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Mahayana is a major branch of Buddhist, along with Theravada. It is a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). Mahāyāna accepts the main scriptures and teachings of early Buddhism but also recognizes various doctrines and texts that are not accepted by Theravada Buddhism as original. These include the Mahāyāna sūtras and their emphasis on the bodhisattva path and Prajnaparamita.Harvey (2013), pp. 108-109. Vajrayana or Mantra traditions are a subset of Mahāyāna which makes use of numerous Tantra methods Vajrayānists consider to help achieve Buddhahood.Harvey (2013), p. 189.
Mahāyāna also refers to the path of the bodhisattva striving to become a fully awakened Buddha for the benefit of all sentience beings, and is thus also called the "Bodhisattva Vehicle" ( Bodhisattvayāna).Damien Keown (2003), A Dictionary of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, p. 38 Mahāyāna Buddhism generally sees the goal of becoming a Buddha through the bodhisattva path as being available to all and sees the state of the arhat as incomplete.Harvey (2013), p. 111. Mahāyāna also includes numerous Buddhas and bodhisattvas that are not found in Theravada (such as Amitābha and Vairocana). Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy also promotes unique theories, such as the Madhyamaka theory of emptiness ( śūnyatā), the Yogachara ("the doctrine of consciousness" also called "mind-only"), and the Buddha-nature teaching.
While initially a small movement in India, Mahāyāna eventually grew to become an influential force in Indian Buddhism. (2025). 9780415858809, Routledge. ISBN 9780415858809 Large scholastic centers associated with Mahāyāna such as Nalanda and Vikramashila thrived between the 7th and 12th centuries. In the course of its history, Mahāyāna Buddhism spread from South Asia to East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Himalayas. Various Mahāyāna traditions are the predominant forms of Buddhism found in China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. Since Vajrayana is a tantric form of Mahāyāna, Mahāyāna Buddhism is also dominant in Tibet, Mongolia, Bhutan, and other Himalayan regions. It has also been traditionally present elsewhere in Asia as a minority among Buddhist communities in Nepal, Malaysia, Indonesia and regions with Asian diaspora communities.
As of 2010, the Mahāyāna tradition was the largest major tradition of Buddhism, with 53% of Buddhists belonging to East Asian Mahāyāna and 6% to Vajrayana, compared to 36% to Theravada.
The earliest Mahāyāna texts, such as the Lotus Sutra, often use the term Mahāyāna as a synonym for Bodhisattvayāna, but the term Hinayana is comparatively rare in the earliest sources. The presumed dichotomy between Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna can be deceptive, as the two terms were not actually formed in relation to one another in the same era.Nattier, Jan (2003), A few good men: the Bodhisattva path according to the Inquiry of Ugra: p. 172
Among the earliest and most important references to Mahāyāna are those that occur in the Lotus Sutra (Skt. Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra) dating between the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE.W. Rahula, (1996). Theravada – Mahayana Buddhism ; in: "Gems of Buddhist Wisdom", Buddhist Missionary Society, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Seishi Karashima has suggested that the term first used in an earlier Gandhāri Prakrit version of the Lotus Sūtra was not the term mahāyāna but the Prakrit word mahājāna in the sense of mahājñāna (great knowing).Williams, Paul. Buddhism. Vol. 3. The origins and nature of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Routledge. 2004. p. 50.Karashima, Seishi (2000), Who composed the Lotus Sutra?, Annual Report of The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University 4, p. 170 (note 115) At a later stage when the early Prakrit word was converted into Sanskrit, this mahājāna, being phonetically ambivalent, may have been converted into mahāyāna, 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: yāna).Karashima, Seishi (2015), Vehicle (yāna) and Wisdom (jñāna) in the Lotus Sutra – the Origin of the Notion of yāna in Mahayāna Buddhism, Annual Report of The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University 18, 163–196
The lay origins theory was first proposed by Jean Przyluski and then defended by Étienne Lamotte and Akira Hirakawa. This view states that laypersons were particularly important in the development of Mahāyāna and is partly based on some texts like the Vimalakirti Sūtra, which praise lay figures at the expense of monastics. This theory is no longer widely accepted since numerous early Mahāyāna works promote monasticism and asceticism."One of the most frequent assertions about the Mahayana is that it was a lay-influenced, or even lay-inspired and dominated, movement that arose in response to the increasingly closed, cold, and scholastic character of monastic Buddhism. This, however, now appears to be wrong on all counts...much of its Hinayana's program being in fact intended and designed to allow laymen and women and donors the opportunity and means to make religious merit." Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (2004): p. 494
The Mahāsāṃghika origin theory, which argues that Mahāyāna developed within the Mahāsāṃghika tradition.Drewes, David, Early Indian Mahayana Buddhism I: Recent Scholarship, Religion Compass 4/2 (2010): 55–65, This is defended by scholars such as Hendrik Kern, A.K. Warder and Paul Williams who argue that at least some Mahāyāna elements developed among Mahāsāṃghika communities (from the 1st century BCE onwards), possibly in the area along the Krishna River in the Āndhra region of southern India.Guang Xing. The Concept of the Buddha: Its Evolution from Early Buddhism to the Trikaya Theory. 2004. pp. 65–66 "Several scholars have suggested that the Prajñāpāramitā probably developed among the Mahasamghikas in Southern India, in the Andhra country, on the Krishna River."Williams, Paul. Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations 2nd edition. Routledge, 2009, p. 47.Akira, Hirakawa (translated and edited by Paul Groner) (1993. A History of Indian Buddhism. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass: pp. 253, 263, 268"The south (of India) was then vigorously creative in producing Mahayana Sutras" – Warder, A.K. (3rd edn. 1999). Indian Buddhism: p. 335. The Mahāsāṃghika doctrine of the supramundane ( lokottara) nature of the Buddha is sometimes seen as a precursor to Mahāyāna views of the Buddha. Some scholars also see Mahāyāna figures like Nāgārjuna, Dignaga, Candrakīrti, Āryadeva, and Bhavaviveka as having ties to the Mahāsāṃghika tradition of Āndhra.Padma, Sree. Barber, Anthony W. Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra. SUNY Press 2008, p. 1. However, other scholars have also pointed to different regions as being important, such as Gandhara and northwest India.Karashima, 2013.Walser, Joseph, Nagarjuna in Context: Mahayana Buddhism and Early Indian Culture, Columbia University Press, 2005, p. 25.
The Mahāsāṃghika origins theory has also slowly been shown to be problematic by scholarship that revealed how certain Mahāyāna sutras show traces of having developed among other Nikaya School or monastic orders (such as the Dharmaguptaka).Williams, Paul, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, Routledge, 2008, p. 6. Because of such evidence, scholars like Paul Harrison and Paul Williams argue that the movement was not sectarian and was possibly pan-buddhist.Williams, Paul, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, Routledge, 2008, p. 16. There is no evidence that Mahāyāna 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 aspiring bodhisattvas.
The "forest hypothesis" meanwhile states that Mahāyāna arose mainly among "hard-core Asceticism, members of the forest dwelling ( aranyavasin) wing of the Buddhist Order", who were attempting to imitate the Buddha's forest living.Drewes, David, The Forest Hypothesis in Paul Harrison, ed., Setting Out on the Great Way. Equinox, 2018. This has been defended by Paul Harrison, Jan Nattier and Reginald Ray. This theory is based on certain sutras like the Ugraparipṛcchā Sūtra and the Mahāyāna Rāṣṭrapālapaṛiprcchā which promote ascetic practice in the wilderness as a superior and elite path. These texts criticize monks who live in cities and denigrate the forest life.Williams (2008), pp. 33-34.
Jan Nattier's study of the Ugraparipṛcchā Sūtra, A few good men (2003) argues that this sutra represents the earliest form of Mahāyāna, which presents the bodhisattva path as a 'supremely difficult enterprise' of elite monastic forest asceticism. Boucher's study on the Rāṣṭrapālaparipṛcchā-sūtra (2008) is another recent work on this subject.Boucher, Daniel, Bodhisattvas of the Forest and the Formation of the Mahāyāna: A Study and Translation of the.Rāṣṭrapālaparipṛcchā-sūtra. University of Hawaii Press, 2008
The cult of the book theory, defended by Gregory Schopen, states that Mahāyāna arose among a number of loosely connected book worshiping groups of monastics, who studied, memorized, copied and revered particular Mahāyāna sūtras. Schopen thinks they were inspired by cult shrines where Mahāyāna sutras were kept. Schopen also argued that these groups mostly rejected stupa worship, or worshiping holy relics.
