Mahayana
In the course of its history, MahÄyÄna Buddhism spread from India to various other Asian countries such as Bangladesh, China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Bhutan, Malaysia, and Mongolia. Major traditions of MahÄyÄna Buddhism today include Zen, Chinese Chxn, Pure Land, Tiantai, and Nichiren. It also includes the VajrayÄna Buddhist traditions of Shingon, Tendai and Tibetan Buddhism, which add esoteric teachings to the MahÄyÄna tradition.
According to Jan Nattier, the term MahÄyÄna was originally an honorary synonym for BodhisattvayÄna ("Bodhisattva Vehicle") â€" the vehicle of a bodhisattva seeking buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. The term MahÄyÄna 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 BodhisattvayÄna, the creation of the term MahÄyÄna and its application to BodhisattvayÄna didn't represent a significant turning point in the development of a MahÄyÄna tradition.
The earliest MahÄyÄna texts often use the term MahÄyÄna as a synonym for BodhisattvayÄna, but the term HÄ«nayÄna is comparatively rare in the earliest sources. The presumed dichotomy between MahÄyÄna and HÄ«nayÄna can be deceptive, as the two terms were not actually formed in relation to one another in the same era.
The earliest textual evidence of "MahÄyÄna" comes from sÅ«tras originating around the beginning of the common era. Jan Nattier has noted that in some of the earliest MahÄyÄna texts such as the Ugraparipá¹›ccha SÅ«tra use the term "MahÄyÄna", yet there is no doctrinal difference between MahÄyÄna in this context and the early schools, and that "MahÄyÄna" referred rather to the rigorous emulation of Gautama Buddha in the path of a bodhisattva seeking to become a fully enlightened buddha.
There is also no evidence that MahÄyÄna 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. Paul Williams has also noted that the MahÄyÄna never had nor ever attempted to have a separate Vinaya or ordination lineage from the early schools of Buddhism, and therefore each bhiká¹£u or bhiká¹£uṇī adhering to the MahÄyÄna formally belonged to an early school. Membership in these nikÄyas, or monastic sects, continues today with the Dharmaguptaka nikÄya in East Asia, and the MÅ«lasarvÄstivÄda nikÄya in Tibetan Buddhism. Therefore MahÄyÄna was never a separate rival sect of the early schools. Paul Harrison clarifies that while MahÄyÄnists belonged to a nikÄya, not all members of a nikÄya were MahÄyÄnists. From Chinese monks visiting India, we now know that both MahÄyÄna and non-MahÄyÄna monks in India often lived in the same monasteries side by side.
This corpus of texts often includes emphasizes ascetic practices and forest dwelling, absorbed in states of meditative concentration.
Some of these were probably composed in the north of India in the 1st century CE. Some scholars think that the earliest MahÄyÄna sÅ«tras were mainly composed in the south of India, and later the activity of writing additional scriptures was continued in the north.[note 6] However, the assumption that the presence of an evolving body of MahÄyÄna scriptures implies the contemporaneous existence of distinct religious movement called "MahÄyÄna", may be a serious misstep.[note 7] Some scholars also speculate that the Prajnaparamita Sutras were written in response to Abhidharma's ultrarealism.
The earliest stone inscription containing a recognizably MahÄyÄna formulation and a mention of the Buddha AmitÄbha was found in the Indian subcontinent in Mathura, and dated to around 180 CE. Remains of a statue of a Buddha bear the BrÄhmÄ« inscription: "Made in the year 28 of the reign of King Huviá¹£ka,... for the Blessed One, the Buddha AmitÄbha." There is also some evidence that Emperor Huviá¹£ka himself was a follower of MahÄyÄna Buddhism, and a Sanskrit manuscript fragment in the Schxyen Collection describes Huviá¹£ka as having "set forth in the MahÄyÄna." Evidence of the name "MahÄyÄna" in Indian inscriptions in the period before the 5th century is very limited in comparison to the multiplicity of MahÄyÄna writings transmitted from Central Asia to China at that time.
