Mahayana

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Mahyna (Sanskrit for "Great Vehicle") is one of two (or three, under some
classifications) main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of
Buddhist philosophies and practice. The Buddhist tradition of Vajrayana is
sometimes classified as a part of Mahayana Buddhism, but some scholars may
consider it as a different branch altogether.[1]

According to the teachings of Mahyna traditions, "Mahyna" also refers to the

path of the Bodhisattva seeking complete enlightenment for the benefit of all
sentient beings, also called "Bodhisattvayna", or the "Bodhisattva Vehicle".[2][note
1] A bodhisattva who has accomplished this goal is called a samyaksabuddha, or
"fully enlightened Buddha". A samyaksabuddha can establish the Dharma and
lead disciples to enlightenment. Mahayana Buddhists teach that enlightenment can
be attained in a single lifetime, and this can be accomplished even by a layperson.
[3]

The Mahyna tradition is the largest major tradition of Buddhism existing today,
with 53.2% of practitioners, compared to 35.8% for Theravada and 5.7% for
Vajrayana in 2010.[4]

In the course of its history, Mahyna Buddhism spread from India to various other
South, East and Southeast Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan,
China, Taiwan, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
Major traditions of Mahyna Buddhism today include Chan Buddhism, Korean Seon,
Japanese Zen, Pure Land Buddhism, and Nichiren Buddhism. It may also include the
Vajrayana traditions of Tiantai, Tendai, Shingon Buddhism, and Tibetan Buddhism,
which add esoteric teachings to the Mahyna tradition.

Contents [hide]
1

Etymology

History

2.1

Origins

2.2

Earliest Mahyna stras

2.3

Earliest inscriptions

2.4

Early Mahyna Buddhism

2.5

Late Mahyna Buddhism

Doctrine

3.1

Bodhisattva

3.2

Expedient means

3.3

Liberation

3.4

Buddha nature

Scriptures

4.1

gamas

4.2

Turnings of the Dharma Wheel

4.3

Early canon

Theravda school

5.1

Role of the Bodhisattva

5.2

Theravda and Hnayna

See also

Notes

References

Sources

10

Further reading

11

External links

Etymology[edit]
According to Jan Nattier, the term Mahyna ("Great Vehicle") was originally an
honorary synonym for Bodhisattvayna ("Bodhisattva Vehicle")[5] the vehicle of a

bodhisattva seeking buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings.[2] The term
Mahyna was therefore formed independently at an early date as a synonym for
the path and the teachings of the bodhisattvas. Since it was simply an honorary
term for Bodhisattvayna, the creation of the term Mahyna and its application to
Bodhisattvayna did not represent a significant turning point in the development of
a Mahyna tradition.[5]

The earliest Mahyna texts often use the term Mahyna as a synonym for
Bodhisattvayna, but the term Hnayna is comparatively rare in the earliest
sources. The presumed dichotomy between Mahyna and Hnayna can be
deceptive, as the two terms were not actually formed in relation to one another in
the same era.[6]

Among the earliest and most important references to the term Mahyna are those
that occur in the Lotus Stra (Skt. Saddharma Puarka Stra) dating between the
1st century BCE and the 1st century CE.[7] Seishi Karashima has suggested that the
term first used in an earlier Gandhri Prakrit version of the Lotus Stra was not the
term mahyna but the Prakrit word mahjna in the sense of mahjna (great
knowing).[8][9] At a later stage when the early Prakrit word was converted into
Sanskrit, this mahjna, being phonetically ambivalent, was mistakenly converted
into mahyna, possibly because of what may have been a double meaning in the
famous Parable of the Burning House, which talks of three vehicles or carts (Skt:
yna).[note 2][8][10]

History[edit]

Ancient Buddhist stpas in Borobodur, Indonesia.

Early statue of the Buddha from Gandhra, 1st2nd century CE.

Origins[edit]
The origins of Mahyna are still not completely understood.[11] The earliest
Western views of Mahyna assumed that it existed as a separate school in
competition with the so-called "Hnayna" schools. The earliest Mahyna texts
often depict strict adherence to the path of a bodhisattva, and engagement in the
ascetic ideal of a monastic life in the wilderness, akin to the ideas expressed in the
Rhinoceros Stra.[note 3]

The earliest textual evidence of "Mahyna" comes from stras originating around
the beginning of the common era. Jan Nattier has noted that in some of the earliest
Mahyna texts such as the Ugraparipccha Stra use the term "Mahyna", yet
there is no doctrinal difference between Mahyna in this context and the early
schools, and that "Mahyna" referred rather to the rigorous emulation of Gautama
Buddha in the path of a bodhisattva seeking to become a fully enlightened buddha.
[12]

