Mahayana
Mahayana (:?, "Great Vehicle") is a classification of Buddhism used in several different senses.
 The term most commonly found in English dictionaries, is the Mahayana as one of two major branches of Buddhism existing today, the other being Theravada .
However, the normal usage in the Mahayana branch is in regards to Buddhist philosophy to refer to a level of spiritual motivation and practice,[Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, Cambridge University Press, 1990, page 94] namely the Bodhisattvayana, the Bodhisattva's vehicle.[The Mahayana, 'Great Vehicle' or 'Great Carriage' (for carrying all beings to nirvana), is also, and perhaps more correctly and accurately, known as the Bodhisattvayana, the bodhisattva's vehicle. Indian Buddhism, A. K. Warder, 3rd edition, 1999, p.338].
The term Mahayana is also often used to mean one of the three yanas, or practice paths of Buddhism, the other two being the Hinayana and the Vajrayana.
The source of the name Mahayana is polemical[‘The later school which arrogated to itself the title Mahayana’. Indian Buddhism, AK Warder, 3rd edition 1999, p.4], having its origin in a debate about what the real teachings of the Buddha[It is certain that the term Mahayana (which means “great or large vehicle”) was in origin a polemical label used by only one side — and perhaps the least significant side — of a protracted, if uneven, Indian debate about what the real teachings of the Buddha are, Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, page 492] are. Although the Mahayana movement traces its origin to Gautama Buddha, the consensus of historical evidence indicates that it originated in South India in the first century CE[The Mahayana movement claims to have been founded by the Buddha himself. The consensus of the evidence, however, is that it originated in South India in the 1st century CE’ – Indian Buddhism, AK Warder, 3rd edition, 1999, p. 335.]. It was first propagated into China by Kushan Lokaksema (Ch:?, Zhi Chen, full name? var.? Zhi Loujiachen, active ca. 164-186 C.E.), the first translator of Mahayana sutras into Chinese.
The earliest mention of "Mahayana" occurs in the Lotus Sutra between the first century BCE and the first century CE.[Theravada - Mahayana Buddhism Ven. Dr. W. Rahula Theravada - Mahayana Buddhism] The earliest Mahayana scriptures probably originated during the first century CE in the Indian subcontinent, and spread to China during the second century CE.[The most important evidence — in fact the only evidence — for situating the emergence of the Mahayana around the beginning of the common era was not Indian evidence at all, but came from China. Already by the last quarter of the second century C.E. there was a small, seemingly idiosyncratic collection of substantial Mahayana sutras translated into what Erik Zürcher calls “broken Chinese” by an Indoscythian, whose Indian name has been reconstructed as Lokaksema., Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, page 492] Only in the fifth century CE did Mahayana become an influential school in India.[Certainly, we have for this period an extensive body of inscriptions from virtually all parts of India. ... But nowhere in this extensive body of material is there any reference, prior to the fifth century, to a named Mahayana. There are, on the other hand, scores of references to what used to be called Hinayana groups — the Sarvastivadins, Mahasamghikas, and so on. From this point of view, at least, this was not “the period of the Mahayana,” but “the period of the Hinayana.”, Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, page 493] In the course of its history, Mahayana spread throughout East Asia. The main countries in which it is practiced today are China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.
Some of the main Mahayana sutras, codified in Sanskrit, have not survived over time and have been lost.[Mahayana (Encyclopedia Britannica 2002)] Versions later translated into Tibetan language and Chinese language have survived.[ The main schools of Mahayana Buddhism which have a significant following are Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon, Tibetan Buddhism and Tendai.]
