Mahayana Buddhism

The Great Vehicle

As the name implies, the Mahayana came to think
of itself as “great” both in its interpretations of the
Buddha’s teaching and in its openness to a broader
group of people, especially lay people. The
word yana means vehicle or raft which evokes the
image of Buddhist teaching as a raft or vehicle that
can help one cross over the river of suffering to the
“other shore.” The Mahayana is, thus, the “Great
Vehicle.”
It emerged out of monastic rule & doctrinal
differences within the original form of
Buddhist.

Open to more traditional religious views, it

has developed a wide appeal to common
people and gained tremendous ground in
becoming one of the most successful
missionary religions in the world.
Mahayana Buddhism encompasses a
wide range of philosophical schools,
metaphysical beliefs, and practical
meditative disciplines.

It is more widespread and has more

followers than Theravada Buddhism
and includes Zen and Soka-gakkai
Buddhism
It is practiced primarily in northern
half of the Buddhist world: in
China, Tibet, Korea, Mongolia,
Taiwan, Vietnam and Japan.
Mahayana Buddhism is not a
single group but a collection of
Buddhist traditions:

Zen Buddhism, Pure Land

Buddhism, and Tibetan Buddhism
are all forms of Mahayana
Buddhism.
The division between Mahayana and
Theravada is kind of comparable to
the divisions between Catholic,
Protestant and Eastern Orthodox
Christianity.

Just as there are many denominations

of Protestant Christianity, so too are
there many schools of Mahayana
Buddhism."
The embodiment of this Mahayana
ideal was the bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva is one who has

eliminated all desires and is therefore
eligible to pass into nirvana.
Out of a feeling of compassion for the
millions of other suffering creatures,
however, the bodhisattva withholds
his/her/its entry into nirvana to
remain in this world and help others.

The various bodhisattvas have taken

vows to remain in this world until all
creatures are ready to enter nirvana."
Mahayana Buddhism is not one, unified
entity.
“The division between Mahayana and
Theravada is roughly comparable to the
divisions like Catholic vs. Protestant or
Roman Catholic vs. Eastern Orthodox in
Christianity.
Just as there are many denominations of
Protestant Christianity, so too are there
many denominations of Mahayana
Buddhism.
The Mahayana tradition is more flexible about
the orthodoxy of scriptures, regarding many
new scriptures composed in the early centuries
CE as authentic teachings.

A number of new scriptures—the Lotus Sutra,

the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Mahaparinirvana
Sutra, and the Pure Land sutras—focus on
teachings such as the emptiness of all
phenomena (shunyata), the importance of
compassion (karuna), and the universality of
Buddha Nature.
The ideal religious figure in the
Mahayana tradition is
the bodhisattva, an enlightened
being engaged in helping others
become free from suffering.
The bodhisattva is motivated entirely by
compassion (karuna) and informed by
deep wisdom (prajna).

The bodhisattva ideal is often contrasted

with the monastic arahant (arhat) ideal,
characterized by some Mahayana schools
as being directed toward self-liberation
and thus as too egotistical.
 Historical Background
Mahasamghika (“of the Great Sangha”)
– one of the early buddhist schools.
– the source for the initial growth of Mahayana Buddhism

Second Buddhist Council

–occurred hundred years after Buddha’s parinirvana .

Sthavira nikaya (“Sect of the Elders”)

–another major Buddhist school, transpired during the 2 nd
Buddhist Council.

–new ideas concretized , resulting a new form of Buddhism quite different from
Siddharta Gautama.

–Mahayana Buddhism became a new religion.

 Siddhartha Gautama, the Historical Buddha
The Buddha seated in meditation, one hand on his lap, the
other pendant in a gesture known as earth-witness, which
represents unshakability or steadfastness when being
subject to the demons' temptations.
 Sacred Scripture
• Tripitaka (Sanskrit word for “Three Basket’s”)
-canonical text of Theravada Sch.
-accepted by Mahayana.

Canon of Mahayana Buddhism

1.Sutra Pitaka (Discourse)
2.Vinaya Pitaka (Discipline)
3.Abhidharma Pitaka (Ultimate Doctrine)
Sanskrit
–Mahayana Buddhism adopted.
–original language of transmission.

Lotus Sutra or Saddharmapundarika-sutra

–literally means “correct dharma white lotus
sutra” or “Sutra of the Lotus of the Wonderful
Law” in Sanskrit.
–presented as a discourse conveyed by
Siddharta before his eventual death.
–one of the most important texts in Mahayana
Buddhism.
–considered propitious or being a good omen.
–key idea of influential sutra all people
equally & inherently posses the “Buddha
nature” or Buddha-hood.
Sutra
–one of the discourses of the
historical Buddha.
–comprise of basic text of Buddhist
sacred
writing.
Buddha-hood
–happiness & freedom from fear &
illusions.
–attainment of enlightenment is
open to all.
 Beliefs & Doctrines
The Buddha
–born on 5th or 6th century in Nepal.
–considered the historical Buddha in Mahayana.