David Drewes has recently argued against all of the major theories outlined above. He points out that there is no actual evidence for the existence of book shrines, that the practice of sutra veneration was pan-Buddhist and not distinctly Mahāyāna. Furthermore, Drewes argues that "Mahāyāna sutras advocate mnemic/oral/aural practices more frequently than they do written ones." Regarding the forest hypothesis, he points out that only a few Mahāyāna sutras directly advocate forest dwelling, while the others either do not mention it or see it as unhelpful, promoting easier practices such as "merely listening to the sutra, or thinking of particular Buddhas, that they claim can enable one to be reborn in special, luxurious 'pure lands' where one will be able to make easy and rapid progress on the bodhisattva path and attain Buddhahood after as little as one lifetime."
Drewes states that the evidence merely shows that "Mahāyāna was primarily a textual movement, focused on the revelation, preaching, and dissemination of Mahayana sutras, that developed within, and never really departed from, traditional Buddhist social and institutional structures."Drewes, David, Early Indian Mahayana Buddhism II: New Perspectives, Religion Compass 4/2 (2010): 66–74, Drewes points out the importance of dharmabhāṇakas (preachers, reciters of these sutras) in the early Mahāyāna sutras. This figure is widely praised as someone who should be respected, obeyed ('as a slave serves his lord'), and donated to, and it is thus possible these people were the primary agents of the Mahāyāna movement.
Early Mahayana came directly from "early Buddhist schools" and was a successor to them.
Some important evidence for early Mahāyāna Buddhism comes from the texts translated by the Indo-Scythians monk Lokakṣema in the 2nd century CE, who came to China from the kingdom of Gandhara. These are some of the earliest known Mahāyāna texts.
Indian Mahāyāna never had nor ever attempted to have a separate Vinaya or ordination lineage from the early schools of Buddhism, and therefore each Bhikkhu or Bhikkhuni adhering to the Mahāyāna formally belonged to one of the early Buddhist schools. Membership in these nikāyas, or monastic orders, continues today, with the Dharmaguptaka nikāya being used in East Asia, and the Mulasarvastivada nikāya being used in Tibetan Buddhism. Therefore, Mahāyāna was never a separate monastic sect outside of the early schools.Williams, Paul (2008) Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations: pp. 4–5
Paul Harrison clarifies that while monastic Mahāyānists belonged to a nikāya, not all members of a nikāya were Mahāyānists.Guang Xing. The Concept of the Buddha: Its Evolution from Early Buddhism to the Trikaya Theory. 2004. p. 115 From Chinese monks visiting India, we now know that both Mahāyāna and non-Mahāyāna monks in India often lived in the same monasteries side by side.Williams, Paul (2000) Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition: p. 97 It is also possible that, formally, Mahāyāna would have been understood as a group of monks or nuns within a larger monastery taking a vow together (known as a " kriyākarma") to memorize and study a Mahāyāna text or texts.Walser, Joseph, Nagarjuna in Context: Mahayana Buddhism and Early Indian Culture, Columbia University Press, 2005, p. 114.
The earliest stone inscription containing a recognizably Mahāyāna formulation and a mention of the Buddha Amitābha (an important Mahāyāna figure) was found in the Indian subcontinent in Mathura, and dated to around 180 CE. Remains of a statue of a Buddha bear the Brāhmī inscription: "Made in the year 28 of the reign of King Huvishka, ... for the Blessed One, the Buddha Amitābha." There is also some evidence that the Kushan Emperor Huviṣka himself was a follower of Mahāyāna. A Sanskrit manuscript fragment in the Schøyen Collection describes Huviṣka as having "set forth in the Mahāyāna."Neelis, Jason. Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks. 2010. p. 141 Evidence of the name "Mahāyāna" in Indian inscriptions in the period before the 5th century is very limited in comparison to the multiplicity of Mahāyāna writings transmitted from Central Asia to China at that time.
Based on Archaeology evidence, Gregory Schopen argues that Indian Mahāyāna remained "an extremely limited minority movement – if it remained at all – that attracted absolutely no documented public or popular support for at least two more centuries." Likewise, Joseph Walser speaks of Mahāyāna's "virtual invisibility in the archaeological record until the fifth century".Walser, Joseph, Nagarjuna in Context: Mahayana Buddhism and Early Indian Culture, Columbia University Press, 2005, p. 14. Schopen also sees this movement as being in tension with other Buddhists, "struggling for recognition and acceptance".Walser, Joseph, Nagarjuna in Context: Mahayana Buddhism and Early Indian Culture, Columbia University Press, 2005, p. 18. Their "embattled mentality" may have led to certain elements found in Mahāyāna texts like Lotus Sutra, such as a concern with preserving texts.
Schopen, Harrison and Nattier also argue that these communities were probably not a single unified movement, but scattered groups based on different practices and sutras. One reason for this view is that Mahāyāna sources are extremely diverse, advocating many different, often conflicting doctrines and positions, as Jan Nattier writes:Walser, Joseph, Nagarjuna in Context: Mahayana Buddhism and Early Indian Culture, Columbia University Press, 2005, pp. 16–17.
Still, even after the 5th century, the epigraphic evidence which uses the term Mahāyāna is still quite small and is notably mainly monastic, not lay. By this time, Chinese pilgrims, such as Faxian (337–422 CE), Xuanzang (602–664), Yijing (635–713 CE) were traveling to India, and their writings do describe monasteries which they label 'Mahāyāna' as well as monasteries where both Mahāyāna monks and non-Mahāyāna monks lived together.Walser, Joseph, Nagarjuna in Context: Mahayana Buddhism and Early Indian Culture, Columbia University Press, 2005, pp. 40–41.
After the fifth century, Mahāyāna Buddhism and its institutions slowly grew in influence. Some of the most influential institutions became massive monastic university complexes such as Nalanda (established by the 5th-century CE Gupta Empire emperor, Kumaragupta I) and Vikramashila (established under Dharmapala c. 783 to 820) which were centers of various branches of scholarship, including Mahāyāna philosophy. The Nalanda complex eventually became the largest and most influential Buddhist center in India for centuries.The Gupta Empire by Radhakumud Mookerji p. 133 sq Even so, as noted by Paul Williams, "it seems that fewer than 50 percent of the monks encountered by Xuanzang (Hsüan-tsang; c. 600–664) on his visit to India actually were Mahāyānists."Williams, Paul (2008) Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations: p. 44.
Mahāyāna spread from China to Korea, Vietnam, and Taiwan, which (along with Korea) would later spread it to Japan. Mahāyāna also spread from India to Myanmar, and then Sumatra and Malaysia. Mahāyāna spread from Sumatra to other Indonesian islands, including Java and Borneo, the Philippines, Cambodia, and eventually, Indonesian Mahāyāna traditions made it to China.
By the fourth century, Chinese monks like Faxian (c. 337–422 CE) had also begun to travel to India (now dominated by the Gupta Empire) to bring back Buddhist teachings, especially Mahāyāna works.Dutt, Nalinaksha (1978). Mahāyāna Buddhism, pp. 35-36. Delhi. These figures also wrote about their experiences in India and their work remains invaluable for understanding Indian Buddhism. In some cases Indian Mahāyāna traditions were directly transplanted, as with the case of the East Asian Madhymaka (by Kumārajīva) and East Asian Yogacara (especially by Xuanzang). Later, new developments in Chinese Buddhism led to new Chinese Buddhist traditions like Tiantai, Huayan, Pure Land and Chan Buddhism (Zen). These traditions would then spread to Korean Buddhism, Vietnam and Japan.