Doctrine
Few things can be said with certainty about Mahayana Buddhism, especially its early Indian form, other than that the Buddhism practiced in China, Vietnam, Korea, Tibet, and Japan is Mahayana Buddhism.[There are, it seems, very few things that can be said with certainty about Mahayana Buddhism, Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, page 492][But apart from the fact that it can be said with some certainty that the Buddhism embedded in China, Korea, Tibet, and Japan is Mahayana Buddhism, it is no longer clear what else can be said with certainty about Mahayana Buddhism itself, and especially about its earlier, and presumably formative, period in India., Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, page 492] Mahayana can be described as a loosely bound bundle of many teachings, which was thus able to contain the various contrasting ideas found between those differing teachings of whose elements it is comprised.[It has become increasingly clear that Mahayana Buddhism was never one thing, but rather, it seems, a loosely bound bundle of many, and — like Walt Whitman — was large and could contain, in both senses of the term, contradictions, or at least antipodal elements., Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, page 492]
Mahayana is a vast religious and philosophical structure. It constitutes an inclusive faith characterized by the adoption of new, Mahayana sutras, in addition to the traditional Pali canon or Agama texts, and a shift in the basic purpose and concepts of Buddhism. Mahayana sees itself as penetrating further and more profoundly into the Buddha's Dharma. In the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, for instance, the Buddha tells of how his initial teachings on suffering, impermanence and non-Self were given to those who were still like "small children", unable to digest the full "meal" of Truth, whereas when those spiritual students "grow up" and are no longer satisfied by the preliminary ingredients of the Dharmic meal fed to them and require fuller sustenance, they are then ready to assimilate the full and balanced fare of the Mahayana teachings (Mahaparinirvana Sutra).
Mahayana Buddhist schools de-emphasize the ideal, emphasized in Theravada, of the release from individual Suffering (Dukkha) and attainment of Cessation (Nirvana). The Lotus Sutra says, successively, that the Buddha's lifetime is extremely long, and that it is infinite. Mahayana authorities differ on which of these statements to take literally. On the whole, Chinese and Japanese prefer the former, Tibetans the latter. In addition, most Mahayana schools believe in a pantheon of quasi-divine Bodhisattvas that devote themselves to personal excellence, ultimate knowledge, and the salvation of humanity and all other sentient beings (animals, ghosts, demigods, etc.). Zen Buddhism is a school of Mahayana which often de-emphasizes the pantheon of Bodhisattvas and instead focuses on the meditative aspects of the religion. In Mahayana, the Buddha is seen as the ultimate, highest being, present in all times, in all beings, and in all places, and the Bodhisattvas come to represent the universal ideal of altruistic excellence.
The fundamental principles of Mahayana doctrine were based around the possibility of universal liberation from suffering for all beings (hence "great vehicle") and the existence of Buddhas and Bodhisattva embodying transcendent Buddha-nature (the eternal Buddha essence present, but hidden and unrecognised, in all beings). Some Mahayana schools simplify the expression of faith by allowing salvation to be alternatively obtained through the grace of the Buddha Amitabha by having faith and devoting oneself to chanting to Amitabha. This devotional lifestyle of Buddhism is most strongly emphasized by the Pure Land schools and has greatly contributed to the success of Mahayana in East Asia, where spiritual elements traditionally relied upon chanting of a Buddha's name, of mantras or dharanis; reading of Mahayana sutras and mysticism. In Chinese Buddhism, most monks, let alone lay people, practise Pure Land, some combining it with Chan (Zen).[Welch, Practice of Chinese Buddhism, Harvard, 1967, page 396]
There is a tendency in Mahayana sutras to regard adherence to Mahayana sutras as generating spiritual benefits greater than those which arise from being a follower of the non-Mahayana approaches to Dharma. Thus in the Srimala Sutra it is asserted by the Buddha that devotion to Mahayana is inherently superior in its virtues to the following of the Sravaka or Pratyekabuddha path:
" ...just as the magnificence of the finest thorough-bred among cattle outshines the rest of the herd in height and weight and so on, so even to uphold the Saddharma Dharma of the Mahayana, even a little, is greater and vaster than all the wholesome dharmas of the Shravaka and Pratyekabuddha yanas  ." (The Shrimaladevi Sutra, tr. by Dr. Shenpen Hookham, Longchen Foundation, Oxford 1998, p.27).
Rooted in Early Buddhism
Many scholars contend that Mahayana scriptures are rooted in the earliest teachings of Buddhism.
