In the eighth century, that is the early medieval period, Madhyamika and Yogachara appear to have lost much of their original flavour and various writers attempted a synthesis of both. This is seen in the works of Santarakshita, Kamalasila and Haribhadra who subscribed to both Madhyamika and Yogachara, Yogachara-Madhyamika is the name the Tibetan tradition had given to this different class of Madhyamika.
The last stage of evolution of Buddhism in India, regarded also as its stage of decadence, occurred in the eighth century, in the early medieval period. There was not much in its philosophy and system of ethics, but it had a sort of mysticism which continued to influence other religions even after its disappearance in the twelfth century.
This mysticism had its roots deep in the Mahayana and it burst forth asserting itself only in the eighth century. The proponents of this form of Buddhism were mostly from Uddiyana, Bengal and Magadha.
Tantrayana Buddhism was its name and it had developed three different ways of mystic practices: Vajrayana, Sahajayana and Kalachakrayana. The leaders were called Siddhas or Siddhacharyas. They were stated to be numbering 84 in the old sources and they were from India and Tibet.
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Most of them were historical persons, and were apparently living in the tenth, eleventh and twelfth centuries, and the Indians among them were from different parts of the country. From Uddiyana came Padmavajra, Indrabhuti and his sister Lakshmi; Bhusuku from Saurashtra (probably); Nagabodhi from the South; and the rest from Magadha and Bengal. Tibetan translations of the works of many of these Siddhas are still preserved, but only a few of the originals have been found,
Canonical texts form the basis of their teachings and Guhyasamajatantra, Hevajratantra, Samvaratantn and Kalachakratantra (the manuscripts of the last three are available) are some of these texts. These works were all extant in the eighth-ninth centuries along with Indrabhuti’s Jnanasiddhi. A number of other texts belonging to this group are available in Tibetan translation, but their dates of origin are not known. These texts give an idea of the principles of the various forms of Tantrayana Buddhism.
“Vajrayana and Sahajayana were two aspects of the same mysticism, Vajrayana laid stress on mystic ceremonials like the practice of mantra, mudra and mandala. Hence there is a place in it for a large
number of gods and goddesses who are supposed to be of help in the realization of the ultimate goal. Vajra is defined as prajna and the Bodhichitta is its essence. Hence the cultivation of Bodhichitta is the sole means of spiritual realization. The metaphysical background to the system is supplied by the Madhyamika. The highest goal is sunyata, a knowledge of the relativity of the essence of existence.
Truth has two aspects-the samvrittika, relative, and paramarthika, the absolute. The first concerns the world of phenomena. From the ultimate point of view this is all illusion. The attainment of this ultimate knowledge leads to the cessation of illusion and then the goal is reached. The world of phenomenality may be overcome in two ways: either by getting control over all forces of nature which contribute to its production with the help of magic powers, or by sheer force of psychic energy. The former is recommended by the Vajrayana and the latter by the Sahajayana” (P.C. Bagchi).
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There is no place for ceremonies and magic practices in Sahajayana where the emphasis is on the Yogic aspect. The Tibetan tradition says that Kaiachakrayana evolved outside India in a country known as Sambala and was adopted in Eastern India during the reign of the Palas. Abhayakaragupta-an acknowledged master of the system was a contemporary of King Ramapala.
Kaiachakrayana, as the name implies, lays great stress on time: on tithis, nakshatras and muhurtas for the arousal of the Bodhichitta-, astronomy and astrology form a part of its substance. The final goal, however, is the same, the realisation of sunyata. Kaiachakrayana is not different in this regard from the other systems.