Forms of Mahāyāna Buddhism which are mainly based on the doctrines of Indian Mahāyāna sutras are still popular in East Asian Buddhism, which is mostly dominated by various branches of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Paul Williams has noted that in this tradition in the Far East, primacy has always been given to the study of the Mahāyāna sūtras.Williams, Paul (1989). Mahayana Buddhism: p. 103
Philosophically, Vajrayāna Buddhist thought remained grounded in the Mahāyāna Buddhist ideas of Madhyamaka, Yogacara and Buddha-nature.Wayman, Alex. The Buddhist Tantras: Light on Indo-Tibetan Esotericism, 2013, p 3.Snellgrove, David. (1987) Indo-Tibetan Buddhism: Indian Buddhists and their Tibetan successors. pp 125. Tantric Buddhism generally deals with new forms of meditation and ritual which often makes use of the visualization of Buddhist deities (including Buddhas, bodhisattvas, , and fierce deities) and the use of mantras. Most of these practices are esoteric and require ritual initiation or introduction by a tantric master ( vajracarya) or guru.Williams and Tribe (2002), pp. 195, 198.
The source and early origins of Vajrayana remain a subject of debate among scholars. Some scholars like Alexis Sanderson argue that Vajrayāna derives its tantric content from Shaivism and that it developed as a result of royal courts sponsoring both Buddhism and Shaivism. Sanderson argues that Vajrayāna works like the Samvara and Guhyasamaja texts show direct borrowing from Shaiva Agamas.
Whatever the case, this new tantric form of Mahāyāna Buddhism became extremely influential in India, especially in Kashmir and in the lands of the Pala Empire. It eventually also spread north into Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and to East Asia. Vajrayāna remains the dominant form of Tibetan Buddhism, in surrounding regions like Bhutan and in Mongolia. Esoteric elements are also an important part of East Asian Buddhism where it is referred to by various terms. These include: Zhēnyán (Chinese language: 真言, literally "true word", referring to mantra), Mìjiao (Chinese: 密教; Esoteric Teaching), Mìzōng (密宗; "Esoteric Tradition") or Tángmì (唐密; "Tang (Dynasty) Esoterica") in Chinese and Shingon Buddhism, Tomitsu, Mikkyo, and Tendai in Japanese.
Broadly speaking, Mahāyāna Buddhists accept the classic Buddhist doctrines found in early Buddhism (i.e. the Nikāya and Āgamas), such as the Middle Way, Dependent origination, the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, the Three Jewels, the Three marks of existence and the bodhipakṣadharmas (aids to awakening). Mahāyāna Buddhism further accepts some of the ideas found in Buddhist Abhidharma thought. However, Mahāyāna also adds numerous Mahāyāna texts and doctrines, which are seen as definitive and in some cases superior teachings. D.T. Suzuki described the broad range and doctrinal liberality of Mahāyāna as "a vast ocean where all kinds of living beings are allowed to thrive in a most generous manner, almost verging on a chaos".Suzuki, Daisetz Teitaro (1998). Studies in the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, p. 90. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
Paul Williams refers to the main impulse behind Mahāyāna as the vision which sees the motivation to achieve Buddhahood for sake of other beings as being the supreme religious motivation. This is the way that Atisha defines Mahāyāna in his Bodhipathapradipa.Williams and Tribe (2002), pp. 101-102. As such, according to Williams, "Mahāyāna is not as such an institutional identity. Rather, it is inner motivation and vision, and this inner vision can be found in anyone regardless of their institutional position."Williams and Tribe (2002), p. 102. Thus, instead of a specific school or sect, Mahāyāna is a "family term" or a religious tendency, which is united by "a vision of the ultimate goal of attaining full Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings (the 'bodhisattva ideal') and also (or eventually) a belief that Buddhas are still around and can be contacted (hence the possibility of an ongoing revelation)."Williams and Tribe (2002), p. 103.
An important feature of Mahāyāna is the way that it understands the nature of a Buddha, which differs from non-Mahāyāna understandings. Mahāyāna texts not only often depict numerous Buddhas besides Gautama Buddha, but see them as transcendental or supramundane ( lokuttara) beings with great powers and huge lifetimes. The Lotus Sutra famously describes the lifespan of the Buddha as immeasurable and states that he actually achieved Buddhahood countless of eons ( kalpas) ago and has been teaching the Dharma through his numerous avatars for an unimaginable period of time.Hurvitz, Leon (2009), Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma: The Lotus Sutra (Rev. ed.), p. 239. New York: Columbia university press, Teiser, Stephen F.; Stone, Jacqueline Ilyse (2009), Interpreting the Lotus Sutra; in: Teiser, Stephen F.; Stone, Jacqueline Ilyse; eds. Readings of the Lotus Sutra, New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 1–61, The Mahāyāna Sūtra "The White Lotus of the Good Dharma" (Saddharmapuṇḍarīkanāmamahāyānasūtra, dam pa'i chos pad ma dkar po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo) , "Introduction". Toh 113 Degé Kangyur, vol. 51 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1.b–180.b. Translated by Peter Alan Roberts under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. First published 2018. Current version v 1.14.15 (2021).
Furthermore, Buddhas are active in the world, constantly devising ways to teach and help all sentient beings. According to Paul Williams, in Mahāyāna, a Buddha is often seen as "a spiritual king, relating to and caring for the world", rather than simply a teacher who after his death "has completely 'gone beyond' the world and its cares".Williams, Paul, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, Routledge, 2008, p. 27. Gautama Buddha's life and death on earth are then usually understood Docetism as a "mere appearance", his death is a show, while in actuality he remains out of compassion to help all sentient beings. Similarly, Guang Xing describes the Buddha in Mahāyāna as an Omnipotence and almighty divinity "endowed with numerous supernatural attributes and qualities".Guang Xing (2005). The Three Bodies of the Buddha: The Origin and Development of the Trikaya Theory. Oxford: Routledge Curzon: pp. 1, 85 Mahayana Buddhologies have often been compared to various types of theism (including pantheism) by different scholars, though there is disagreement among scholars regarding this issue as well on the general relationship between Buddhism and Theism.
The idea that Buddhas remain accessible is extremely influential in Mahāyāna and also allows for the possibility of having a reciprocal relationship with a Buddha through prayer, visions, devotion and revelations.Williams and Tribe (2002), p. 171. Through the use of various practices, a Mahāyāna devotee can aspire to be reborn in a Buddha's pure land or buddha field ( Pure land), where they can strive towards Buddhahood in the best possible conditions. Depending on the sect, liberation into a buddha-field can be obtained by faith, meditation, or sometimes even by the Nianfo. Faith-based devotional practices focused on rebirth in pure lands are common in East Asia Pure Land Buddhism.Dr. Guang Xing, The Three Bodies of the Buddha: The Origin and Development of the Trikaya Theory, Routledge Curzon, Oxford, 2005, p. 1
The influential Mahāyāna concept of Trikaya ( trikāya) of a Buddha developed to make sense of the transcendental nature of the Buddha. This doctrine holds that the "bodies of magical transformation" ( nirmāṇakāyas) and the "enjoyment bodies" ( saṃbhogakāya) are emanations from the ultimate Buddha body, the Dharmakaya, which is none other than the ultimate reality itself, i.e. emptiness or Thusness.Williams and Tribe (2002), pp. 172-175.
This wish to help others by entering the Mahāyāna path is called bodhicitta and someone who engages in this path to complete buddhahood is a bodhisattva. High level bodhisattvas (with eons of practice) are seen as extremely powerful supramundane beings. They are objects of devotion and prayer throughout the Mahāyāna world.Williams and Tribe (2002), pp. 188-189. Popular bodhisattvas which are revered across Mahāyāna include Avalokiteshvara, Manjushri, Tara and Maitreya. Bodhisattvas could reach the personal nirvana of the , but they reject this goal and remain in saṃsāra to help others out of compassion.Xinru Liu, The Silk Road in World History, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), 53.Williams, Paul, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, Routledge, 2008, p. 60.
According to eighth-century Mahāyāna philosopher Haribhadra, the term "bodhisattva" can technically refer to those who follow any of the three vehicles, since all are working towards bodhi (awakening) and hence the technical term for a Mahāyāna bodhisattva is a mahāsattva (great being) bodhisattva.Williams, Paul, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, Routledge, 2008, p. 55. According to Paul Williams, a Mahāyāna bodhisattva is best defined as:
There are two models for the nature of the bodhisattvas, which are seen in the various Mahāyāna texts. One is the idea that a bodhisattva must postpone their awakening until full Buddhahood is attained. This could take eons and in the meantime, they will help countless beings. After reaching Buddhahood, they do pass on to nirvāṇa (after which they do not return). The second model is the idea that there are two kinds of nirvāṇa, the nirvāṇa of an arhat and a superior type of nirvāṇa called apratiṣṭhita (non-abiding, not-established) that allows a Buddha to remain forever engaged in the world. As noted by Paul Williams, the idea of apratiṣṭhita nirvāṇa may have taken some time to develop and is not obvious in some of the early Mahāyāna literature.
