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Mahayana
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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. Mahayana can be described as a loosely bound bundle of many teachings, which was thus able to contain the various contradictions found between those differing teachings of whose elements it is comprised.
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.
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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. Mahayana can be described as a loosely bound bundle of many teachings, which was thus able to contain the various contradictions found between those differing teachings of whose elements it is comprised.
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.
Mahayana Buddhist schools de-emphasize the ideal, emphasized in Theravada, of the release from individual Suffering and attainment of Cessation. 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).
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 [True Dharma] of the Mahayana, even a little, is greater and vaster than all the wholesome dharmas of the Shravaka and Pratyekabuddha yanas [vehicles]." (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.
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.
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 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.
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.
CompassionCompassion, 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 [Hinayana] 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 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: 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. In fact the Pali term upaya-kosalla does occur in the Pali Canon, in the Sangiti Sutta of the Digha Nikaya.
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, and that this link is an uncreated element [dhatu] 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 [Buddha Principle, "Buddha Nature"] of beings inheres / abides within the five skandhas [transitory 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. Scholars also believe much the same about parts of the pali Canon, though disagreeing among themselves on how much and which.
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.
OriginsMahayana'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. 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.
ScripturesThe 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. 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.
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
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)
- J. J. M. de Groot, Le code de Mahayana en Chine, (Amsterdam, 1893)
- S. Kuroda, Outline of Mahayana, (Tokyo, 1893)
- D. T. Suzuki, Outline of Mahayana Buddhism, (London, 1907)
- Asvaghosa, Sutralamkasa trad. sur la version chinoise par Huber, (Paris, 1908)
- Haas, Amida Buddha unsere Zuflucht, (from the Japanese, Leipzig, 1910)
- Murdoch, History of Japan, volume i., (Yokohama, 1910)
- Walleser, Die mittlere Lehre des Nagarjuna, (translated from the Tibetan, Heidelberg, 1911; from the Chinese, ib., 1912)
- D. T. Suzuki, in The Monist, volume xxiv, (Chicago, 1914). The Monist was edited by Paul Carus.
External links-
- Contains many Mahayana Sutras
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Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama.
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