There is also no evidence that Mahyna ever referred to a separate formal school
or sect of Buddhism, but rather that it existed as a certain set of ideals, and later
doctrines, for bodhisattvas.[12] Paul Williams has also noted that the Mahyna
never had nor ever attempted to have a separate Vinaya or ordination lineage from
the early schools of Buddhism, and therefore each bhiku or bhiku adhering to
the Mahyna formally belonged to an early school. Membership in these nikyas,
or monastic sects, continues today with the Dharmaguptaka nikya in East Asia,
and the Mlasarvstivda nikya in Tibetan Buddhism. Therefore, Mahyna was
never a separate rival sect of the early schools.[13] Paul Harrison clarifies that while
monastic Mahynists belonged to a nikya, not all members of a nikya were
Mahynists.[14] From Chinese monks visiting India, we now know that both
Mahyna and non-Mahyna monks in India often lived in the same monasteries
side by side.[15]

The Chinese monk Yijing who visited India in the 7th century CE, distinguishes
Mahyna from Hnayna as follows:[16]

Both adopt one and the same Vinaya, and they have in common the prohibitions of
the five offences, and also the practice of the Four Noble Truths. Those who
venerate the bodhisattvas and read the Mahayana stras are called the
Mahynists, while those who do not perform these are called the Hnaynists.

Much of the early extant evidence for the origins of Mahyna comes from early
Chinese translations of Mahyna texts. These Mahyna teachings were first
propagated into China by Lokakema, the first translator of Mahyna stras into
Chinese during the 2nd century CE.[note 4]

A statue of Prajpramit personified, from Singhasari, East Java, Indonesia.

Earliest Mahyna stras[edit]
Several scholars have suggested that the Prajpramit stras, which are among
the earliest Mahyna stras,[17][18] developed among the Mahsghika along
the Ka River in the ndhra region of southern India.[19]

The earliest Mahyna stras to include the very first versions of the
Prajpramit genre, along with texts concerning Akobhya Buddha, which were
probably written down in the 1st century BCE in the south of India.[20][21] Guang
Xing states, "Several scholars have suggested that the Prajpramit probably
developed among the Mahsghikas in southern India, in the ndhra country, on
the Ka River."[19] A.K. Warder believes that "the Mahyna originated in the
south of India and almost certainly in the ndhra country."[22]

Anthony Barber and Sree Padma note that "historians of Buddhist thought have
been aware for quite some time that such pivotally important Mahayana Buddhist
thinkers as Ngrjuna, Dignaga, Candrakrti, ryadeva, and Bhavaviveka, among
many others, formulated their theories while living in Buddhist communities in
ndhra."[23] They note that the ancient Buddhist sites in the lower Ka Valley,
including Amaravati, Ngrjunako and Jaggayyapea "can be traced to at least
the third century BCE, if not earlier."[24] Akira Hirakawa notes the "evidence
suggests that many Early Mahayana scriptures originated in South India."[25]

Some scholars think that the earliest Mahyna stras were mainly composed in the
south of India, and later the activity of writing additional scriptures was continued in
the north.[note 5] However, the assumption that the presence of an evolving body
of Mahyna scriptures implies the contemporaneous existence of distinct religious
movement called "Mahyna", may be a serious misstep.[note 6] Some scholars
further speculate that the Prajpramit stras were written in response to the
ultrarealism of abhidharma.[26]

Some early Mahyna stras were translated by the Kua monk Lokakema, who
came to China from the kingdom of Gandhra. His first translations to Chinese were
made in the Chinese capital of Luoyang between 178 and 189 CE.[27] Some
Mahyna stras translated during the 2nd century CE include the following:[28]

Aashasrik Prajpramit Stra

Vimalakrti Nirdea Stra
Larger Sukhvatvyha Stra
Akobhyatathgatasyavyha Stra
Ugraparipccha Stra
Majurparipcch Stra
Drumakinnararjaparipcch Stra
ragama Samdhi Stra
Bhadrapla Stra
Ajtaatrukauktyavinodana Stra
Kyapaparivarta Stra
Loknuvartana Stra
An early stra connected to the Avatasaka Stra
This corpus of texts often emphasizes ascetic practices and forest dwelling,
absorbed in states of meditative concentration.[29]

Harrison points to the enthusiasm in the Lokakema stra corpus for the extra
ascetic practices, for dwelling in the forest, and above all for states of meditative
absorption (samdhi). Meditation and meditative states seem to have occupied a
central place in early Mahyna, certainly because of their spiritual efficacy but also
because they may have given access to fresh revelations and inspiration.