The bodhisattva's spiritual path is traditionally held to begin with the revolutionary event called the "arising of the Awakening Mind" ( bodhicittotpāda), which is the wish to become a Buddha in order to help all beings. This is achieved in different ways, such as the meditation taught by the Indian master Shantideva in his Bodhicaryavatara called "equalising self and others and exchanging self and others". Other Indian masters like Atisha and Kamalashila also teach a meditation in which we contemplate how all beings have been our close relatives or friends in past lives. This contemplation leads to the arising of deep love ( maitrī) and compassion ( karuṇā) for others, and thus bodhicitta is generated.Williams and Tribe (2002), pp. 177-178. According to the Indian philosopher Shantideva, when great compassion and bodhicitta arises in a person's heart, they cease to be an ordinary person and become a "son or daughter of the Buddhas".
The idea of the bodhisattva is not unique to Mahāyāna Buddhism and it is found in Theravada and other early Buddhist schools. However, these schools held that becoming a bodhisattva required a prediction of one's future Buddhahood in the presence of a living Buddha.Drewes, David, Mahayana Sutras, forthcoming in Blackwell Companion to South and Southeast Asian Buddhism, Updated 2016 In Mahāyāna, the term bodhisattva is applicable to any person from the moment they intend to become a Buddha (i.e. the moment in which bodhicitta arises in their mind) and without the requirement of a living Buddha being present. Some Mahāyāna sūtras like the Lotus Sutra promote the bodhisattva path as being universal and open to everyone. Other texts disagree with this and state that only some beings have the capacity for Buddhahood.Williams, Paul, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, Routledge, 2008, pp. 29, 36, 43.
The generation of bodhicitta may then be followed by the taking of the ( praṇidhāna) to "lead to Nirvana the whole immeasurable world of beings" as the Prajñaparamita sutras state. This compassionate commitment to help others is the central characteristic of the Mahāyāna bodhisattva.Williams, Paul, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, Routledge, 2008, p. 56, 200. These vows may be accompanied by certain ethical guidelines called bodhisattva precepts. Numerous sutras also state that a key part of the bodhisattva path is the practice of a set of virtues called pāramitās (transcendent or supreme virtues). Sometimes six are outlined: giving, ethical discipline, patient endurance, diligence, meditation and transcendent wisdom.Nagarjuna, B. Dharmamitra (trans), Nagarjuna on the Six Perfections, Kalavinka Press, 2009.
Other sutras (like the Daśabhūmika) give a list of ten, with the addition of Upaya (skillful means), Bodhisattva vow (vow, resolution), Five Strengths (spiritual power) and Jnana (knowledge).
The Daśabhūmika Sūtra as well as other texts also outline a series of bodhisattva levels or spiritual stages ( bhūmis ) on the path to Buddhahood. The various texts disagree on the number of stages however, the Daśabhūmika giving ten for example (and mapping each one to the ten paramitas), the Bodhisattvabhūmi giving seven and thirteen and the Avatamsaka Sutra outlining 40 stages.
In later Mahāyāna scholasticism, such as in the work of Kamalashila and Atiśa, the five paths and ten bhūmi systems are merged and this is the progressive path model that is used in Tibetan Buddhism. According to Paul Williams, in these systems, the first bhūmi is reached once one attains "direct, nonconceptual and nondual insight into emptiness in meditative absorption", which is associated with the path of seeing ( darśana-mārga). At this point, a bodhisattva is considered an ārya (a noble being).Williams and Tribe (2002), p. 179.
A closely related teaching is the doctrine of the One Vehicle ( ekayāna). This teaching states that even though the Buddha is said to have taught three vehicles (the disciples' vehicle, the vehicle of solitary Buddhas and the bodhisattva vehicle, which are accepted by all early Buddhist schools), these actually are all skillful means which lead to the same place: Buddhahood. Therefore, there really are not three vehicles in an ultimate sense, but one vehicle, the supreme vehicle of the Buddhas, which is taught in different ways depending on the faculties of individuals. Even those beings who think they have finished the path (i.e. the ) are actually not done, and they will eventually reach Buddhahood.
This doctrine was not accepted in full by all Mahāyāna traditions. The Yogācāra school famously defended an alternative theory that held that not all beings could become Buddhas. This became a subject of much debate throughout Mahāyāna Buddhist history.Lopez, Donald (2016), The Lotus Sutra: A Biography, pp. 37-40. Princeton University Press,
Because of this, all dharmas (things, phenomena), even the Buddha's Teaching, the Buddha himself, Nirvana and all living beings, are like "illusions" or "magic" ( māyā) and "dreams" ( svapna).Shi Huifeng, Is "Illusion" a Prajñāpāramitā Creation? The Birth and Death of a Buddhist Cognitive Metaphor, Fo Guang University, Journal of Buddhist Philosophy, Vol. 2, 2016. This emptiness or lack of real existence applies even to the apparent arising and ceasing of phenomena. Because of this, all phenomena are also described as unarisen ( Anutpada), unborn ( ajata), "beyond coming and going" in the Prajñāpāramitā literature.Orsborn, Matthew Bryan. "Chiasmus in the Early Prajñāpāramitā: Literary Parallelism Connecting Criticism & Hermeneutics in an Early Mahāyāna Sūtra", University of Hong Kong, 2012, page 233.Conze, Edward. The Ontology of the Prajnaparamita, Philosophy East and West Vol.3 (1953) PP.117-129, University of Hawaii Press Most famously, the Heart Sutra states that "all phenomena are empty, that is, without characteristic, unproduced, unceased, stainless, not stainless, undiminished, unfilled".Lopez, Donald S. (1988). The Heart Sutra Explained: Indian and Tibetan Commentaries, p. 19. SUNY Press. The Prajñāpāramitā texts also use various metaphors to describe the nature of things, for example, the Diamond Sutra compares phenomena to: "A shooting star, a clouding of the sight, a lamp, an illusion, a drop of dew, a bubble, a dream, a lightning's flash, a thunder cloud."
Prajñāpāramitā is also associated with not grasping, not taking a stand on or "not taking up" ( aparigṛhīta) anything in the world. The Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra explains it as "not grasping at form, not grasping at sensation, perception, volitions and cognition".Orsborn, Matthew Bryan (2012). "Chiasmus in the Early Prajñāpāramitā: Literary Parallelism Connecting Criticism & Hermeneutics in an Early Mahāyāna Sūtra", University of Hong Kong, p. 201. This includes not grasping or taking up even correct Buddhist ideas or mental signs (such as "not-self", "emptiness", bodhicitta, vows), since these things are ultimately all empty concepts as well.Orsborn, Matthew Bryan (2012). "Chiasmus in the Early Prajñāpāramitā: Literary Parallelism Connecting Criticism & Hermeneutics in an Early Mahāyāna Sūtra", University of Hong Kong, p. 180-181.
Attaining a state of fearless receptivity ( Kshanti) through the insight into the true nature of reality ( Dharmata) in an intuitive, non-conceptual manner is said to be the prajñāpāramitā, the highest spiritual wisdom. According to Edward Conze, the "patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas" ( anutpattika-dharmakshanti) is "one of the most distinctive virtues of the Mahāyānistic saint."Conze, Edward; The Ontology of the Prajnaparamita, Philosophy East and West Vol.3 (1953) pp. 117-129, University of Hawaii Press. The Prajñāpāramitā texts also claim that this training is not just for Mahāyānists, but for all Buddhists following any of the three vehicles.Williams and Tribe (2002), p. 136.
In his writings, Nagarjuna attempts to show that any theory of intrinsic nature is contradicted by the Buddha's theory of dependent origination, since anything that has an independent existence cannot be dependently originated. The śūnyavāda philosophers were adamant that their denial of Svabhava is not a kind of nihilism (against protestations to the contrary by their opponents).Williams and Tribe (2002), pp. 70, 141.
