158 henrik h. sørensen
Mahāyāna but as an integrated part of it and, in fact, has always
remained part of the Mahāyāna tradition. However, one may argue
that an increasing tendency toward the signification of ritual perfor-
mance and the associated soteriological strategies based on belief in
magic effected through ritual performance—the defining hallmarks of
Esoteric Buddhism—allows us to characterize it as a distinct, if not
separate, trend within Mahāyāna, in the same way the Madhyāmaka
and the Vijñānavāda developed into distinct schools of philosophy in
the realm of Buddhist doctrine.
Esoteric Buddhism established its own parameters, chiefly in the
field of ritual and liturgy. In the course of time, the marked preoccupa-
tion with supernatural phenomena and a reformulation of mainstream
Buddhist doctrine with almost exclusive focus on ritual and liturgical
performance caused Esoteric Buddhism to develop into a distinct Bud-
dhist tradition, complete with concepts of lineage and sanctified modes
of transmitting teachings. Esoteric Buddhist practices, to a greater or
lesser extent, were common within many Mahāyāna Buddhist com-
munities on the Indian subcontinent by the mid-fifth century C.E.; a
century later, Esoteric Buddhism had developed more complete “eso-
teric” programs and had become a more well-defined Buddhist tradi-
tion. By the sixth century Esoteric Buddhist practices in various forms
and stages had already been introduced to China, mainly via Central
Asia, and had begun to take on a life of their own in close interchange
with Chinese cultural and religious norms.
In post-Gupta India, Esoteric Buddhism continued its steady devel-
opment and flourished in several parts of the subcontinent, including
the area around Patna and Gaya (the old Buddhist heartland of Bihār);
in Kashmir; at Kanheri near modern Mumbai; and in the area around
present-day Aurangabad in central Maharastra, as well as in several
locations in Bengal and Orissa. In my view, the final efflorescence of
Esoteric Buddhism in India took place from the eighth century onward
with the formulation of the Buddhist tantras, i.e., comprehensive
scriptures and ritual compendia in which the whole array of earlier
Esoteric Buddhist ritual practices and doctrines were fully integrated
and systematized. To these were added an extra dimension in the form
of sanctified, anti-nomian practices, many of which were undoubtedly
taken over from traditional Hinduism and the religion of various tribal
groups. We are here greatly assisted by the written tradition since we
have at our disposal fairly comprehensive primary materials.