Sasaki (1999) in a critique of Shimoda (1997) conveys a key premise of Shimoda's work, being: that the origins of the Mahayana and the Nirvana Sutra are entwined.[Sasaki, Shizuka (1999). Review Article: The Mahaparinirvana Sutra and the Origins of Mahayana Buddhism. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 1999 26/1-2. Source: (accessed: January 29, 2008)]
Ven. Dr. W. Rahula contends that upon extensive study of both Mahayana and Theravada scriptures, there is hardly any difference between the two traditions with regard to the most fundamental teachings of Buddhism and that the seeds of many of the Mahayana teachings can be found in the earliest Theravada scriptures. [Theravada - Mahayana Buddhism]
By Ven. Dr. W. Rahula http://www.buddhistinformation.com/theravada.htm
The two different schools gave different teachings greater emphasis. Although great faith in the Buddha as a "savior" and "Bhagavat"(Lord) and the Bodhisatva ideal were a part of both schools as emphasized in the Jataka, the more supernatural and awe inspiring aspects became emphasized in Mahayana schools and Mahayana Sutras more than in Theravada.
The earliest canon contain several faith inspiring stories of Buddha's supernatural birth from Tushita heaven and millions of Gods, dragons and other beings coming to pay homage to Buddha as the most powerful being, different realms and thousandfold universes and Buddha's great powers to appear in these other worlds and teach and deliver salvation without restriction[Teacher of the Devas]
by
Susan Elbaum Jootla http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/jootla/wheel414.html The Maha Samaya Sutta (DN 20) is just one example of the early Tipitika canon that resembles in composition the later Mahayana sutras in description of the supernatural assemblies that appear before the Buddha.
Many of these early Tipitika sutras lay the groundwork for the later Mahayana Sutras.
Mahayana Buddhism can in general be characterized by:
Universalism, in that, in those schools of Mahayana that still have large followings, everyone will become a Buddha (see, for example, the Lotus Sutra);
Bodhicitta as the main focus of realization (see, for example, the Nirvana Sutra and various Prajnaparamita Sutras);
Compassion through the transferral of merit;
Transcendental immanence, in that the immortal Buddha Principle (see, for example, Buddha-nature, Mahaparinirvana Sutra, Angulimaliya Sutra, Srimala Sutra, Tathagatagarbha Sutra) is present within all beings.
“Philosophical” Mahayana tends to focus on the first three characteristics (universalism, enlightened wisdom, compassion) and, in some schools, the Buddha-nature, without showing much interest in supernatural constructions, while “devotional” Mahayana focuses mainly on salvation towards other-worldly realms (see, for example, the Sukhavati sutras).
Universalism
Mahayana traditions generally consider that attainment of the level of an arhat is not final. This is based on a subtle doctrinal distinction between the Mahayana and the early Buddhist schools concerning the issues of nirvana-with-remainder and nirvana-without-remainder.
The early schools considered that nirvana-without-remainder always follows nirvana-with-remainder (buddhas first achieve enlightenment and then, at 'death', mahaparinirvana) and that nirvana-without-remainder is final; whereas the Mahayana traditions consider that nirvana-without-remainder is always followed by nirvana-with-remainder – the state of attainment of the Hinayana arhat is not final, and is eventually succeeded by the state of buddhahood, or total Awakening.
This distinction is most evident regarding doctrinal concerns about the capability of a buddha after nirvana (which is identified by the early schools as being nirvana-without-remainder). Most importantly, amongst the early schools, a samyaksambuddha is not able to directly point the way to nirvana after death. This is a major distinction between the early schools and some schools of the Mahayana, who conversely state that once a samyaksambuddha arises, he or she continues to directly and actively point the way to nirvana until there are no beings left in samsara . Because the views of early schools and Mahayana differ in this respect, this is exactly why some Mahayana schools do not talk about a bodhisattva postponing nirvana, and exactly why the early schools do. However, some Mahayana schools do talk of a bodhisattva deliberately refraining from Buddhahood.[Cook, Hua-Yen Buddhism, Pennsylvania State University Press, 1977]
For example, the early schools held that Maitreya will not attain nirvana while Gautama Buddha's teachings still exist. In contrast, some Mahayana schools hold that Maitreya will be the next buddha manifest in this world and will introduce the dharma when it no longer exists; he is not postponing his nirvana to do so, and when he dies (or enters mahaparinirvana), he will likewise continue to teach the dharma for all time. Moreover, some Mahayana schools argue that although it is true that for this world-system, Maitreya will be the next buddha to manifest, there are an infinite number of world-systems, many of which have currently active buddhas or buddhas-to-be manifesting.