Using the two truths theory, Madhyamaka claims that while one can speak of things existing in a conventional, relative sense, they do not exist inherently in an ultimate sense. Madhyamaka also argues that emptiness itself is also "empty", it does not have an absolute inherent existence of its own. It is also not to be understood as a transcendental absolute reality. Instead, the emptiness theory is merely a useful concept that should not be clung to. In fact, for Madhyamaka, since everything is empty of true existence, all things are just conceptualizations ( prajñapti-matra), including the theory of emptiness, and all concepts must ultimately be abandoned in order to truly understand the nature of things.
When this flow of mentality is seen as being empty of the subject-object duality we impose upon it, one reaches the non-dual cognition of "Thusness" ( tathatā), which is nirvana. This doctrine is developed through various theories, the most important being the eight consciousnesses and the three natures.Williams, Paul, Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition, 2002, pp. 89–91. The Saṃdhinirmocana calls its doctrine the 'third turning of the dharma wheel'. The Pratyutpanna sutra also mentions this doctrine, stating: "whatever belongs to this triple world is nothing but thought citta-mātra. Why is that? It is because however I imagine things, that is how they appear".
The most influential thinkers in this tradition were the Indian brothers Asanga and Vasubandhu. Yogachara philosophers developed their own interpretation of the doctrine of emptiness which also criticized Madhyamaka, in effect claiming it fell into nihilism.Williams, Paul, Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition, 2002, pp. 85, 91.
David Seyfort Ruegg explains this concept as the base or support for the practice of the path, and thus it is the "cause" ( hetu) for the fruit of Buddhahood. The Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra states that within the defilements is found "the tathagata's wisdom, the tathagata's vision, and the tathagata's body...eternally unsullied, and...replete with virtues no different from my own...the tathagatagarbhas of all beings are eternal and unchanging".Williams and Tribe (2002), p. 162.
The ideas found in the Buddha-nature literature are a source of much debate and disagreement among Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophers as well as modern academics.Williams, Paul, Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition, 2002, pp. 103, 108. Some scholars have seen this as an influence from Brahmanic Hinduism, and some of these sutras admit that the use of the term 'Self' is partly done in order to win over non-Buddhist ascetics (in other words, it is a skillful means).Williams, Paul, Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition, 2002, p. 109.Shiro Matsumoto, Critiques of Tathagatagarbha Thought and Critical Buddhism According to some scholars, the Buddha-nature discussed in some Mahāyāna sūtras does not represent a substantial self ( ātman) which the Buddha critiqued; rather, it is a positive expression of Shunyata ( śūnyatā) and represents the potentiality to realize Buddhahood through Buddhist practices. Similarly, Williams thinks that this doctrine was not originally dealing with ontological issues, but with "religious issues of realising one's spiritual potential, exhortation, and encouragement."
The Buddha-nature genre of sūtras can be seen as an attempt to state Buddhist teachings using positive language while also maintaining the middle way, to prevent people from being turned away from Buddhism by a false impression of nihilism.King, Sallie B. The Doctrine of Buddha-Nature is impeccably Buddhist. In: Jamie Hubbard (ed.), Pruning the Bodhi Tree: The Storm Over Critical Buddhism, Univ of Hawaii Press 1997, pp. 174–179. This is the position taken by the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, which states that the Buddhas teach the doctrine of tathāgatagarbha (which sounds similar to an atman) in order to help those beings who are attached to the idea of anatman. However, the sutra goes on to say that the tathāgatagarbha is empty and is not actually a substantial self.Daisetz T. Suzuki, tr. The 'Lankavatara Sutra', Parajna Press, Boulder, 1978, pp.69.Williams and Tribe (2002), p. 164.
A different view is defended by various modern scholars like Michael Zimmermann. This view is the idea that Buddha-nature sutras such as the Mahāparinirvāṇa and the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra teach an affirmative vision of an eternal, indestructible Buddhic Self. Shenpen Hookham, a western scholar and lama sees Buddha-nature as a True Self that is real and permanent.Hookham, Shenpen (1991). The Buddha Within. State University of New York Press: p. 104, p. 353 Similarly, C. D. Sebastian understands the Ratnagotravibhāga's view of this topic as a transcendental self that is "the unique essence of the universe".Sebastian, C.D. (2005), Metaphysics and Mysticism in Mahayana Buddhism. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications: p. 151; cf. also p. 110
One idea that Mahāyāna texts put forth is that Mahāyāna teachings were taught later because most people were unable to understand the Mahāyāna sūtras at the time of the Buddha and that people were ready to hear the Mahāyāna only in later times."Though the Buddha had taught the they were not in circulation in the world of men at all for many centuries, there being no competent teachers and no intelligent enough students: the sutras were however preserved in the Dragon World and other non-human circles, and when in the 2nd century AD adequate teachers suddenly appeared in India in large numbers the texts were fetched and circulated. ... However, it is clear that the historical tradition here recorded belongs to North India and for the most part to Nalanda (in Magadha)." AK Warder, Indian Buddhism, 3rd edition, 1999 Certain traditional accounts state that Mahāyāna sutras were hidden away or kept safe by divine beings like Nagas or bodhisattvas until the time came for their dissemination.
Similarly, some sources also state that Mahāyāna teachings were revealed by other Buddhas, bodhisattvas and devas to a select number of individuals (often through visions or dreams). Some scholars have seen a connection between this idea and Mahāyāna meditation practices which involve the visualization of Buddhas and their Buddha-lands.Williams, (2008), pp. 40–41.
Another argument that Indian Buddhists used in favor of the Mahāyāna is that its teachings are true and lead to awakening since they are in line with the Dharma. Because of this, they can be said to be "well said" ( subhasita), and therefore, they can be said to be the word of the Buddha in this sense. This idea that whatever is "well spoken" is the Buddha's word can be traced to the earliest Buddhist texts, but it is interpreted more widely in Mahāyāna.Williams, (2008), pp. 41-42. From the Mahāyāna point of view, a teaching is the "word of the Buddha" because it is in accord with the Dharma, not because it was spoken by a specific individual (i.e. Gautama Buddha).Hsuan Hua. The Buddha speaks of Amitabha Sutra: A General Explanation. 2003. p. 2 This idea can be seen in the writings of Shantideva (8th century), who argues that an "inspired utterance" is the Buddha word if it is "connected with the truth", "connected with the Dharma", "brings about renunciation of kleshas, not their increase" and "it shows the laudable qualities of nirvana, not those of samsara".Williams, (2008), p. 41.
The modern Japanese Zen Buddhist scholar D. T. Suzuki similarly argued that while the Mahāyāna sūtras may not have been directly taught by the historical Buddha, the "spirit and central ideas" of Mahāyāna derive from the Buddha. According to Suzuki, Mahāyāna evolved and adapted itself to suit the times by developing new teachings and texts, while maintaining the spirit of the Buddha.Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki (1907). Outlines of Mahaŷâna Buddhism, pp. 13-16.
There is also a tendency in Mahāyāna sūtras to regard adherence to these sūtras as generating spiritual benefits greater than those that arise from being a follower of the non-Mahāyāna approaches. Thus the Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra claims that the Buddha said that devotion to Mahāyāna is inherently superior in its virtues to following the śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha paths.Hookham, Dr. Shenpen, trans. (1998). The Shrimaladevi Sutra. Oxford: Longchen Foundation: p. 27
The commentary on the Abhidharmasamuccaya gives the following seven reasons for the "greatness" of the Mahayana:Werner, Karel; Samuels, Jeffrey; Bhikkhu Bodhi; Skilling, Peter; Bhikkhu Anālayo, McMahan, David (2013) The Bodhisattva Ideal: Essays on the Emergence of Mahayana, p. 97. Buddhist Publication Society.
The Prajnaparamita, and a large number of other Mahāyāna texts list six perfections:
This list is also mentioned by the Theravāda commentator Dhammapala, who describes it as a categorization of the same ten perfections of Theravada Buddhism. According to Dhammapala, Sacca is classified as both Śīla and Prajñā, Mettā and Upekkhā are classified as Dhyāna, and Adhiṭṭhāna falls under all six. Bhikkhu Bodhi states that the correlations between the two sets show there was a shared core before the Theravada and Mahayana schools split.
