Vajrayana or the "diamond vehicle." It began in India during the seventh century and is mainly practiced in the Himalayanregions. The teachers are known as "Yoga Guru." This school "developed out of theMahayana teachings in Northeast India around 500 C.E. and spread to Tibet, China, andJapan"(Buddhist Basics pg.4). "It teaches not to suppress energy but rather to transformit"(Buddhist Basics pg.4). Tantrayana stresses the interwoveness of things; theinterdependence of existence, and the continuity of cause and effect. The principlemeditative practice is that of the 'sacred outlook,' or seeing appearances as pure. Ritualsinclude the repeating of the sacred utterances, mantras, emulating their gestures, mundras,and the systematic arrangement of symbols, such as the mandala, on which the process ofmeditative visualization, yantra, is based.Buddhism is very logical. It is not based on blindly believing its teachings. TheBuddha himself urged his own students to not merely follow him, but to put his teachingsto the test, study the way of the Buddha and realize the path for themselves. "To studythe way of the Buddha is to study oneself. To study oneself is to forget oneself. Toforget oneself is to be enlightened by everything"(Buddhist Basics pg.6). Buddhism is aphilosophy, regarded as a religion that teaches you how to escape the Self in order toattain Nirvana....
