Despite the rapid spread of Buddhism -- especially the esoteric system of Tantra, one of its most popular yet most misunderstood forms -- the historical origins of Buddhist thought and practice remain obscure. This groundbreaking work describes the genesis of the Tantric movement in early medieval India, where it developed as a response to, and in some ways an example of, the feudalization of Indian society. Drawing on primary documents -- many translated for the first time -- from Sanskrit, Prakrit, Tibetan, Bengali, and Chinese, Ronald Davidson shows how changes in medieval Indian society, including economic and patronage crises, a decline in women's participation, and the formation of large monastic orders, led to the rise of the esoteric tradition in India that became the model for Buddhist cultures in China, Tibet, and Japan.

Dr. Ronald Davidson has taught at Fairfield University since 1990, after having previously taught at Santa Clara University and at the Institute of Buddhist Studies (Graduate Theological Union) in California. He has twice been Director of Asian Studies.

He was trained in Sanskrit and Chinese Buddhist studies at the University of California Berkeley under Drs. Padmanabh Jaini, Lewis Lancaster, and Michel Strickmann, but also studied with Tibetans for seventeen years before and during his graduate career, working off and on for eleven years with Ngor Thartse Khenpo (Hiroshi Sonami).

His primary area of expertise is the history of tantric Buddhism in India and Tibet, especially in the relationship of religious history to social history during the medieval period, from 500-1200 CE. He belongs to the International Associations, respectively, for Sanskrit, Tibetan, Buddhist, and Himalayan and Nepal Studies and has presented scholarly papers at conferences and seminars in Europe, India, Nepal, and Japan, as well as around the United States. He is also active in the Tantric Studies Group at the American Academy of Religion.

His work leads him often to the Himālayas, India, and Nepal, or to the North Indian plains, to consult with friends and colleagues. There he works in archives and libraries or visits archaeological sites associated with medieval Buddhism. He has a passion for mountains and Ducati motorcycles; he prefers the high places and deep woods of the world.