360 sven bretfeld
have been abandoned in favour of tantric lay-practice by the majority
of bKa’-gdams-pas of his time; the “re-introduction” of the monastic
codex is presented by Tsong-kha-pa's biographers as one of his “Great
Deeds”.^42
- Later Religious Movements of the “Later Spread”
Only slightly later than the bKa’-gdams-pa several other Buddhist
schools were founded in different parts of the country. In the accounts
of the foundation of the other schools we do not hear much about
“wrong tantras”, and also the motif of a revival of Buddhism seems
not to be dominant.
While the tantric traditions of the bKa’-gdams-pa were mainly cen-
tred on texts of the tantras of the so-called yoga class,^43 with the following
schools a concentration on tantras of the more advanced anuttarayoga
class became en vogue. Commonly, these transmission lineages are
believed to go back to a “root-teacher” who acquired his oral instruc-
tions directly from a tantric deity. In some cases a long series of Indian
transmission-holders separate the respective Tibetan school-founder
from the “root-teacher”. The concept of continuing special transmission
lineages constitutes a major factor of school identity. Tantric initiations
are usually granted to every person deemed as a “suitable vessel”,
notwithstanding his/her primary school association. Mobile yogins
wandering from master to master collecting whatever instruction and
initiation is to be gained from them, are gures frequently appearing
in Tibetan history. Thus, mutual exclusion is not a vital characteristic
for Tibetan Buddhist schools. In fact, their history—especially their
intellectual development—through the centuries is largely a result of
mutual in uences on multiple levels. Thus, school identities are not so
much based on exclusiveness, but rather on the concept of responsibil-
ity for the quali ed and legitimate continuation of the school-speci c
transmissions. Other factors are a certain degree of doctrinal diversity,
a series of great gures in the schools’ intellectual development, as well
as local settings and political constellations.
(^42) Cf. Kaschewsky 1971, p. 182.
(^43) ’Brom-ston is said to have convinced Atia not to give higher tantric instructions
openly.