Esoteric Buddhism is better known as Vajrayana Buddhism, from the Sanskrit meaning “Diamond way.” This is the major form of Buddhism in Tibet, Mongolia, in the Russian states of Buryatia and Kalmykia. It is also a minority group within Buddhists in Japan (Shingon school). This is generally considered a third “yana,” or “vehicle” in Buddhism. The other two are the Hinayana (“lesser vehicle”) and the Mahayana (“greater vehicle”). The classical schools of the Hinayana tradition ceased to exist and also the somewhat pejorative implication of lesser versus greater have resulted in the current preferred use of the term “Theravada” for that branch of Buddhism. All of the varieties of esoteric Buddhism share much doctrine with the other two schools, especially the Mahayana schools, and to that add influences from the Pan-Indian spiritual movement known as Tantrism.
Tantrism was a development in Indian spirituality that came in reaction to the asceticism and restraint of typical Hindu or...
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Larson, P. (2010). Esoteric Buddhism. In: Leeming, D.A., Madden, K., Marlan, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-71802-6_213
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