Vajrayana Buddhism (Tantric Buddhism)has perhaps 10 million adherents in parts of China, Mongolia, Russia and Tibet. It was brought to Tibet circa 750 CE by Padmasambhava at the request of the king of Tibet. Conflict with the native Tibetan religion of Bon caused it to go largely underground until its revival in the 11th century CE. The head of the Gelug School of Buddhist teaching became the Dalai Lama, and ruled Tibet. It has been, until recently, wrongly dismissed as a degenerate form of Buddhism.

Ceremony and ritual are emphasized. They also engage in Dana, Sila, Chanting, Worship and Pilgrimage. They developed the practice of searching out a young child at the time of death of an important teacher. The child is believed to be the successor to the deceased teacher. They celebrate New Years, harvest festivals and anniversaries of five important events in the life of the Buddha. Buddhist and Tibetan culture suffered greatly during the Cultural Revolution when an attempt was made to destroy all religious belief.

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