Vajrayāna stands upon a layered scriptural foundation in which the general Buddhist canon and the specifically tantric corpus are woven together. On one level stand the great collections known as the Kangyur, “the translated words of the Buddha,” and the Tengyur, “the translated treatises.” Within these are preserved the tantras themselves, along with vinaya, sūtras, abhidharma, and a vast range of commentarial and scholastic works that Vajrayāna accepts as authoritative. In this way, the esoteric path does not abandon the broader Buddhist heritage but rather reads it through a tantric lens, seeing the whole canon as a field of meaning that culminates in mantra and deity yoga.

Within that broad frame, the tantras form the distinctive heart of Vajrayāna scripture. Especially central are the great Anuttarayoga, or Highest Yoga, tantras such as the Guhyasamāja Tantra, the Hevajra Tantra, the Cakrasaṃvara Tantra, the Kālacakra Tantra, and the Yamāntaka tantras. These texts set out the mandalas, initiations, mantras, visualizations, and subtle-body yogas that define the esoteric path. Tantric literature is traditionally classified into Kriyā, Caryā, Yoga, and Anuttarayoga tantras, a scheme that reflects a movement from outer ritual and purity toward increasingly internalized meditation and completion-stage practice. In this graded vision, the scriptures themselves map a progressive deepening of engagement with awakened form and energy.

Around these root tantras there grew an immense body of explanation and practice guidance. Commentarial works attributed to masters such as Nāgārjuna, Āryadeva, Candrakīrti, and Abhayākaragupta unfold the philosophical and ritual implications of the tantras, and are preserved within the Tengyur as part of the normative scriptural environment of Vajrayāna. Alongside them stand practical manuals—sādhanas for specific deities and cycles—that translate the often cryptic verses of the tantras into step‑by‑step contemplative and ritual procedures. These sādhanas, together with oral and written instructions from lineage gurus, function as living extensions of the canonical word, ensuring that the scriptures are not merely objects of study but instruments of transformation.