A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s6.t5.109

v2.c19.s6.t5.109

In his "History of Buddhism in India," Tāranātha² gives us a good idea of the spirit of the Tantra Buddhism. Though he also speaks of Mahāyāna and Tripiṭaka, of Buddhist science and Buddhist self-sacrifice, it is nevertheless Siddhi, the magic art acquired by means of Mantras and Tantra rites, which plays by far the more prominent part. Just as the contents of the Tantras present a medley of Buddhism and Hinduism, of religion, philosophy, occultism and magic, popular belief and hair-splitting, erudite argumentation, truly Indian cults and cults savouring of foreign influence, thus, the history of Buddhist Tantra literature too, is a very complex one. When Tāranātha says that at the time of the Pāla dynasty of Bengal, that is to say, from the 9th to the 11th century, Yoga and magic were paramount in Buddhism, his statement is probably not far from the truth. Most likely the Buddhist Tantras did not come into being until the 7th or 8th century under the influence of the Śivaite Tantras, and belong to the period at which Buddhism was almost entirely assimilated to Hinduism. The very names of the deities in the Buddhist Tantras betray their dependence upon the Śivaite Tantras. The Mahākāla-Tantra is in the form of a dialogue between Śākyamuni and a goddess, and it is said that it was "proclaimed by Buddha." However, it contains explanations as to the mystical significance of the letters of which the name Mahākāla, *i.e.*, Śiva, is composed, and on the means of finding hidden treasures, gaining a kingdom, obtaining the desired wife, and even Mantras and magic rites, by which one can make people insane, enslave them, and kill them.¹ The Saṁvarodaya-Tantra, again, in spite of the form of a dialogue between Buddha and the Bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi, is more of a Śivaite than a Buddhist work. The Liṅga cult and the worshipping of Śivaite gods are expressly recommended in it.²