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Northern Buddhism
Young Tibetan Buddhist monks of DrepungMain article: Vajrayana
The Vajrayāna or "Diamond Vehicle" (also referred to as Mantrayāna, Tantrayāna,
Tantric Buddhism, or esoteric Buddhism) shares the basic concepts of Mahāyāna,
but also includes a vast array of spiritual techniques designed to enhance
Buddhist practice. One component of the Vajrayāna is harnessing psycho-physical
energy as a means of developing profoundly powerful states of concentration and
awareness. These profound states are in turn to be used as an efficient path to
Buddhahood. Using these techniques, it is claimed that a practitioner can
achieve Buddhahood in one lifetime, or even as little as three years. In
addition to the Theravāda and Mahāyāna scriptures, Vajrayāna Buddhists recognise
a large body of Buddhist Tantras, many of which are also included in Chinese and
Japanese collections of Buddhist literature.
Intellectualism and Buddhist worldview
Main article: History of Buddhist schools
According to the scriptures, in his lifetime, the Buddha had not answered
several philosophical questions. On issues like whether the world is eternal or
non-eternal, finite or infinite, unity or separation of the body and the self,
complete inexistence of a person after nirvana and then death, nature of the
Supreme Truth, etc, the Buddha had remained silent. The scriptures explain that
such questions distract from practical activity for realizing enlightenment.
In numerous Mahayana sutras and Tantras, the Buddha stresses that Dharma (Truth)
and the Buddha himself in their ultimate modus cannot truly be understood with
the ordinary rational mind or logic: both Buddha and Reality (ultimately One)
transcend all worldly concepts. The "prajna-paramita" sutras have this as one of
their major themes. What is urged is study, mental and moral self-cultivation,
and veneration of the sutras, which are as fingers pointing to the moon of
Truth, but then to let go of ratiocination and to experience direct entry into
Liberation itself. The Buddha in the self-styled "Uttara-Tantra", the
Mahaparinirvana Sutra, insists that, while pondering upon Dharma is vital, one
must then relinquish fixation on words and letters, as these are utterly
divorced from Liberation and the Buddha. The Tantra entitled the "All-Creating
King" (Kunjed Gyalpo Tantra) also emphasises how Buddhic Truth lies beyond the
range of thought and is ultimately mysterious. The Supreme Buddha, Samantabhadra,
states there:
"The mind of perfect purity [i.e. the Awakened Mind of Buddha] ... is beyond
thinking and inexplicable ... It dwells in the self-perfected bliss which is
deedless and self-perfected ... I am the best path of liberation. It is a path,
subtle and difficult to understand, which is non-speculative and beyond thinking
... It cannot be captured in words ... It is firm, difficult to comprehend, and
totally inexplicable." (The Sovereign All-Creating Mind tr. by E.K.
Neumaier-Dargyay, pp. 111-112).
Also later, the famous Indian Buddhist yogi and teacher mahasiddha Tilopa
discouraged any intellectual activity in his 6 words of advice.
Buddhist missionaries, however, often faced philosophical questions from other
religions whose answers they themselves did not know. For those, who have
attachment to intellectualism, Buddhist scholars produced a prodigious quantity
of intellectual theories, philosophies and worldview concepts. See e.g.
Abhidharma, Buddhist philosophy and Reality in Buddhism.
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