It is presumed that Vajrayana was more popular in the Himalayan territories. This school is called Vajrayana because of the use of the vajra. It is a symbol for thunder, diamond and lightning. In Tibetan Buddhism the central religious figure is the lama. It is thus also known as Lamaism.

Vajrayana is seen as a part of Mahayana Buddhism. The only difference between the two schools lies in their upaya or the means in which they are being implemented. The philosophy hardly differs. Originating in India this school of Buddhism later spread to China, Japan, Mongolia and other Far East countries. Today Vajrayana is seen as one of the major schools besides Theravada and Mahayana in Buddhism.

Vajrayana Buddhism is instrumental in achieving enlightenment and this could be done with the help of the tantra upaya or techniques. While the earlier schools of Buddhism help in attaining nirvana Vajrayana prompts the process of achieving enlightenment. This is where it differs from the major schools of Buddhism. It helps in spiritual development and esoteric transmission. One of the salient features of Vajrayana is that it considers Mahayana and Theravada as the base on which the tantras could be practiced. The knowledge of these two earlier branches are absolutely essential to practice Vajrayana.

It is more similar to Mahayana because the basic philosophies of both these are the same. Both of the schools strive to become Buddha by following the Bodhisattvas. In certain Pali texts too the reference to Vajrayana are found. Thus hinting that this discourse was not limited only to Tibetan Buddhism.

There are several lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. These comprise of Nyingma-pa, Kagyu-pa, Sakya-pa and Gelug-pa. Till date it is practiced in countries like Tibet and Mongolia.