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Doctrine Mahayana, in contrast to the Theravada school of Buddhism, can be characterized by: “Philosophical” Mahayana tends to focus on the first three characteristics (universalism, enlightened wisdom, compassion) without showing much interest in supernatural constructions, while “devotional” Mahayana focuses mainly on salvation towards other-worldly realms. Universalism Mahayana traditions generally consider that śrāvakabuddhahood 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 śrāvakabuddhahood is not final, and is eventually succeeded by the state of samyaksambuddhahood, or total enlightenment. This distinction is most evident regarding doctrinal concerns about the capability of a buddha after parinirvana (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 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 the Mahayana do not talk about a bodhisattva postponing nirvana, and exactly why the early schools do. For example, the early schools held that Maitreya will not attain nirvana while Gautama Buddha's teachings still exist. While the 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, Mahayana argues 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. So, based on the doctrinal distinctions between the early schools and the Mahayana concerning the meaning of nirvana-without-remainder, we see two distinct views concerning the path of the bodhisattva, with the early schools stating that bodhisattvas postpone their own nirvana, whereas the Mahayana schools state that bodhisattvas attempt to reach nirvana as soon as possible, just as sravakas do, but with the motive to continue to effortlessly benefit all beings for all time due to the distinction of views regarding the ability of a buddha after mahaparinirvana. Because the Mahayana traditions assert that eventually everyone will achieve samyaksambuddhahood 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. Enlightened wisdom According to Mahayana, traditional Buddhism tends to focus on an ascetic, individual approach to the attainment of nirvana: suppression of desire, removal from the world, solitude. Its followers are śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas. In contrast, the primary focus of Mahayana is bodhicitta: the vow to strive for buddhahood or awakened mind (bodhicitta) both for oneself and for the benefit of all other sentient beings. Being a high-level bodhisattva involves possessing a mind of great compassion conjoined with insight into reality (prajna), realizing emptiness (shunyata), and/or the tathagatagarbha (buddhic essence of all things). With this mind the practitioner will realize the final goal of full enlightenment, or buddhahood: an omniscient, blissful mind completely free from suffering and its causes, that is able to work tirelessly for the benefit of all living beings. Six virtues or perfections (paramitas) are listed for the bodhisattva: generosity, patience, meditation, morality, energy and wisdom. 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 considered the indispensable complement to enlightened wisdom. Compassion is important in all schools of Buddhism, but is particularly emphasized in Mahayana. It relies on the idea that excess acquired merit can be transmitted to others. The bodhisattvas are the main actors of compassion, Avalokitesvara 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. 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”). Mahayana Scriptures The Mahayana scriptures were written probably around the 1st century BCE. Some of them, such as 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 Vimalakīrti Sutra, and the Nirvana Sutra. The Mahayana sometimes divide Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings into three general categories, known as "turnings of the wheel of dharma (truth)": the Hinayana, the Prajna Paramita, and the Tathagatagarbha teachings. The Mahayana canon further expanded 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 Chan master Linji. 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 as a distinct movement began around the 1st century BCE in the area around the Kushan Empire (now part of Pakistan) before it was transmitted in a highly evolved form to China in the second century CE. Mahayana's exact origin is unknown, however, a number of common elements and background are suggested by various scholars and theologians. The Abhidharma in the modern Theravada Pali canon and a Sarvastivada Abhidharma composed in Sanskrit that survives in both the Chinese and Tibetan traditions, has no common order of composition. This indicates that overall, Buddhism became increasingly fragmented and that this might have led to a widening distance between laity and sangha, who were increasingly preoccupied with theological 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). Moreover, those who believe that Mahayana sutras were invented during this period speculate that the process of reshuffling sutras in terms of relevance to various Abbhidharma eventually led to editing itself. This process slowly eroded the taboo regarding the composition of new sutras. 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 trancendent all precent Buddha and bodhisattvas, which is distinct from sangha (see each Early Buddhist schools). Epigraphical evidence
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. 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 Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, a founding text of Mahayana Buddhism. The 4th Buddhist Council The formal rise of Mahayana Buddhism has been dated to around the middle of the 2nd century CE, when the Kushan emperor Kanishka convened the 4th Buddhist Council in Gandhara, which confirmed the formal scission of Mahayana Buddhism from the traditional Nikaya schools of Buddhism. This was also the time and place of a rich cultural interaction between Buddhism and Hellenistic culture, which influenced the early representations of buddhas, in what is known as Greco-Buddhist art. Expansion (1st c.CE&10th c.CE) From the 1st century CE and within the space of a few centuries, Mahayana was to flourish and spread in from India to South-East Asia, and towards the north to Central Asia, China, Korea, and Japan, finally reaching Japan via Korea and Korean Buddhist monks in 538 CE. 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 remains, however, the most followed of the Buddhist doctrines to this day in Eastern Asia and the world. See also: Bibliography Older works See also | |||||||||||
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