Trikaya has (“three bodies”)

– pertains the teaching of Mahayana Buddhism
about the nature of Buddha & reality.
–while Theravada Buddhism puts very limited
emphasis on trikaya.
The Mahayana doctrine of the Trikaya
says that each Buddha has 3 bodies. These
are called the dharmakaya, sambogakaya,
& nirmanakaya.
Very simply:
dharmakaya is the body of absolute truth,
sambogakaya is the body that
experiences the bliss of enlightenment,
& nirmanakaya is the body that manifests
in the world.
 Another way to understand the
Trikaya is to think of the:
dharmakaya as the absolute nature
of all beings,
sambogakaya as the blissful
experience of enlightenment
& the nirmanakaya as a Buddha in
human form.
– this doctrine is very well mentioned in
Mahayana Buddhism which states that each
Buddha has three bodies.

Three Bodies: it is a doctrine

–dharmakaya – absolute truth
–absolute nature of all beings
–the unity of all beings
–all phenomena unmanifested
–Ex.Something that is not
manifested in physical form.
–sambhogakaya – means “bliss body” or
“reward body”.
The bliss body is the body that feels the
bliss of enlightenment. It is also a Buddha as
an object of devotion. A sambhogakaya
Buddha is enlightened & purified of
defilements.
– experiences bliss of
enlightenment
– body of enjoyment
–nirmanakaya – means “emanation body” .
– body that manifest the world.
– physical body that undergoes,
birth, inhabits the world & dies in
the end.
This is the physical body that is born, walks the
earth, & dies.
Ex. is the historical Buddha, who was born & died.
However, this Buddha also has sambhogakaya &
dharmakaya forms as well.
 Bodhisattvas
Bodhisattva (“enlightened existence”)
–one of the distinct feature of
Mahayana
Buddhism.
–teaching about enlightened being
–embodiment of great compassion
 Bhumis and Paramitas
Buhumis (“grounds”of “land”)
–based on Mahayana tradition, a bodhisattva
must pass this before attaining the so-called
“Buddha-hood”

Paramitas (“perfections”)
–translated as “to cross over the other shore”
*imply crossing from the “sea of suffering “ to the
“shore of happines”.
 Worship & Observances
• Buddhism integrates religious practices & devotional
rituals w/ the objective of aiding worshippers in their
journey towards enlightenment & bringing blessings to
each and every one.
• Buddhist temples, they pray & chant to pay their
respect to the Buddhas.
• They offer vegetarian food & light incense to pay
homage to important divine beings.
• Mahayanna temples are sacred spaces.
• Mahayana rituals can be quite elaborate.
• Worshippers also recite chants & undertake pilgrimages
to site of Buddhist importance.
Stupa in Ajanta
• Ajanta (2nd century – 6th
century CE) sculpture showing
highly evolved skills of the early
Indian artists. A stupa belonging
to Cave 26 is shown with sculpted
figure of Buddha
• Meditational activities are
fundamental in almost popular
forms of Buddhism.
• Mudras are important symbols
for Mahayana Buddhism.
 Mahayana Symbolism
LOTUS FLOWER GOLDEN FISH PAIR
 Mahayana Symbolism
ENDLESS KNOT VICTORY BANNER
 Mahayana Symbolism
TREASURE VASE WHEEL OF DHARMA
Mahayana Symbolism
PARASOL CONCH SHELL
• Lotus flower - Representing purity
& enlightenment.
• Golden fish pair – Representing
conjugal happiness & freedom.
• Endless knot / Mandala –
Representing eternal harmony.
• Victory banner - Representing
victorious battle.
• Treasure Vase – Representing
inexhaustible treasure & wealth.
• Wheel of dharma / Chamaru in Nepali
Buddhism.
- Representing knowledge.
• Parasol – Representing the crown, &
protection from the elements.
• Conch Shell – Representing the
thoughts of the Buddha.
 Subdivisions
• Mahayana Buddhism consist of variety of schools &
family of religions.
• Philosophical side of Indian Mahayana Buddhism
was developed within the context of two major
schools:
–Madhyamika (“Intermediate”)
the first school to emerge.
human perception to handle the truth of
that which is ultimately real beyond any duality.
–Yogachara (“Practice of Yoga”)