In the Ten Stages Sutra and the Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra, four more pāramitās are listed:
The Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra (compiled c. 4th century), which is the most comprehensive Indian treatise on Mahāyāna practice, discusses classic Buddhist numerous meditation methods and topics, including the four dhyānas, the different kinds of Samadhi, the development of insight ( vipaśyanā) and tranquility ( Samatha), the Satipatthana ( smṛtyupasthāna), the five hindrances ( Five hindrances), and classic Buddhist meditations such as the contemplation of unattractiveness, impermanence ( Impermanence), suffering ( Dukkha), and contemplation death ( maraṇasaṃjñā).Ulrich Timme Kragh (editor), The Foundation for Yoga Practitioners: The Buddhist Yogācārabhūmi Treatise and Its Adaptation in India, East Asia, and Tibet, Volume 1 Harvard University, Department of South Asian studies, 2013, pp. 51, 60 - 230.
Other works of the Yogācāra school, such as Asaṅga's Abhidharmasamuccaya, and Vasubandhu's Madhyāntavibhāga-bhāsya also discuss meditation topics such as mindfulness, Satipatthana, the 37 wings to awakening , and samadhi.
A very popular Mahāyāna practice from very early times involved the visualization of a Buddha while practicing mindfulness of a Buddha ( buddhānusmṛti) along with their Pure Land. This practice could lead the meditator to feel that they were in the presence of the Buddha and in some cases it was held that it could lead to visions of the Buddhas, through which one could receive teachings from them.Williams and Tribe (2002), pp. 109-110
This meditation is taught in numerous Mahāyāna sūtras such as the Pure Land sutras, the Akṣobhya-vyūha and the Pratyutpanna Samādhi.Skilton, Andrew. A Concise History of Buddhism. 1997. p. 104 The Pratyutpanna states that through mindfulness of the Buddha meditation one may be able to meet this Buddha in a vision or a dream and learn from them.Williams, Paul. Mahayana Buddhism the doctrinal foundations, 2nd edition, 2009, p. 40.
Similarly, the Samādhirāja Sūtra for states that: The Treasury of Blessings: A Practice of Buddha Śākyamuni by Mipham Rinpoche. Translated by Rigpa Translations. Lotsawa House.
East Asian Mahāyāna Buddhism also teaches numerous unique meditation methods, including the Chan (Zen) practices of Hua Tou, Koan, and silent illumination (Chinese: mòzhào, which developed into the Japanese shikantaza method). Indo-Tibetan Buddhism also includes numerous unique forms of Mahāyāna contemplations, such as tonglen ("sending and receiving"), lojong ("mind training") and samatha-vipasyana.
There are also numerous meditative practices that are generally considered to be part of a separate category rather than general or mainstream Mahāyāna meditation. These are the various practices associated with Vajrayana (also termed Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Buddhist Tantra, and Esoteric Buddhism). This family of practices, which include such varied forms as Deity Yoga, Dzogchen, Mahamudra, the Six Dharmas of Nāropa, the recitation of and , and the use of and , are very important in Tibetan Buddhism as well as in some forms of East Asian Mantrayāna like Chinese Esoteric Buddhism, Shingon Buddhism, and Tendai.
The surviving Āgamas in Chinese translation belong to at least two schools. Most of the Āgamas were never translated into the Tibetan canon, which according to Hirakawa, only contains a few translations of early sutras corresponding to the Nikāyas or Āgamas.Hirakawa, Akira, A History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna , Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1993, p. 74. However, these basic doctrines are contained in Tibetan translations of later works such as the Abhidharmakośa and the Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra.
In Mahāyāna Buddhism, the Mahayana sutras are often given greater authority than the Āgamas. The first of these Mahāyāna-specific writings were written probably around the 1st century BCE or 1st-century CE. Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (2004): p. 293Akira, Hirakawa (translated and edited by Paul Groner) (1993). A History of Indian Buddhism. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass: p. 252 Some influential Mahāyāna sutras are the Prajnaparamita sutras such as the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, the Lotus Sutra, the Pure Land sutras, the Vimalakirti Sutra, the Golden Light Sutra, the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Sandhinirmocana Sutra and the Tathāgatagarbha sūtras.
According to David Drewes, Mahāyāna sutras contain several elements besides the promotion of the bodhisattva ideal, including "expanded cosmologies and mythical histories, ideas of purelands and great, 'celestial' Buddhahood and bodhisattvas, descriptions of powerful new religious practices, new ideas on the nature of the Buddha, and a range of new philosophical perspectives." These texts present stories of revelation in which the Buddha teaches Mahāyāna sutras to certain bodhisattvas who vow to teach and spread these sutras after the Buddha's death.
Regarding religious praxis, David Drewes outlines the most commonly promoted practices in Mahāyāna sutras were seen as means to achieve Buddhahood quickly and easily and included "hearing the names of certain Buddhas or bodhisattvas, maintaining Buddhist precepts, and listening to, memorizing, and copying sutras, that they claim can enable rebirth in the Abhirati and Sukhavati, where it is said to be possible to easily acquire the merit and knowledge necessary to become a Buddha in as little as one lifetime." Another widely recommended practice is anumodana, or rejoicing in the good deeds of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
The practice of meditation and visualization of Buddhas has been seen by some scholars as a possible explanation for the source of certain Mahāyāna sutras which are seen traditionally as direct visionary revelations from the Buddhas in their pure lands. Paul Harrison has also noted the importance of dream revelations in certain Mahāyāna sutras such as the Arya-svapna-nirdesa which lists and interprets 108 dream signs.Williams, Paul, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, Routledge, 2008, pp. 40–41.
As noted by Paul Williams, one feature of Mahāyāna sutras (especially earlier ones) is "the phenomenon of laudatory self-reference – the lengthy praise of the sutra itself, the immense merits to be obtained from treating even a verse of it with reverence, and the nasty penalties which will accrue in accordance with karma to those who denigrate the scripture."Williams, Paul, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, Routledge, 2008, p. 46. Some Mahāyāna sutras also warn against the accusation that they are not the word of the Buddha ( buddhavacana), such as the Astasāhasrikā (8,000 verse) Prajñāpāramitā, which states that such claims come from Mara (the evil tempter).Williams, Paul, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, Routledge, 2008, p. 38. Some of these Mahāyāna sutras also warn those who would denigrate Mahāyāna sutras or those who preach it (i.e. the dharmabhanaka) that this action can lead to rebirth in hell.Williams, Paul, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, Routledge, 2008, p. 23.
Another feature of some Mahāyāna sutras, especially later ones, is increasing sectarianism and animosity towards non-Mahāyāna practitioners (sometimes called sravakas, "hearers") which are sometimes depicted as being part of the 'hinayana' (the 'inferior way') who refuse to accept the 'superior way' of the Mahāyāna. As noted by Paul Williams, earlier Mahāyāna sutras like the Ugraparipṛcchā Sūtra and the Ajitasena Sutra do not present any antagonism towards the hearers or the ideal of like later sutras do. Regarding the bodhisattva path, some Mahāyāna sutras promote it as a universal path for everyone, while others like the Ugraparipṛcchā see it as something for a small elite of hardcore ascetics.
In the 4th-century Mahāyāna Abhidharma work Abhidharmasamuccaya, Asanga refers to the collection which contains the āgamas as the Śrāvakapiṭaka and associates it with the sravaka and .Boin-Webb, Sara (tr). Rahula, Walpola (tr). Asanga. Abhidharma Samuccaya: The Compendium of Higher Teaching. 2001. pp. 199–200 Asaṅga classifies the Mahāyāna sūtras as belonging to the Bodhisattvapiṭaka, which is designated as the collection of teachings for bodhisattvas.
Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition also relies on numerous non-Mahayana commentaries (śāstra), a very influential one being the Abhidharmakosha of Vasubandhu, which is written from a non-Mahayana Sarvastivada–Sautrantika perspective.
Vasubandhu is also the author of various Mahāyāna Yogachara texts on the philosophical theory known as vijñapti-matra (conscious construction only). The Yogacara school philosopher Asanga is also credited with numerous highly influential commentaries. In East Asia, the Satyasiddhi was also influential.
Another influential tradition is that of Dignaga's Buddhist logic whose work focused on epistemology. He produced the Pramānasamuccaya, and later Dharmakirti wrote the Pramanavarttika, which was a commentary and reworking of the Dignaga text.
Later Tibetan and Chinese Buddhists continued the tradition of writing commentaries.