During the period of early MahÄyÄna Buddhism, four major types of thought developed: MÄdhyamaka, YogÄcÄra, Buddha Nature, and Buddhist Logic as the last and most recent. In India, the two main philosophical schools of the MahÄyÄna were the MÄdhyamaka and the later YogÄcÄra.
Earlier stage forms of MahÄyÄna such as the doctrines of PrajxÄpÄramitÄ, YogÄcÄra, 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 sÅ«tras.
Late stage forms of MahÄyÄna Buddhism in India are found largely in the schools of Esoteric Buddhism. These were replaced in India and Central Asia after the early millennium by Islam and Hinduism, and in south-east Asia by TheravÄda Buddhism from Sri Lanka and Islam. They continue to exist in certain regions of the Himalayas. In contrast to the East Asian traditions, there has been a strong tendency in Tibetan Buddhism and the Himalayan traditions to approach the sÅ«tras indirectly through the medium of exegetical treatises if at all.
There is also a tendency in MahÄyÄna sÅ«tras to regard adherence to these sÅ«tras as generating spiritual benefits greater than those that arise from being a follower of the non-MahÄyÄna approaches to Dharma. Thus the ÅšrÄ«mÄlÄdevÄ« SÅ«tra claims that the Buddha said that devotion to MahÄyÄna is inherently superior in its virtues to the following the Å›rÄvaka or pratyekabuddha paths.
The fundamental principles of MahÄyÄna doctrine were based on the possibility of universal liberation from suffering for all beings and the existence of buddhas and bodhisattvas embodying Buddha Nature. The Pure Land school of MahÄyÄna simplifies the expression of faith by allowing salvation to be alternatively obtained through the grace of the AmitÄbha Buddha by having faith and devoting oneself to mindfulness of the Buddha. This devotional lifestyle of Buddhism has greatly contributed to the success of MahÄyÄna in East Asia, where spiritual elements traditionally relied upon mindfulness of the Buddha, mantras and dhÄraṇīs, and reading of MahÄyÄna sÅ«tras. In Chinese Buddhism, most monks, let alone lay people, practice Pure Land, some combining it with Chxn (Zen).
Most MahÄyÄna schools believe in supernatural bodhisattvas who devote themselves to the perfections, ultimate knowledge (Skt. sarvajxÄna), and the liberation of all sentient beings. In MahÄyÄna, 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 MahÄyÄna tradition holds that pursuing only the release from suffering and attainment of NirvÄṇa is too narrow an aspiration, because it lacks the motivation of actively resolving to liberate all other sentient beings from SaṃsÄra. One who engages in this path is called a bodhisattva.
The defining characteristic of a bodhisattva is bodhicitta, the intention to achieve omniscient Buddhahood 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." According to MahÄyÄna teachings, being a high-level bodhisattva involves possessing a mind of great compassion and transcendent wisdom (Skt. prajxÄ) to realize the reality of inherent emptiness and dependent origination. MahÄyÄna teaches that the practitioner will finally realize the attainment of Buddhahood.
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 PÄli canon."[note 9] In fact the PÄli term upÄya-kosalla does occur in the PÄli Canon, in the Sangiti Sutta of the Digha NikÄya.
Devotional†MahÄyÄna developed a rich cosmography, with various Buddhas and bodhisattvas residing in paradise realms. The concept of the three bodies supports these constructions, making the Buddha himself a transcendental figure. Dr. Guang Xing describes the MahÄyÄna Buddha as "an omnipotent divinity endowed with numerous supernatural attributes and qualities...[He] is described almost as an omnipotent and almighty godhead."
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, 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 MahÄyÄna 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, and Persian and Greco-Roman theologies, which filtered into India from the northwestâ€.
Buddha-nature, Buddha-dhatu or Buddha Principle, is taught differently in various Mahayana Buddhism traditions. Broadly speaking Buddha-nature is concerned with ascertaining what allows sentient beings to become Buddhas. The term, Buddha nature, is a translation of the Sanskrit coinage, 'Buddha-dhÄtu', which seems 1st to have appeared in the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, where it refers to 'a sacred nature that is the basis for [beings'] becoming buddhas.', and where it is also spoken of as the 'Self' (atman).
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