Keepers of the Kalachakra

by Ashwin Sanghi

Subjects included logic, Tibetan art, Sanskrit grammar, medicine, poetry, astrology and, most importantly, Buddhist philosophy. This last subject actually consisted of five independent streams—the perfection of wisdom, monastic discipline, metaphysics, logic and epistemology.

‘The two older forms of Buddhism, Theravada and Mahayana, eventually gave way to a new form, which was known as Vajrayana. That would have been around the sixth century. This also came to be known as Tantric Buddhism on account of the fact that it emerged from the mingling of Hindu tantra with Buddhist philosophy. It is the main form of Buddhism in Tibet and the face of this version is the Dalai Lama.’