Mahyna Buddhist triad, including Bodhisattva Maitreya, the Buddha, and

Bodhisattva Avalokitevara. 2nd3rd century CE, Gandhra.
Earliest inscriptions[edit]
The earliest stone inscription containing a recognizably Mahyna formulation and a
mention of the Buddha Amitbha was found in the Indian subcontinent in Mathura,

and dated to around 180 CE. Remains of a statue of a Buddha bear the Brhm
inscription: "Made in the year 28 of the reign of King Huvika, ... for the Blessed
One, the Buddha Amitbha." There is also some evidence that Emperor Huvika
himself was a follower of Mahyna Buddhism, and a Sanskrit manuscript fragment
in the Schyen Collection describes Huvika as having "set forth in the
Mahyna."[30] Evidence of the name "Mahyna" in Indian inscriptions in the
period before the 5th century is very limited in comparison to the multiplicity of
Mahyna writings transmitted from Central Asia to China at that time.[note 7][note
8][note 9]

Early Mahyna Buddhism[edit]

During the period of early Mahyna Buddhism, four major types of thought
developed: Mdhyamaka, Yogcra, Buddha Nature (Tathgatagarbha), and
Buddhist Logic as the last and most recent.[31] In India, the two main philosophical
schools of the Mahyna were the Mdhyamaka and the later Yogcra.[32] During
the Kushan Empire, Mahayana Buddhism teachings encouraged societies to give
generous donations to the Buddhist monasteries, which gave the people "religious
merits".[33]

Earlier stage forms of Mahyna such as the doctrines of Prajpramit, Yogcra,

Buddha Nature, and the Pure Land teachings are still popular in East Asia. In some
cases these have spawned new developments, while in others they are treated in
the more traditional syncretic manner. Paul Williams has noted that in this tradition
in the Far East, primacy has always been given to study of the stras.[34]

Late Mahyna Buddhism[edit]

Various classes of Vajrayana literature developed as a result of royal courts
sponsoring both Buddhism and Saivism.[35] The Majusrimulakalpa, which later
came to classified under Kriyatantra, states that mantras taught in the Shaiva,
Garuda and Vaishnava tantras will be effective if applied by Buddhists since they
were all taught originally by Manjushri.[36] The Guhyasiddhi of Padmavajra, a work
associated with the Guhyasamaja tradition, prescribes acting as a Shaiva guru and
initiating members into Saiva Siddhanta scriptures and mandalas.[37] The Samvara
tantra texts adopted the pitha list from the Shaiva text Tantrasadbhava, introducing
a copying error where a deity was mistaken for a place.[38]

Doctrine[edit]

Bodhisattva seated in meditation. Afghanistan, 2nd century CE

Few things can be said with certainty about Mahyna Buddhism,[note 10]
especially its early Indian form, other than that the Buddhism practiced in China,
Indonesia, Vietnam, Korea, Tibet, and Japan is Mahyna Buddhism.[note 11]
Mahyna can be described as a loosely bound collection of many teachings with
large and expansive doctrines that are able to exist simultaneously.[note 12]

Mahyna constitutes an inclusive tradition characterized by plurality and the

adoption of new Mahyna stras in addition to the earlier gama texts. Mahyna
sees itself as penetrating further and more profoundly into the Buddha's Dharma.
An Indian commentary on the Mahynasagraha, entitled
Vivtaguhyrthapiavykhy, gives a classification of teachings according to the
capabilities of the audience:[39]

[A]ccording to disciples' grades, the Dharma is [classified as] inferior and superior.
For example, the inferior was taught to the merchants Trapua and Ballika because
they were ordinary men; the middle was taught to the group of five because they
were at the stage of saints; the eightfold Prajpramits were taught to
bodhisattvas, and [the Prajpramits] are superior in eliminating conceptually
imagined forms.

There is also a tendency in Mahyna stras to regard adherence to these stras as

generating spiritual benefits greater than those that arise from being a follower of
the non-Mahyna approaches to Dharma. Thus the rmldev Stra claims that
the Buddha said that devotion to Mahyna is inherently superior in its virtues to
the following the rvaka or pratyekabuddha paths.[40]

The fundamental principles of Mahyna doctrine were based on the possibility of

universal liberation from suffering for all beings (hence the "Great Vehicle") and the
existence of buddhas and bodhisattvas embodying Buddha Nature. The Pure Land
school of Mahyna simplifies the expression of faith by allowing salvation to be
alternatively obtained through the grace of the Amitbha Buddha by having faith
and devoting oneself to mindfulness of the Buddha. This devotional lifestyle of

Buddhism has greatly contributed to the success of Mahyna in East Asia, where
spiritual elements traditionally relied upon mindfulness of the Buddha, mantras and
dhras, and reading of Mahyna stras. In Chinese Buddhism, most monks, let
alone lay people, practice Pure Land, some combining it with Chn (Zen).[41]

Most Mahyna schools believe in supernatural bodhisattvas who devote

themselves to the perfections (Skt. pramit), ultimate knowledge (Skt.
sarvajna), and the liberation of all sentient beings.

