gsang sngags kyi theg pa

གསང་སྔགས་ཀྱི་ཐེག་པ
vehicle of secret mantras. secret Mantrayana; secret mantra vehicle, secret Mantrayana, vehicle of secret mantras [RY]

secret mantra vehicle [JV]

secret mantra vehicle, secret mantrayana [IW]

Skt. Guhya-mantrayāna. 1) Secret Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra Vehicle, Secret Mantric Vehicle; 2) Esoteric Mantrayāna, Esoteric Mantra Vehicle, Esoteric Mantric Vehicle. A common alternate name for Vajrayāna Buddhism (rdo rje'i theg pa) in Tibetan. Arguably, here gsang is more accurately (or comprehensibly) translated as "esoteric" in light of many factors, especially the common designation of "Esoteric Buddhism" in academic Buddhist Studies, as well as the fact that the "secrecy" of much of Mantrayāna is highly questionable (as the word "secret" is generally understood in English). "Secret Mantra" as a translation for gsang sngags may thus be not only a misnomer but also potentially misleading. However, Mantrayāna/Vajrayāna Buddhism is certainly "esoteric". Erick Tsiknopoulos