Because the Mahayana traditions assert that eventually everyone will achieve samyaksam (buddhahood) or total enlightenment, the Mahayana is labelled universalist, whereas because the Nikaya traditions assert that there are three routes to nirvana, which are distinct, they are considered not to be universalist.
Bodhisattva
The Mahayana school holds that pursuing only the basic path of Hinayana Buddhism is too narrow an aspiration, as it lacks the ultimate moral motivation (from the Mahayana perspective) of actively resolving to liberate all other beings from samsara, as well as oneself. Such a "Hinayana" approach to Dharma tends to focus on an ascetic, individual orientation towards the attainment of nirvana (rather than the ulta-altruistic quest of the Bodhisattva): suppression of desire, removal from the world, solitude. Its followers are referred to as sravakas and pratyekabuddhas in the Mahayana sutras.
Ananda Coomaraswamy, the 20th century metaphysician, made the following note on the Mahayanist Bodhisattva ideal:
"Mahayanists do not hesitate to describe the Hinayana ideal as selfish... but the Mayananists... do not sufficiently realize that a selfish being could not possibly become an Arahat, who must be free from even the conception of ego, and still more from every form of ego-assertion. The selfishness of the would-be Arahat is more apparent than real. The ideal of self-culture is not opposed to that of self-sacrifice: in any perfectly harmonious development these seemingly opposite tendencies are reconciled... If the ideal of the Private Buddha seems to be a selfish one, we may reply that the Great Man can render to his fellows no higher service than to realize the highest possible state of his being."
The primary focus of some Mahayana schools is bodhicitta, the vow to strive for buddhahood or awakened mind both for oneself and for the benefit of all other sentient beings. As Ananda Coomaraswamy notes, "The most essential part of the Mahanyana is its emphasis on the Bodhisattva ideal, which replaces the Arhatta, or ranks before it."
Many “philosophical” schools and sutras of Mahayana Buddhism have focused on the nature of enlightenment and nirvana itself, from the Madhyamika and its rival, Yogacara , to the Tathagatagarbha teachings and Zen.
Compassion
Compassion, or Karuna, is the other key concept of Mahayana, and is a necessity to Bodhicitta. Compassion is important in all schools of Buddhism, but is particularly emphasized in Mahayana. It is also linked to the idea that acquired merit can be transmitted to others.
The bodhisattvas are the main actors of compassion, Avalokitesvara (known in East Asia as Guan Yin,?) being foremost among them. Although having reached enlightenment, bodhisattvas usually make a vow to postpone entering into nirvana until all other beings have also been saved. They devote themselves to helping others reach enlightenment.
The Mahayana idea that liberation is universal (see below) also allows for one to focus less on the release of personal suffering and more on humanity's salvation, and is consequently described to be more universally compassionate and caring for the welfare of others than other traditions of Buddhism.
A comparison between Hinayana (the name given by Mahayanists to the earlier Buddhist traditions) and Mahayana made by the 10th century Tibetan author Jé Gampopa in The Jewel Ornament of Liberation follows:
‘Clinging to the well-being of mere peace' signifies the lower capacity attitude wherein the longing to transcend suffering is focused on oneself alone. This precludes the cherishing of others and hence there is little development of altruism. When loving kindness and compassion become part of one, there is so much care for other conscious beings that one could not bear to liberate oneself alone. Master Manjushriikiirti has said: ‘A Mahayana follower should not be without loving kindness and compassion for even a single moment', and ‘It is not anger and hatred but loving kindness and compassion that vouchsafe the welfare of others'.
