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Emergence of the Vajrayāna
Mahāyāna Buddhism received significant theoretical grounding from Nāgārjuna
(perhaps c.150 - 250 CE), arguably the most influential scholar within the
Mahāyāna tradition. Writings attributed to him made explicit references to
Mahāyāna texts, but his philosophy was argued within the parameters set out by
the Tripiṭaka sūtras. Completely repudiating the then-and-there-dominant
Sarvāstivāda school, which argued for the existence of dharmas (factors of
existence) in past, present, and future, Nāgārjuna asserted that the nature of
the dharmas (hence the enlightenment) to be śūnya (void or empty), bringing
together other key Buddhist doctrines, particularly anātman (no-self) and
pratītyasamutpāda (dependent origination). His school of thought is known as the
Madhyamaka.
After the end of the Kuṣāṇas, Buddhism flourished in India during the dynasty of
the Guptas (4th – 6th century). Mahāyāna centres of learning were established,
the most important one being the Nālandā University in north-eastern India.
Sarvāstivāda teaching, which was criticized by Nāgārjuna, was reformulated by
scholars such as Vasubandhu and Asaṅga and were incorporated into the Yogācāra
(Sanskrit: yoga practice) school. While the Madhyamaka school asserted that
there is no ultimately real thing, the Yogācāra school asserts that only the
mind is ultimately existent. These two schools of thought, in opposition or
synthesis, form the basis of subsequent Mahāyāna theology in the Indo-Tibetan
tradition.
There are differing views as to just when Vajrayāna and its tantric practice
started. In the Tibetan tradition, it is claimed that the historical Śākyamuni
Buddha taught tantra, but as these are esoteric teachings, they were written
down long after the Buddha's other teachings. The earliest texts appeared around
the early 4th century. Nālandā University became a center for the development of
Vajrayāna theory and continued as the source of leading-edge Vajrayāna practices
up through the 11th century. These practices, scriptures and theory were
transmitted to China, Tibet, Indochina and Southeast Asia. China generally
received Indian transmission up to the 11th century including tantric practice,
while a vast amount of what is considered to be Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayāna)
stems from the late (9th-12th century) Nālandā tradition.
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Early
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