Editing Tibetan Buddhism (section)

===Transmission and realization===
There is a long history of [[Oral tradition|oral transmission]] of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism. Oral transmissions by [[Lineage (Buddhism)|lineage]] holders traditionally can take place in small groups or mass gatherings of listeners and may last for seconds (in the case of a [[Mantra#Buddhism|mantra]], for example) or months (as in the case of a section of the [[Tibetan Buddhist canon]]). It is held that a transmission can even occur without actually hearing, as in [[Asanga]]'s visions of [[Maitreya]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}

An emphasis on oral transmission as more important than the printed word derives from the earliest period of Indian Buddhism, when it allowed teachings to be kept from those who should not hear them.{{sfnp|Conze|1993|p=26}} Hearing a teaching (transmission) readies the hearer for realization based on it. The person from whom one hears the teaching should have heard it as one link in a succession of listeners going back to the original speaker: the Buddha in the case of a ''[[Sūtra|sutra]]'' or the author in the case of a book. Then the hearing constitutes an authentic lineage of transmission. Authenticity of the oral lineage is a prerequisite for realization, hence the importance of lineages.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}