Some traditions of Tibetan Buddhism consider the teachings of Esoteric Buddhism and Vajrayana to be the third turning of the Dharma Wheel.Walser, Joseph G. Genealogies of Mahayana Buddhism: Emptiness, Power and the question of Origin Routledge, 2018, chapter 2. Tibetan teachers, particularly of the school, regard the second turning as the highest teaching, because of their particular interpretation of Yogācāra doctrine. The Tathagatagarbha teachings are normally included in the third turning of the wheel.
The different Chinese Buddhism traditions have different schemes of doctrinal periodization called panjiao which they use to organize the sometimes bewildering array of texts.
Yogacara, the other prominent Mahāyāna school in dialectic with the Mādhyamaka school, gave a special significance to the canon's Lesser Discourse on Emptiness (MA 190).Nagao, Gadjin M.; Kawamura, Leslie S., trans. (1991). Madhyamika and Yogachara. Albany: SUNY Press: p. 53. A passage there (which the discourse itself emphasizes) is often quoted in later Yogācāra texts as a true definition of emptiness.Nagao, Gadjin M.; Kawamura, Leslie S., trans. (1991). Madhyamika and Yogachara. Albany: SUNY Press: p. 200. According to Walpola Rahula, the thought presented in the Yogācāra school's Abhidharma-samuccaya is undeniably closer to that of the Pali Nikayas than is that of the Theravadin Abhidhamma.Dan Lusthaus, Buddhist Phenomenology. Routledge, 2002, p. 44, note 5. Lusthaus draws attention to Rahula's Zen and the Taming of the Bull.
Both the Mādhyamikas and the Yogācārins saw themselves as preserving the Buddhist Middle Way between the extremes of nihilism (everything as unreal) and substantialism (substantial entities existing). The Yogācārins criticized the Mādhyamikas for tending towards nihilism, while the Mādhyamikas criticized the Yogācārins for tending towards substantialism.Harvey, Peter (1993). An Introduction to Buddhism. Cambridge University Press: p. 106.
Key Mahāyāna 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 appear to have evolved from this idea.Analayo "The Luminous Mind in Theravāda and Dharmaguptaka Discourses" Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, 2017, 13: 10–51;Harvey, Peter (1989). Consciousness Mysticism in the Discourses of the Buddha. In Werner, Karel ed., The Yogi and the Mystic. Curzon Press: p. 97.
There are also some minor Mahāyāna traditions practiced by minority groups, such as Newar Buddhism practiced by the Newar people (Nepal) and Azhaliism practiced by the Bai people (Yunnan).
Furthermore, there are also various new religious movements which either see themselves as Mahāyāna or are strongly influenced by Mahāyāna Buddhism. Examples of these include Hòa Hảo, Won Buddhism, Triratna Buddhist Community and Soka Gakkai.
Lastly, there are various East Asian religious traditions which are strongly influenced by Mahāyāna Buddhism, though they may not be considered as being "Buddhist" per se. These include: Bon, Shugendo, Mongolian Yellow shamanism, Syncretized Shinto (shinbutsu-shūgō) and some of the Chinese salvationist religions.
Most of the major forms of contemporary Mahāyāna Buddhism are also practiced by Asian immigrant populations in the West and also by western convert Buddhists. For more on this topic see: Buddhism in the West.
Harvey gives the East Asian Mahāyāna Buddhist population in other countries as follows: Taiwanese Buddhists, 8 million; Malaysian Buddhists, 5.5 million; Singaporean Buddhists, 1.5 million; Hong Kong, 0.7 million; Indonesian Buddhists, 4 million, The Philippines: 2.3 million. Most of these are Han Chinese populations.
Chinese Buddhism can be divided into various different traditions ( zong), such as Sanlun, Faxiang, Tiantai, Huayan, Pure Land, Chan Buddhism, and Zhenyan. However, historically, most temples, institutions and Buddhist practitioners usually did not belong to any single "sect" (as is common in Japanese Buddhism), but draw from the various different elements of Chinese Buddhist thought and practice. This non-sectarian and eclectic aspect of Chinese Buddhism as a whole has persisted from its historical beginnings into its modern practice.Harvey, Peter (2013). An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices, pp. 213-218.
The modern development of an ideology called Humanistic Buddhism (Chinese language: 人間佛教; pinyin: rénjiān fójiào, more literally "Buddhism for the Human World") has also been influential on Chinese Buddhist leaders and institutions.Bingenheimer, Marcus (2007). "Some Remarks on the Usage of Renjian Fojiao 人間佛教 and the Contribution of Venerable Yinshun to Chinese Buddhist Modernism". In Hsu, Mutsu; Chen, Jinhua; Meeks, Lori (eds.). Development and Practice of Humanitarian Buddhism: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Hua-lien (Taiwan): Tzuchi University Press. pp. 141–161. . Chinese Buddhists may also practice some form of religious syncretism with other Chinese religions, such as Taoism.J. Ching (2016). Chinese Religions, p. 205. Springer. In modern China, the reform and opening up period in the late 20th century saw a particularly significant increase in the number of converts to Chinese Buddhism, a growth which has been called "extraordinary".Harvey, Peter (2013). An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices, p. 410.
While North Korea's Totalitarianism government remains repressive and ambivalent towards religion, at least 11 percent of the population is considered to be Buddhist according to Williams.Williams (2008), p. 412.
An estimate of the Japanese Mahāyāna Buddhist population is given by Harvey as 52 million and a recent 2018 survey puts the number at 84 million. It should also be noted that many Japanese Buddhists also participate in Shinto practices, such as visiting shrines, collecting amulets and attending festivals.Harvey, Peter (2013). An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices, p. 408.
Though Vietnamese Buddhism suffered extensively during the Vietnam War (1955–1975) and during subsequent communist takeover of the south, there has been a revival of the religion since the liberalization period following 1986. There are about 43 million Vietnamese Mahāyāna Buddhists.
Contemporary Northern Buddhism is traditionally practiced mainly in the Himalayas and in some regions of North Central Asia, including:Harvey, Peter (2013). An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices, p. 414.
Paul Williams writes that some modern Theravada meditation masters in Thailand are popularly regarded as bodhisattvas.Paul Williams, Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations. Taylor & Francis, 1989, p. 328.
The modern Theravāda school is usually described as belonging to Hīnayāna.Collins, Steven. 1990. Selfless Persons: Imagery and Thought in Theravāda Buddhism. p. 21
Adherents of Mahāyāna Buddhism disagreed with the substantialist thought of the Sarvāstivādins and Sautrantika, and in emphasizing the doctrine of sunyata, Kalupahana holds that they endeavored to preserve the early teaching.Kalupahana, David (2006). Mulamadhyamakakarika of Nagarjuna. Motilal Banarsidass: p. 6. The Theravādins too refuted the Sarvāstivādins and Sautrāntikas (and other schools) on the grounds that their theories were in conflict with the non-substantialism of the canon. The Theravāda arguments are preserved in the Kathavatthu.Kalupahana, David (2006). Mulamadhyamakakarika of Nagarjuna. Motilal Banarsidass: p. 24.
Some contemporary Theravādin figures have indicated a sympathetic stance toward the Mahāyāna philosophy found in texts such as the Heart Sutra (Skt. Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya) and Nāgārjuna's Fundamental Stanzas on the Middle Way (Skt. Mūlamadhyamakakārikā).Lopez, Donald S. and Dge-ʼdun-chos-ʼphel (2006). The Madman's Middle Way: Reflections on Reality of the Tibetan Monk Gendun Chopel. University of Chicago Press: p. 24.