Avalokitevara, the bodhisattva of compassion. Aja Caves, Mahrtra, India.

Bodhisattva[edit]
Main article: Bodhisattva
The Mahyna tradition holds that pursuing only the release from suffering and
attainment of Nirva is too narrow an aspiration, because it lacks the motivation of
actively resolving to liberate all other sentient beings from Sasra. One who
engages in this path is called a bodhisattva. Bodhisattvas could reach nirvana, but
they believed it was more important to help others on their path of finding nirvana
rather than committing fully to nirvana themselves.[42]

The defining characteristic of a bodhisattva is bodhicitta, the intention to achieve

omniscient Buddhahood (Trikaya) as fast as possible, so that one may benefit
infinite sentient beings. Sometimes the term bodhisattva is used more restrictively
to refer to those sentient beings on the grounds. As Ananda Coomaraswamy notes,
"The most essential part of the Mahayana is its emphasis on the Bodhisattva ideal,
which replaces that of the arhat, or ranks before it."[43] According to Mahyna
teachings, being a high-level bodhisattva involves possessing a mind of great
compassion and transcendent wisdom (Skt. praj) to realize the reality of inherent
emptiness and dependent origination. Mahyna teaches that the practitioner will
finally realize the attainment of Buddhahood.[citation needed]

Six perfections (Skt. pramit) are traditionally required for bodhisattvas:[citation

needed]

dna-pramit: the perfection of giving

la-pramit: the perfection on behavior and discipline
knti-pramit: the perfection of forbearance
vrya-pramit: the perfection of vigor and diligence
dhyna-pramit: the perfection of meditation
praj-pramit: the perfection of transcendent wisdom
Expedient means[edit]
Main article: Upaya
Expedient means[44] (Skt. upya) is found in the Lotus Sutra, one of the earliest
dated Mahyna stras, and is accepted in all Mahyna schools of thought. It is
any effective method that aids awakening. It does not necessarily mean that some
particular method is "untrue" but is simply any means or stratagem that is
conducive to spiritual growth and leads beings to awakening and nirvana. Expedient
means could thus be certain motivational words for a particular listener or even the
noble eightfold path itself. Basic Buddhism (what Mahyna would term
ravakayna or pratyekabuddhayna) is an expedient method for helping people
begin the noble Buddhist path and advance quite far. But the path is not wholly
traversed, according to some Mahyna schools, until the practitioner has striven
for and attained Buddhahood for the liberation of all other sentient beings from
suffering.[citation needed]

Some scholars have stated that the exercise of expedient means, "the ability to
adapt one's message to the audience, is also of enormous importance in the Pli
canon."[note 13] In fact the Pli term upya-kosalla does occur in the Pli Canon, in
the Sangiti Sutta of the Digha Nikya.[45]

Liberation[edit]
Mahyna Buddhism includes a rich cosmology, with various Buddhas and
bodhisattvas residing in different worlds and buddha-realms. The concept of the
three bodies (trikya) supports these constructions, making the Buddha himself a
transcendental figure. Dr. Guang Xing describes the Mahyna Buddha as "an
omnipotent divinity endowed with numerous supernatural attributes and qualities ...
[He] is described almost as an omnipotent and almighty godhead."[46]

Under various conditions, the realms Buddha presides over could be attained by
devotees after their death so, when reborn, they could strive towards buddhahood
in the best possible conditions. Depending on the sect, liberation into a buddharealm can be obtained by faith, visualization, or sometimes even by the repetition of
Buddha's name. These practices are common in Pure Land Buddhism.{Dr. Guang
Xing, The Three Bodies of the Buddha: The Origin and Development of the Trikaya
Theory, RoutledgeCurzon, Oxford, 2005, p. 1}

Buddha nature[edit]

The Buddha flanked by bodhisattvas. Cave 4, Aja Caves, Mahrtra, India.

