Tibetan Buddhism

One other well-known and unique form of Buddhism is Vajryana, the "diamond vehicle" also known as Tantrayana - the ritual vehicle - for its many rituals. This is better known simply as Tibetan Buddhism. Among the ritual practices of Tibetan Buddhism one finds the chanting of mantras such as Om Mani Padme Hum and the use of symbolic hand gestures, or mudras. They spin prayer wheels, and, using colorful sand, they make symbolic circle images, known as mandalas. To help with their meditation, they may concentrate on images of various heavenly Buddhas. These paintings are called thankas. Tibetan Buddhist leaders are referred to as Lamas. The highest of these is the Dalai Lama, the current living one being the fourteenth in an unbroken line going back to the 15th century. The familiar Tibetan Book of the Dead, or the Bodo Thodol, is also associated with Tibetan Buddhism. A ritual recitation of this book over the body of the recently deceased is believed to assist the person through the state of death to either liberation (nirvana) or to a better next life.