Skillful Means
The term Skillful Means (upaya) is used in the Lotus Sutra, and is generally accepted in all Mahayana schools of thought. It refers to any effective method which aids the attainment of Awakening. It does not necessarily mean that that particular method is "untrue", but simply refers to any means or stratagem that is conducive to spiritual growth and which leads the various types of beings to Awakening and Nirvana. A skillful means could thus be certain motivational words for a particular listener or even the noble Eightfold Path itself. Basic Buddhism (what Mahayana would term sravaka-yana or pratyekabuddha-yana) is an expedient method for getting people started on the noble Buddhic path and allowing them to advance quite far. But the path is not wholly traversed (according to some Mahayana schools) until the practitioner has striven for, and attained, Buddhahood for the liberation from unhappiness of all other sentient beings. In an ultimate sense, all of verbalised Dharma is a "skillful means", since Dharma or Truth cannot really be expressed in words or concepts. Anything that effectively points the way to liberation can be termed a "skillful means" - an effective method for awakening beings from the sleep of spiritual ignorance. Mahayana often adopts a pragmatic notion of truth:[Williams, Mahayana Buddhism, Routledge, 1990, page 2] doctrines are "true" in the sense of being spiritually benficial.
Some scholars have stated that the exercise of skill to which it refers, the ability to adapt one's message to the audience, is of enormous importance in the Pali Canon[‘’It is true that the term translated 'skill in means', upaya-kausalya , is post-canonical, but the exercise of skill to which it refers, the ability to adapt one's message to the audience, is of enormous importance in the Pali Canon.’’ How Buddhism Began, Richard F. Gombrich, Munshiram Manoharlal, 1997, p. 17]. In fact the Pali term upaya-kosalla does occur in the Pali Canon, in the Sangiti Sutta of the Digha Nikaya.[Thus Have I Heard: the Long Discourses of the Buddha, tr M. Walshe, Wisdom Pubns, 1987, page 486]
Salvation
“Devotional” Mahayana developed a rich cosmography, with various supernatural Buddhas and Bodhisattvas residing in paradisiacal realms. The concept of trinity, or trikaya, supports these constructions, making the Buddha himself into a transcendental god-like figure.
Under various conditions, these realms could be attained by devotees after their death so that when reborn they could strive towards buddhahood in the best possible conditions. Depending on the sect, this salvation to “paradise” can be obtained by faith, imaging, or sometimes even by the simple invocation of the Buddha’s name. This approach to salvation is at the origin of the mass appeal of devotional Buddhism, especially represented by the Pure Land .
This rich cosmography also allowed Mahayana to be quite syncretic and accommodating of other faiths or deities. Various origins have been suggested to explain its emergence, such as “popular Hindu devotional cults (bhakti), and Persian and Greco-Roman theologies, which filtered into India from the northwest” (Tom Lowenstein, “The vision of the Buddha”).
Transcendental Immanence
The teaching of a "Buddha Principle" (Buddha-dhatu) or "Buddha Nature" innate to and inseparable from all sentient beings is a doctrine which is indicated by the Buddha in a number of Mahayana sutras to constitute the "absolutely final culmination" of his Dharma (see Nirvana Sutra). The essential idea (articulated in the Tathagatagarbha sutras, but not accepted by all Mahayana) is that no being is without a concealed but indestructible interior link to Awakening (bodhi), and that this link is an uncreated element or principle deep inside each being which constitutes nothing less than the deathless, diamond-like "essence of the Self" (Nirvana Sutra). In the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, the Buddha declares:
"The essence of the Self (atman) is the subtle Tathagatagarbha ..."
"The Buddha-dhatu Principle, "Buddha Nature" of beings inheres / abides within the five skandhas components of the being."
"The Buddha-dhatu is the True Self and, like a diamond, for example, it cannot be destroyed".