Main article: Buddha nature
Buddha-nature, Buddha-dhatu or Buddha Principle (Skt: Buddha-dhtu,
Tathgatagarbha; Jap: Bussho), is taught differently in various Mahayana Buddhism
traditions. Broadly speaking Buddha-nature is concerned with ascertaining what
allows sentient beings to become Buddhas.[47] The term, Buddha nature, is a
translation of the Sanskrit coinage, 'Buddha-dhtu', which seems first to have
appeared in the Mahyna Mahparinirva Stra,[48] where it refers to "a sacred
nature that is the basis for [beings'] becoming buddhas",[49] and where it is also
spoken of as the 'Self' (atman).[50]

It is called Tathgatagarbha Buddha-dhtu at the stage of sentient beings because it

is covered with defilements, and it is called Dharmakya at the stage of
Buddhahood, because its pure nature is revealed.[51][note 14]

The teaching of a "Buddha nature" (Skt. tathgatagarbha) may be based on the

"luminous mind" concept found in the gamas. The essential idea, articulated in the
Buddha nature stras, but not accepted by all Mahynists, is that no being is
without a concealed but indestructible interior link to the awakening of bodhi and
that this link is an uncreated element (dhtu) or principle deep inside each being,
which constitutes the deathless, diamond-like "essence of the self".[53][page
needed] The Mahyna Mahparinirva Stra states: "The essence of the Self
(tman) is the subtle Buddha nature..." while the later Lakvatra Stra states that
the Buddha nature might be taken to be self (tman), but it is not. In the
sagathakam section of that same sutra, however, the Tathagatagarbha as the Self is
not denied, but affirmed: "The Atma [Self] characterised with purity is the state of
self-realization; this is the Tathagata's Womb (garbha), which does not belong to the

realm of the theorisers."[54] In the Buddha nature class of stras, the word "self"
(tman) is used in a way defined by and specific to these stras. (See Atman
(Buddhism).)

According to some scholars, the Buddha nature discussed in some Mahyna stras
does not represent a substantial self (tman); rather, it is a positive language and
expression of emptiness (nyat) and represents the potentiality to realize
Buddhahood through Buddhist practices.[55] It is the "true self" in representing the
innate aspect of the individual that makes actualizing the ultimate personality
possible.[citation needed]

The actual "seeing and knowing" of this Buddha essence is said to usher in nirvanic
liberation. This Buddha essence or "Buddha nature" is stated to be found in every
single person, ghost, god and sentient being. In the Buddha nature stras, the
Buddha is portrayed as describing the Buddha essence as uncreated, deathless and
ultimately beyond rational grasping or conceptualisation. Yet, it is this already real
and present, hidden internal element of awakeness (bodhi) that, according to the
Buddha nature stras, prompts beings to seek liberation from worldly suffering, and
lets them attain the spotless bliss that lies at the heart of their being. Once the veils
of negative thoughts, feelings, and unwholesome behaviour (the kleas) are
eliminated from the mind and character, the indwelling Buddha principle (Buddhadhtu: Buddha nature) can shine forth unimpededly and transform the seer into a
Buddha.[citation needed]

Prior to the period of these stras, Mahyna metaphysics was dominated by

teachings on emptiness, in the form of Madhyamaka philosophy. The language used
by this approach is primarily negative, and the Buddha nature genre of stras can
be seen as an attempt to state orthodox Buddhist teachings of dependent
origination and on the mysterious reality of nirvana using positive language instead,
to prevent people from being turned away from Buddhism by a false impression of
nihilism. In these stras the perfection of the wisdom of not-self is stated to be the
true self; the ultimate goal of the path is then characterized using a range of
positive language that had been used in Indian philosophy previously by essentialist
philosophers, but was now transmuted into a new Buddhist vocabulary that
described a being who has successfully completed the Buddhist path.[56]

A different view is propounded by Tathagatagarbha specialist, Michael

Zimmermann, who sees key Buddha-nature sutras such as the Nirvana Sutra and

the Tathagatagarbha Sutra, as well as the Lankavatara Sutra, enunciating an

affirmative vision of an eternal, indestructible Buddhic Self. Zimmermann observes:
[50]

the existence of an eternal, imperishable self, that is, buddhahood, is definitely the
basic point of the TGS [Tathagatagarbha Sutra] ... the Mahaparinirvanasutra and the
Lankavatarasutra characterize the tathagatagarbha explicitly as atman [Self].

