Editing Vajrayana (section)

===Tantras===
{{main|Tantras (Buddhism)}}
[[File:Kongokai.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Diamond Realm]] mandala, based on the tantric [[Vajrasekhara Sutra]], and symbolizing the final realization of [[Vairocana]] Buddha in [[Shingon]]]]
[[File:Chakrasamvara_Mandala_MET_DP-15583-018.jpg|thumb|upright|Naked tantrikas dancing and eating from skull cups ([[kapala]]s), closeup of a [[Cakrasaṃvara Tantra|Chakrasamvara]] mandala]]

Mahāyāna [[sutras]] contain "proto-tantric" material, such as the ''[[Gandavyuha]]'' and the [[Ten Stages Sutra|''Dasabhumika'']], which might have served as a central source of visual imagery for Tantric texts.{{sfn|Osto|2009}} Later Mahāyāna texts like the ''[[Kāraṇḍavyūhasūtra|Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra]]'' ({{circa|4th}}–5th century CE) expound the use of mantras such as [[Om mani padme hum]], associated with vastly powerful beings like [[Avalokiteśvara|Avalokiteshvara]]. The [[Heart Sutra]] also includes a mantra.

Vajrayāna Buddhists developed a large corpus of texts, the [[Buddhist Tantras]], some of which can be traced to at least the 7th century CE but might be older. The dating of the tantras is "a difficult, indeed an impossible task", according to [[David Snellgrove]].{{sfn|Snellgrove|1987|p=147}}

Some of the earliest of these texts, [[Outer Tantras|Kriya tantras]] such as the ''[[Mañjuśrī-mūla-kalpa]]'' ({{Circa|6th century}}), teach the use of mantras and dharanis for mostly worldly ends, including curing illness, controlling the weather and generating wealth.<ref name="Williams, Wynne page 205-206">{{harvnb|Williams|Tribe|Wynne|2012|pp=205–206}}.</ref> The ''[[Tattvasaṃgraha Tantra]]'' (''Compendium of Principles''), classed as a "Yoga tantra", is one of the first Buddhist tantras that focuses on liberation as opposed to worldly goals. In another early tantra, the [[Vajrasekhara Sutra|''Vajrasekhara'']] (Vajra Peak), the influential schema of the [[Five Dhyani Buddhas|five Buddha families]] is developed.{{sfn|Williams|Tribe|Wynne|2012|p=210}} Other early tantras include the ''[[Mahavairocana Tantra|Mahāvairocana Abhisaṃbodhi]]'' and the ''[[Guhyasamāja Tantra|Guhyasamāja]]'' (Gathering of Secrets).{{sfn|Wayman|2008|p=19}}

The Guhyasamāja is a [[Mahayoga]] class of Tantra, which features forms of ritual practice considered "left-hand" (''[[vamachara]]''), such as use of taboo substances like alcohol, consort practices, and [[charnel ground]] practices that evoke [[wrathful deities]].{{sfn|Williams|Tribe|Wynne|2012|p=212}} Ryujun Tajima divides the tantras into those that were "a development of Mahāyānist thought" and those "formed in a rather popular mould toward the end of the eighth century and declining into the esoterism of the left".{{sfn|Tajima|1992|p={{page needed|date=January 2024}}}} This "left esoterism" mainly refers to the Yogini tantras and later works associated with wandering yogis. This practice survives in Tibetan Buddhism, but it is rare for this to be done with an actual person. It is more common for a yogi or yogini to use an imagined consort (a buddhist tantric deity, i.e. a yidam).{{sfn|Mullin|Tsongkhapa|2005|p=70}}

Later tantras such as the ''[[Hevajra Tantra]]'' and the ''[[Chakrasamvara]]'' are classed as "[[Yogini]] tantras" and represent the final form of development of Indian Buddhist tantras in the ninth and tenth centuries.<ref name="Williams, Wynne page 205-206"/>  The ''[[Kalachakra tantra]]'' developed in the 10th century.{{sfn|Schumann|1974}} It is farthest removed from the earlier Buddhist traditions, and incorporates concepts of [[messianism]] and [[astrology]] not present elsewhere in Buddhist literature.{{sfn|Kitagawa|2002|p=80}}

According to Ronald M. Davidson, the rise of Tantric Buddhism was a response to the feudal structure of Indian society in the early medieval period (ca. 500–1200 CE), which saw kings divinized as manifestations of gods. Likewise, tantric yogis reconfigured their practice through the metaphor of being consecrated (''[[Abhisheka|abhiśeka]]'') as the overlord (''rājādhirāja'') of a mandala palace of divine vassals, an imperial metaphor symbolizing kingly fortresses and their political power.{{sfn|Davidson|2002|p=121-123}}