The actual "seeing and knowing" of this Buddha-dhatu (co-terminous with the Dharmakaya or Self of Buddha) is said to usher in nirvanic Liberation. This Buddha-dhatu or Tathagatagarbha is revealed to be both immanent (found in every single person, ghost, god and creature, etc.) and transcendental (it is uncreated, deathless and ultimately beyond rational grasping or conceptualisation). Yet it is this already real and present, hidden internal element of bodhi (Awakeness) which, according to the Tathagatagarbha sutras, prompts beings to seek after Liberation from worldly suffering and enables them to attain the spotless bliss which lies at the heart of their being. Once the veils of negative thoughts, feelings and unwholesome behaviour (the kleshas) have been eliminated from the mind and character, the indwelling Buddha-dhatu (Buddha Principle / "Buddha Nature") is enabled to shine forth unimpededly and to transform the seer of it into a Buddha. Thus the Buddha-dhatu teaching is both an ontological and a soteriological doctrine: it reveals the immortal, Buddhic "True Self" (as the Buddha in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra repeatedly terms it) which is found to lie at the core of each being when all the obscuring, transient elements of the false ego are seen through and transcended, and it further verbalises the liberative and transformative power inherent in the Tathagatagarbha when once that vision of the innermost essence or svabhava of oneself and all other beings has been secured.
This immanentist and essentialist doctrine is by no means universal in Mahayana Buddhism and has long been a subject of vigorous debate.
Mahayana Scriptures
Like Theravada Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism takes the basic teachings of the Buddha as recorded in early scriptures as the starting point of its teachings, such as those concerning karma and rebirth, the Four Noble Truths, the Middle Way and the Eightfold Path. Whereas these basic teachings are preserved in the Pali Canon, transmitted by the Theravadin tradition, Mahayana Buddhists use different recensions of these discourses in compilations known as the Agamas, which largely overlap with the Pali Canon in content. The surviving agamas in Chinese translation belong to at least two schools, while most of the agamas were never translated into Tibetan. In addition to accepting the scriptures of the various early Buddhist schools as valid, Mahayana Buddhism also maintains large additional collections of sutras not found or recognized in Theravada Buddhism. In Mahayana Buddhism, these Mahayana sutras have a greater importance than the Agamas. Although these scriptures claim to be the factual words of the Buddha, scholars believe that they were written by monks who felt the need to restate and change the doctrines of Early Buddhism[‘Sometime after the founding of the Purva Saila school in the 1st century B.C. certain monks felt the need not simply for new interpretations of the original sutras (such as, for example, the new Abhidharma texts of the schools …), but for wholesale restatements of the doctrine. For this purpose they rewrote the sutras, or wrote new sutras.’ AK Warder, Indian Buddhism, 3rd edition, p. 335.].
The first of the Mahayana-specific writings were written probably around the 1st century BCE or 1st century CE. Some of the Mahayana Sutras, such as certain parts of the Perfection of Wisdom sutras , are presented as actual sermons of the Buddha that had been hidden. By some accounts, these sermons were passed on by oral tradition, as with other sutras; other accounts state that they were hidden and then revealed several centuries later by some mythological route. In addition to sutras, some Mahayana texts are essentially commentaries.
Among the earliest major Mahayana scriptures attested to historically are the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajna-Paramita) sutras, the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, the Vimalakirti Sutra, and the Nirvana Sutra.
The Tibetan tradition classifies Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings into three categories, based on types of understanding the nature of reality, known as "turnings of the wheel of dharma (truth)": those sutra discourses containing the basic doctrines supposedly aimed at the initial disciples or Sravakas, the emptiness teachings associated with Madhyamika and the Prajna Paramita sutras, and the doctrines associated with Yogacara which present the most accurate view of reality according to this scheme as originally devised. However, many Tibetan teachers, particularly the Gelugpa school, regard the second turning as the highest teaching. The Tathagatagarbha teachings are normally included in the third turning of the wheel if the need arises to classify them. The Chinese tradition has a different scheme.
