called a lama. Some lamas are recognised as tulkus, people believed to be the rebirth of an earlier teacher. The best-known is the Dalai Lama, traditionally seen as an emanation of Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. The present, fourteenth Dalai Lama has lived in exile in India since 1959 and is known internationally for teaching compassion.

Practice

Practice usually begins with foundations: taking refuge, reflecting on impermanence and karma, and developing compassion. Many students then take up Vajrayana practices such as mantra recitation and visualisation under a teacher's guidance. Common sights include prayer flags, prayer wheels, stupas and the mantra oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ, carved on stones and recited by lay people throughout the day.

Monastic study is demanding. In larger monasteries, monks spend many years learning philosophy through memorisation and lively debate.