Korea Journal of Buddhist Studies ISSN:1598-0642(Print) 불교학연구

Tantric Buddhism in Southeast Asia was thought to have been introduced in the 7th century through indirect evidences by or about Indian and Chinese monks who passed through the areas. Paradoxically, however, the result of the researches on the primary archaeological artifacts and inscriptions shows a different conclusion; in most of the cases, it was not until the end of the 9th or early 10th century that the tantric Buddhism seems to have been accepted as a state cult and supported by the royal sponsors. Champa has very clear traces of Buddhist tantra, such as the An Thai inscription of the early 10th century. Judging from the inscription saying that the statue of Heruka was enshrined at My Son in the 12th century, it is highly likely that the tradition of Yoginītantra was very popular. As for Khmer, from early 10th century in the reign of King Rajendravarman, the tantric Buddhism was praised by royal kings, and rapidly reached its high glory in the 11th and 12th centuries under the regime of Jayavarman V and Jayavarman VII. The comparative abundance of the inscriptions and other archeological artifacts provides the ground to delineate the tantric tendency of Khmer Buddhism. The tradition of yoginītantra is also evident. Sumatra is recognized as an exemplar of the early acceptance of tantric Buddhism among the countries, however, the archaeological sources for tantric Buddhism are not so abundant as expected. The inscriptions of the late 7th century (from Palembang) and of 13th century (from Padang Lawas) can be taken into account as the clues to the tantric Buddhism. In the case of Bagan, there are few clues to find traces of Tantric Buddhism, but there are places that show the characteristics of Tantric Mahāyana Buddhism, such as Abeyadana.