The Mahayana canon was further expanded somewhat after Buddhism was transmitted to other countries such as China and Tibet, where the existing texts were translated. New texts, such as the Platform Sutra and the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment were explicitly not of Indian origin, but were widely accepted as valid scriptures on their own merits. Other later writings included the Linji Lu , a commentary by Chán master Linji Yixuan . In the course of the development of Korean Buddhism and Japanese Buddhism, further important commentaries were composed. These included, for example, in Korea, some of the writings of Jinul, and in Japan, works such as Dogen's Shobogenzo.
Origins
Mahayana's exact origin is unknown. However, a number of common elements and background are suggested by various scholars and theologians. The earliest origins of Mahayana-like thinking depend on precisely what one means by Mahayana. Some Mahayana scriptures were transmitted from India to China in the second century CE.
Buddhism became increasingly fragmented due to the many splits in the Sangha into the various early Buddhist schools. This might have led to a widening distance between laity and sangha, who were increasingly preoccupied with theological Abhidhammic speculation. The Mahayana movement, on the other hand, was ecumenical, reflecting a wide range of theology from both the Sthaviravada and Mahasanghika sects[Paul Williams, "Mahayana Buddhism", 1989]. Early Mahayana did not have a taboo regarding the composition of new sutras. With the creation of new Mahayana Sutras, the Mahayana movement was rejected by the early schools as heretical.
Another important element is the lay practice of stupa devotion, which was actively encouraged by Ashoka. According to Akira Hirakawa (A History of Indian Buddhism: From Sakyamuni to Early Mahayana), stupas — which were initially mere monuments to Gautama Buddha — increasingly became the place of devotion and of spreading Buddhism to the masses, the majority of whom were illiterate Hindus. On the inside wall of the stupa, pictures were drawn or sculpted depicting the life of Buddha and his previous lives as a bodhisattva. This has given rise to devotion to the transcendent omnipresent and always-present Buddha and the bodhisattvas , distinct from the purely monastic sangha (see Early Buddhist schools). However, this theory has been rejected by a number of scholars.[e.g. Williams, Mahayana Buddhism]
Epigraphical evidence
The earliest stone inscription containing a recognizably Mahayana formulation and a mention of the Buddha Amitabha was found in the Indian subcontinent in Mathura, and dated to around 180 CE. Remains of a statue of a Buddha bear the Brahmi inscription:
"Made in the year 28 of the reign of king Huvishka, ... for the Buddha Amitabha" (Mathura Museum).
However, this image was in itself marginal and extremely isolated in the overall context of Buddhism in India at the time, and had no lasting or long-term consequences[In other words, once nontextual evidence is taken into account the picture changes dramatically. Rather than being datable to the beginning of the common era, this strand of Mahayana Buddhism, at least, appeared to have no visible impact on Indian Buddhist cult practice until the second century, and even then what impact it had was extremely isolated and marginal, and had no lasting or long-term consequences — there were no further references to Amitabha in Indian image inscriptions. Almost exactly the same pattern occurs (concerning Mahayana) on an even broader scale when nontextual evidence is considered., Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, page 493]
The epigraphical evidence for Mahayana in the period before the 5th century is very limited in comparison to the multiplicity of Mahayana writings transmitted from Central Asia to China at that time[Certainly, we have for this period an extensive body of inscriptions from virtually all parts of India. ... But nowhere in this extensive body of material is there any reference, prior to the fifth century, to a named Mahayana., Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, page 493] [What is particularly disconcerting here is the disconnect between expectation and reality: We know from Chinese translations that large numbers of Mahayana sutras were being composed in the period between the beginning of the common era and the fifth century. But outside of texts, at least in India, at exactly the same period, very different — in fact seemingly older — ideas and aspirations appear to be motivating actual behavior, and old and established Hinayana groups appear to be the only ones that are patronized and supported., Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, page 494].
