How is the Buddhism in Tibet unique?

Answer 1

In Tibet, the Buddhist leaders, called lamas, also led the government. When religious leaders head government, it is called a theocracy (thee-AH-kruh-see). The Dalai Lama was the lama who headed the government, and the Panchen Lama was the lama who led the religion. Both were considered reincarnations of Chenrezi, the buddha or bodhisattva of compassion.

Tibetan Buddhism is known as Vajrayana Buddhism, also as tantric Buddhism. It is a form of Mahayana Buddhism based on Indian Buddhism and emphasizing realization through direct practice.

Among the unique aspects of Tibetan Buddhism are the teachings of the bardos, or in-between states, including the state between death and the next rebirth. Other bardos are the bardo of birth, the dream state, and the state of meditation.

The terma tradition is another unique aspect of Tibetan Buddhism. Terma ('treasures') are teachings hidden in secret places by a Buddha for discovery by future generations. These could be actual texts or sacred objects (e.g., a statue) hidden in caves, or they could be 'mind terma,' teachings transmitted mentally, and received through meditation by an advanced practitioner called a terton. The great Indian teacher who brought Buddhism to Tibet, Padmasambhava, was said to have concealed terma in 108 places. The Bardo Thodol, the so-called Tibetan Book of the Dead, is one of his terma.

One of the unique practices in Tibetan Buddhism is tummo, or 'inner heat.' It is a yogic practice that has the effect of raising the temperature of the body. Though that is not the goal of the practice, it must have come in quite handy for Tibetan monks as they sat meditating in the snow of the Himalayas!