The Uttaratantra (an exegetical treatise on Buddha nature) sees Buddha nature not
as caused and conditioned (saskta), but as eternal, uncaused, unconditioned, and
incapable of being destroyed, although temporarily concealed within worldly beings
by adventitious defilements.[57] According to C. D. Sebastian, the Uttaratantra's
reference to a transcendental self (tma-pramit) should be understood as "the
unique essence of the universe",[58] thus the universal and immanent essence of
Buddha nature is the same throughout time and space.[59]

Scriptures[edit]

Statue of the Buddha with Dharmacakra Mudra, symbolizing his teaching of the
Dharma. Sarnath, Vras.
gamas[edit]
Main article: Mahayana sutras
Mahyna 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, antman, emptiness, dependent origination, and the Four Noble Truths.
Mahyna Buddhists in East Asia have traditionally studied these teachings in the
gamas preserved in the Chinese Buddhist canon. "gama" is the term used by
those traditional Buddhist schools in India who employed Sanskrit for their basic
canon. These correspond to the Nikyas used by the Theravda school. The
surviving gamas in Chinese translation belong to at least two schools, while most
of the gamas teachings were never translated into Tibetan.[citation needed]

In addition to accepting the essential scriptures of the early Buddhist schools as

valid, Mahyna Buddhism maintains large collections of stras that are not used or
recognized by the Theravda school. These were not recognized by some

individuals in the early Buddhist schools. In other cases, Buddhist communities were
divided along these doctrinal lines. In Mahyna Buddhism, the Mahyna stras
are often given greater authority than the gamas. The first of these Mahynaspecific writings were written probably around the 1st century BCE[60] or 1st
century CE.[61]

In the 4th century Mahyna abhidharma work Abhidharmasamuccaya, Asaga

refers to the collection which contains the gamas as the rvakapiaka and
associates it with the rvakas and pratyekabuddhas.[62] Asaga classifies the
Mahyna stras as belonging to the Bodhisattvapiaka, which is designated as the
collection of teachings for bodhisattvas.[62]

Turnings of the Dharma Wheel[edit]

Dating back at least to the Sadhinirmocana Stra is a classification of the corpus
of Buddhism into three categories, based on ways of understanding the nature of
reality, known as the "Three Turnings of the Dharma Wheel". According to this view,
there were three such "turnings":[63]

In the first turning, the Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths at Varanasi for those in
the ravaka vehicle. It is described as marvelous and wonderful, but requiring
interpretation and occasioning controversy.[64] The doctrines of the first turning are
exemplified in the Dharmacakra Pravartana Stra. This turning represents the
earliest phase of the Buddhist teachings and the earliest period in the history of
Buddhism.
In the second turning, the Buddha taught the Mahyna teachings to the
bodhisattvas, teaching that all phenomena have no-essence, no arising, no passing
away, are originally quiescent, and essentially in cessation. This turning is also
described as marvelous and wonderful, but requiring interpretation and occasioning
controversy.[64] Doctrine of the second turning is established in the Prajpramit
teachings, first put into writing around 100 BCE. In Indian philosophical schools, it is
exemplified by the Mdhyamaka school of Ngrjuna.
In the third turning, the Buddha taught similar teachings to the second turning, but
for everyone in the three vehicles, including all the ravakas, pratyekabuddhas, and
bodhisattvas. These were meant to be completely explicit teachings in their entire
detail, for which interpretations would not be necessary, and controversy would not
occur.[64] These teachings were established by the Sadhinirmocana Stra as early
as the 1st or 2nd century CE.[65] In the Indian philosophical schools, the third
turning is exemplified by the Yogcra school of Asaga and Vasubandhu.

Some traditions of Tibetan Buddhism consider the teachings of Esoteric Buddhism

and Vajrayna to be the third turning of the Dharma Wheel. Tibetan teachers,
particularly of the Gelugpa school, regard the second turning as the highest
teaching, because of their particular interpretation of Yogcra doctrine. The
Buddha Nature teachings are normally included in the third turning of the
wheel[citation needed]. The Chinese tradition has a different scheme.

The Chinese T'ien-T'ai believed the Buddha taught over Five Periods. These are:[66]

The Flower Garland Period.