Scriptures
The first known Mahayana texts are translations made into Chinese by the Kushan monk Lokaksema in the Chinese capital of Luoyang, between 178 and 189 CE[The most important evidence — in fact the only evidence — for situating the emergence of the Mahayana around the beginning of the common era was not Indian evidence at all, but came from China. Already by the last quarter of the second century C.E. there was a small, seemingly idiosyncratic collection of substantial Mahayana sutras translated into what Erik Zürcher calls “broken Chinese” by an Indoscythian, whose Indian name has been reconstructed as Lokaksema., Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, page 492]. But, to equate evidence for the presence of a body of Mahayana scripture with the existence at the time of Mahayana as a religious movement, has been described as being an assumption leading to a serious misstep[But even apart from the obvious weaknesses inherent in arguments of this kind there is here the tacit equation of a body of literature with a religious movement, an assumption that evidence for the presence of one proves the existence of the other, and this may be a serious misstep., Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, page 493].
Lokaksema's work includes the translation of the Pratyutpanna Sutra, containing the first known mentions of the Buddha Amitabha and his Pure Land, said to be at the origin of Pure Land practice in China, and the first known translations of the Prajñaparamita Sutra, a founding text of Mahayana Buddhism.
Expansion (5th c.CE–10th c.CE)
From the 5th century CE Mahayana was a strong movement in India, possibly owing to support by the Gupta dynasty. It spread from India to South-East Asia, and towards the north to Central Asia, China, Korea and Japan. The influence of Mahayana in China seems to have been reached at an earlier time than in India, where Mahayan remained an obscure group until the 5th century.
Buddhism (and Mahayana) disappeared from India during the 11th century, and consequently lost its influence in South-East Asia where it was replaced by Theravada Buddhism from Sri Lanka.
Mahayana currently has more followers than Theravada, the other remaining Buddhist school, and is thus the most followed of the Buddhist doctrines to this day in Eastern Asia and the world.
See also
History of Buddhism
Mahayana sutras
Silk Road transmission of Buddhism
Early Buddhist Schools
Schools of Buddhism
Rebirth
Shunyata
Buddha nature
Tathagatagarbha
Nirvana Sutra
God in Buddhism
Faith in Buddhism
Lotus Sutra
Pure Land
Zen
Dzogchen
Tendai
Buddhist Ceremonies
Further reading
Paul Williams, Mahayana Buddhism, Routledge, 1989
Schopen, G. "The inscription on the Kusan image of Amitabha and the character of the early Mahayana in India", Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 10, 1990
”The Vision of the Buddha”, Tom Lowenstein, ISBN 1-903296-91-9
Kevin Lynch, The Way Of The Tiger: A Buddhist's Guide To Achieving Nirvana, Yojimbo Temple, 2005
Beal, Catena of Buddhist Scriptures from the Chinese, (London, 1871)
S. Kuroda, Outline of Mahayana, (Tokyo, 1893)
D. T. Suzuki, Outline of Mahayana Buddhism, (London, 1907)
Murdoch, History of Japan, volume i., (Yokohama, 1910)
D. T. Suzuki, in The Monist, volume xxiv, (Chicago, 1914). The Monist was edited by Paul Carus.
External links
Digital Dictionary of Buddhism
Sacred Library Contains many Mahayana Sutras
Comparison of Buddhist Traditions (Mahayana - Therevada - Tibetan)
Mahayana Buddhist Sutras in English
The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra: complete text and analysis.
Major Mahayana Tathagatagarbha sutras in English translation
|
|
|
|
This section is sponsored by:
Laptops
Find a great deal on a Laptop Computer by browsing our Laptop Computer listings.
www.LaptopComputersInfo.com
Top Laptop Computer
Need Top Laptop Computer at Low Price? Compare &Deal Today!
1st-in-Computers.com
100% Cheap Laptop
Discover Top Resources for Cheap Laptop
www.CheapLapto-p.com
100% Laptop Batery
Discover Top Resources for Laptop Batery Here!
www.LaptopBater-y.com
laptops
Don't just search for laptops, find results.
www.ask.com
laptops
Search for laptops here.
www.aywoh.com
Laptops
Find articles, advice and resources on laptops.
www.experttopics.com
|