The Agama Period.
The Correct and Equal Period (provisional Mahayana Sutras, including the Amida,
Mahavairochana and Vimalakirti Sutras).
The Wisdom Period (Perfection of Wisdom Sutras).
The Lotus and Nirvana Period (when Shakyamuni taught from the standpoint of his
Enlightenment).
Early canon[edit]
Scholars have noted that many key Mahyna ideas are closely connected to the
earliest texts of Buddhism. The seminal work of Mahyna philosophy, Ngrjuna's
Mlamadhyamakakrik, mentions the canon's Katyyana Stra (SA 301) by name,
and may be an extended commentary on that work.[67] Ngrjuna systematized
the Mdhyamaka school of Mahyna philosophy. He may have arrived at his
positions from a desire to achieve a consistent exegesis of the Buddha's doctrine as
recorded in the canon. In his eyes the Buddha was not merely a forerunner, but the
very founder of the Mdhyamaka system.[68] Ngrjuna also referred to a passage
in the canon regarding "nirvanic consciousness" in two different works.[69]

Yogcra, the other prominent Mahyna school in dialectic with the Mdhyamaka
school, gave a special significance to the canon's Lesser Discourse on Emptiness
(MA 190).[70] A passage there (which the discourse itself emphasizes) is often
quoted in later Yogcra texts as a true definition of emptiness.[71] According to
Walpola Rahula, the thought presented in the Yogcra school's Abhidharmasamuccaya is undeniably closer to that of the Pali Nikayas than is that of the
Theravadin Abhidhamma.[72]

Both the Mdhyamikas and the Yogcrins saw themselves as preserving the
Buddhist Middle Way between the extremes of nihilism (everything as unreal) and
substantialism (substantial entities existing). The Yogcrins criticized the
Mdhyamikas for tending towards nihilism, while the Mdhyamikas criticized the
Yogcrins for tending towards substantialism.[73]

Key Mahyna texts introducing the concepts of bodhicitta and Buddha nature also
use language parallel to passages in the canon containing the Buddha's description
of "luminous mind" and may have been based on this idea.[74]

Theravda school[edit]
Main article: Theravada
Role of the Bodhisattva[edit]
In the early Buddhist texts, and as taught by the modern Theravada school, the goal
of becoming a teaching Buddha in a future life is viewed as the aim of a small group
of individuals striving to benefit future generations after the current Buddha's
teachings have been lost, but in the current age there is no need for most
practitioners to aspire to this goal. Theravada texts do, however, hold that this is a
more perfectly virtuous goal.[75]

Paul Williams writes that some modern Theravada meditation masters in Thailand
are popularly regarded as bodhisattvas.[76]

Cholvijarn observes that prominent figures associated with the Self perspective in
Thailand have often been famous outside scholarly circles as well, among the wider
populace, as Buddhist meditation masters and sources of miracles and sacred
amulets. Like perhaps some of the early Mahyna forest hermit monks, or the later
Buddhist Tantrics, they have become people of power through their meditative
achievements. They are widely revered, worshipped, and held to be arhats or
(note!) bodhisattvas.

Theravda and Hnayna[edit]

In the 7th century, the Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang describes the concurrent
existence of the Mahvihara and the Abhayagiri Vihara in Sri Lanka. He refers to the

monks of the Mahvihara as the "Hnayna Sthaviras" (Theras), and the monks of
the Abhayagiri Vihara as the "Mahyna Sthaviras".[77] Xuanzang further writes:
[78]

The Mahvihravsins reject the Mahyna and practice the Hnayna, while the
Abhayagirivihravsins study both Hnayna and Mahyna teachings and
propagate the Tripiaka.

The modern Theravda school is usually described as belonging to Hnayna.[79]

[80][81][82][83] Some authors have argued that it should not be considered such
from the Mahyna perspective. Their view is based on a different understanding of
the concept of Hnayna. Rather than regarding the term as referring to any school
of Buddhism that hasn't accepted the Mahyna canon and doctrines, such as those
pertaining to the role of the bodhisattva,[80][82] these authors argue that the
classification of a school as "Hnayna" should be crucially dependent on the
adherence to a specific phenomenological position. They point out that unlike the
now-extinct Sarvstivda school, which was the primary object of Mahyna
criticism, the Theravda does not claim the existence of independent entities
(dharmas); in this it maintains the attitude of early Buddhism.[84][85][86]
Adherents of Mahyna Buddhism disagreed with the substantialist thought of the
Sarvstivdins and Sautrntikas, and in emphasizing the doctrine of emptiness,
Kalupahana holds that they endeavored to preserve the early teaching.[87] The
Theravdins too refuted the Sarvstivdins and Sautrntikas (and other schools) on
the grounds that their theories were in conflict with the non-substantialism of the
canon. The Theravda arguments are preserved in the Kathvatthu.[88]

Some contemporary Theravdin figures have indicated a sympathetic stance toward

the Mahyna philosophy found in texts such as the Heart Stra (Skt.
Prajpramit Hdaya) and Ngrjuna's Fundamental Stanzas on the Middle Way
(Skt. Mlamadhyamakakrik).[89][90]

See also[edit]
Buddha nature
Buddhist holidays
Dzogchen
Early Buddhist Schools

Faith in Buddhism
God in Buddhism
Golden Light Sutra
History of Buddhism
Lotus Sutra
Mahayana sutras
Nirvana Sutra
Pure Land
Rebirth
Schools of Buddhism
Shunyata
Silk Road transmission of Buddhism
Tathagatagarbha
Tendai
Zen
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ "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." - Warder, A.K. (3rd edn. 1999). Indian
Buddhism: p. 338
Jump up ^ Karashima: "I have assumed that, in the earliest stage of the
transmission of the Lotus Stra, the Middle Indic forn ja or *jna (Pkt < Skt jna,
yna) had stood in these places ... I have assumed, further, that the Mahynist
terms buddha-yn ("the Buddha-vehicle"), mahyna ("the great vehicle"),
hnayna ("the inferior vehicle") meant originally buddha-jna ("buddhaknowledge"), mahjna ("great knowledge") and hnajna ("inferior knowledge")."
Karashima, Seishi (2001). Some Features of the Language of the Saddharmapuarka-stra, Indo-Iranian Journal 44: 207-230
Jump up ^ "As scholars have moved away from this limited corpus, and have begun
to explore a wider range of Mahayana stras, they have stumbled on, and have
started to open up, a literature that is often stridently ascetic and heavily engaged

in reinventing the forest ideal, an individualistic, antisocial, ascetic ideal that is

encapsulated in the apparently resurrected image of wandering alone like a
rhinoceros. Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (2004): p. 494
Jump up ^ "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 2nd century CE, there was a small, seemingly idiosyncratic collection of
substantial Mahayana sutras translated into what Erik Zrcher calls 'broken Chinese'
by an Indoscythian, whose Indian name has been reconstructed as Lokaksema."
Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (2004): p. 492
Jump up ^ Warder: "The sudden appearance of large numbers of (Mahayana)
teachers and texts (in North India in the second century AD) would seem to require
some previous preparation and development, and this we can look for in the South."
- Warder, A.K. (3rd edn. 1999). Indian Buddhism: p. 335.
Jump up ^ "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): p. 493
Jump up ^ "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 Mahyna.", Macmillan
Encyclopedia of Buddhism (2004): p. 493
Jump up ^ "What is particularly disconcerting here is the disconnect between
expectation and reality: We know from Chinese translations that large numbers of
Mahyna 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): p. 494
Jump up ^ "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 2nd century, and even then
what impact it had was extremely isolated and marginal, and had no lasting or longterm 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): p. 493

Jump up ^ "There are, it seems, very few things that can be said with certainty
about Mahayana Buddhism", Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (2004): p. 492
Jump up ^ "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): p. 492
Jump up ^ "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): p.
492
Jump up ^ Gombrich: "It is true that the term translated 'expounding in means',
upaya-kausalya, is post-canonical, but the exercise of expounding to which it refers,
the ability to adapt one's message to the audience, is of enormous importance in
the Pali Canon." Gombrich, Richard F. (1997). How Buddhism Began. Munshiram
Manoharlal: p. 17
Jump up ^ The Dharmakaya is in "Tibetan Buddhism [...] considered to be
equivalent to the mind of the Buddha", since it is synonymous with perfect
enlightenment (sabodhi).[52]
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Sources[edit]
"Mahayana". Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica. 2002.
Further reading[edit]
Beal (1871). Catena of Buddhist Scriptures from the Chinese, London, Trbner
Lowenstein, Tom (1996). The Vision of the Buddha, Boston: Little Brown, ISBN 1903296-91-9
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
Suzuki, D. T. (1914). "The Development of Mahayana Buddhism", The Monist Volume
24, Issue 4, 1914-10-01, p565-581
Suzuki, D. T. (1908). Outline of Mahayana Buddhism, Open Court, Chicago
Walser, Joseph (2007). The origin of the Term Mahayana and its relationship to the
Agamas, Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 30 (1-2), 219252
Williams, Paul (1989). Mahayana Buddhism, Routledge.
Karel Werner; Jeffrey Samuels; Bhikkhu Bodhi; Peter Skilling, Bhikkhu Anlayo, David
McMahan (2013). The Bodhisattva Ideal: Essays on the Emergence of Mahayana.
Buddhist Publication Society. ISBN 978-955-24-0396-5.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mahayana.
Wikisource has the text of the 1905 New International Encyclopedia article
Mahyna.
Digital Dictionary of Buddhism

Comparison of Buddhist Traditions (Mahayana - Therevada - Tibetan)

The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra: complete text and analysis.
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism
Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Berkeley[dead link], translations of
Mahayana sutras
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