Chinese translation
In Chinese language, Mahāyāna is called 大乘 ( dàshèng, or dàchéng), which is a calque of maha (great 大) yana (vehicle 乘). There is also the transliteration 摩诃衍那.《现代汉语词典》、《远东汉英大辞典》 The term appeared in some of the earliest Mahāyāna texts, including Emperor Ling of Han's translation of the Lotus Sutra.Nattier, Jan (2003), A few good men: the Bodhisattva path according to the Inquiry of Ugra: pp. 193–194 It also appears in the Chinese Āgamas, though scholars like Yin Shun argue that this is a later addition.《增一阿含經·勸請品·八經》：「爾時，尊者拘絺羅便說此偈：『種種果不同，眾生趣亦然， 自覺覺人者，我無此辯說。禪智解脫辯，憶本天眼通，能盡苦原本，我無此辯說。』爾時，須深女人便說此偈：『善逝有此智，質直無瑕穢，勇猛有所伏，求於 大乘行。』」印順〈雜阿含經部類之整編〉：「宋譯《雜阿含經》，譯出的時代遲了些，而譯者求那跋陀羅，是 – 位唯心大乘師，所以譯文中偶有大乘的名義。......「菩薩摩訶薩」的稱呼，受到了大乘的影響。不過，每成立 – 部派，就有部派所審定集成的經典，在傳承的同 – 宗派中，是不可能大事更張的。《雜阿含經》的「修多羅」部分，與『攝事分』所依經本 – 致，即可以證明。當然，經典在長期流傳中，會因時因地而有多少差別的。求那跋陀羅為唯心大乘師，所譯《雜阿含經》，就偶有 – 二大乘名義，然如依此而說宋譯《雜阿含經》，是大乘佛教時代所完成的，那就誤謬不經了！」 Some Chinese scholars also argue that the meaning of the term in these earlier texts is different from later ideas of Mahāyāna Buddhism.吳汝鈞《印度大乘佛教思想的特色》：「『阿含經』用「大乘」之名，大扺指佛的教法，而含有尊崇之意。這「大乘」自不同於爾後大乘佛教的「大乘」，但亦非全不相通。大乘佛教自有其發展，但其基本教理，並不遠離佛的本意。」
History
Origin
The origins of Mahāyāna are still not completely understood and there are numerous competing theories.Akira, Hirakawa (translated and edited by Paul Groner) (1993. A History of Indian Buddhism. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass: p. 260. The earliest Western views of Mahāyāna assumed that it existed as a separate school in competition with the so-called "Hinayana" schools. Some of the major theories about the origins of Mahāyāna include the following:
Early Mahāyāna
The earliest textual evidence of "Mahāyāna" comes from sūtras ("discourses", scriptures) originating around the beginning of Common Era. Jan Nattier has noted that some of the earliest Mahāyāna texts, such as the Ugraparipṛccha Sūtra use the term "Mahāyāna", yet there is no doctrinal difference between Mahāyāna in this context and the early schools. Instead, Nattier writes that in the earliest sources, "Mahāyāna" referred to the rigorous emulation of Gautama Buddha's path to Buddhahood.
(2025). 9780028657189, Macmillan Reference USA. ISBN 9780028657189Harrison, Paul 'Who Gets to Ride in the Great Vehicle? Self-image and Identity Among the Followers of Early Mahayana.' 1987. Study of these texts by Paul Harrison and others show that they strongly promote monasticism (contra the lay origin theory), acknowledge the legitimacy of , and do not show any attempt to establish a new sect or order. A few of these texts often emphasize Asceticism practices, forest dwelling, and deep states of meditative concentration ( samadhi).Williams, Paul (2008) Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations: p. 30.
Thus we find one scripture (the Akshobhya-vyuha) that advocates both srávaka and bodhisattva practices, propounds the possibility of rebirth in a pure land, and enthusiastically recommends the cult of the book, yet seems to know nothing of emptiness theory, the ten bhumis, or the trikaya, while another (the P'u-sa pen-yeh ching) propounds the ten bhumis and focuses exclusively on the path of the bodhisattva, but never discusses the paramitas. A Madhyamaka treatise (Nagarjuna Mulamadhyamika-karikas) may enthusiastically deploy the rhetoric of emptiness without ever mentioning the bodhisattva path, while a Yogachara treatise (Vasubandhu Madhyanta-vibhaga-bhasya) may delve into the particulars of the trikaya doctrine while eschewing the doctrine of ekayana. We must be prepared, in other words, to encounter a multiplicity of Mahayanas flourishing even in India, not to mention those that developed in East Asia and Tibet.
In spite of being a minority in India, Indian Mahāyāna was an intellectually vibrant movement, which developed various schools of thought during what Jan Westerhoff has been called "The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy" (from the beginning of the first millennium CE up to the 7th century).Westerhoff, Jan (2018). The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy, p. 5. Oxford University Press. Some major Mahāyāna traditions are Prajnaparamita, Madhyamaka, Yogacara, Buddha-nature ( Tathāgatagarbha), and the school of Dignaga and Dharmakirti as the last and most recent.Akira, Hirakawa (translated and edited by Paul Groner) (1993. A History of Indian Buddhism. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass: pp. 8–9 Major early figures include Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Aśvaghoṣa, Asanga, Vasubandhu, and Dignaga. Mahāyāna Buddhists seem to have been active in the Kushan Empire (30–375 CE), a period that saw great missionary and literary activities by Buddhists. This is supported by the works of the historian Taranatha.Dutt, Nalinaksha (1978). Mahāyāna Buddhism, pp. 16-27. Delhi.
Growth
The Mahāyāna movement (or movements) remained quite small until it experienced much growth in the fifth century. Very few manuscripts have been found before the fifth century (the exceptions are from Bamyan). According to Walser, "the fifth and sixth centuries appear to have been a watershed for the production of Mahāyāna manuscripts."Walser, Joseph, Nagarjuna in Context: Mahayana Buddhism and Early Indian Culture, Columbia University Press, 2005, p. 29. Likewise it is only in the 4th and 5th centuries CE that epigraphic evidence shows some kind of popular support for Mahāyāna, including some possible royal support at the kingdom of Shanshan as well as in Bamyan and Mathura.Walser, Joseph, Nagarjuna in Context: Mahayana Buddhism and Early Indian Culture, Columbia University Press, 2005, p. 34.
Expansion outside of India
Over time Indian Mahāyāna texts and philosophy reached Central Asia and China through trade routes like the Silk Road, later spreading throughout East Asia. Over time, Central Asian Buddhism became heavily influenced by Mahāyāna and it was a major source for Chinese Buddhism. Mahāyāna works have also been found in Gandhāra, indicating the importance of this region for the spread of Mahāyāna. Central Asian Mahāyāna scholars were very important in the Silk Road Transmission of Buddhism.Zürcher, Erik (1972). The Buddhist Conquest of China, p. 23. They include translators like Lokakṣema (c. 167–186), Dharmarakṣa (c. 265–313), Kumārajīva (c. 401), and Dharmakṣema (385–433). The site of Dunhuang seems to have been a particularly important place for the study of Mahāyāna Buddhism.
Later developments
Beginning during the Gupta Empire (c. 3rd century CE–575 CE) period a new movement began to develop which drew on previous Mahāyāna doctrine as well as new Pan-Indian Tantra ideas. This came to be known by various names such as Vajrayana (Tibetan: rdo rje theg pa), Mantrayāna, and Esoteric Buddhism or "Secret Mantra" ( Guhyamantra). This new movement continued into the Pala Empire (8th century–12th century CE), during which it grew to dominate Indian Buddhism.Williams and Tribe (2002), pp. 192-194. Possibly led by groups of wandering tantric yogis named , this movement developed new tantric spiritual practices and also promoted new texts called the Buddhist Tantras.Ray, Reginald A.; Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism, 2000
Alexis Sanderson (2025). 9785881347840, Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo. ISBN 9785881347840 However, other scholars such as Ronald M. Davidson question the idea that Indian Tantra developed in Shaivism first and that it was then adopted into Buddhism. Davidson points to the difficulties of establishing a chronology for the Shaiva tantric literature and argues that both traditions developed side by side, drawing on each other as well as on local Indian tribal religion.Davidson, Ronald M. (2004) Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement, pp. 206-214.
Worldview
Few things can be said with certainty about Mahāyāna Buddhism in general other than that the Buddhism practiced in Chinese Buddhism, Indonesia, Vietnam, Korean Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Mongolia and Japan is Mahāyāna Buddhism. Mahāyāna can be described as a loosely bound collection of many teachings and practices (some of which are seemingly contradictory). Mahāyāna constitutes an inclusive and broad set of traditions characterized by plurality and the adoption of a vast number of new Mahayana sutras, ideas and philosophical treatises in addition to the earlier Buddhist texts.
The Buddhas
Buddhahood and (beings on their way to Buddhahood) are central elements of Mahāyāna. Mahāyāna has a vastly expanded cosmology and Buddhist deities, with various Buddhas and powerful bodhisattvas residing in different worlds and buddha-fields ( buddha kshetra).Williams, Paul, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, Routledge, 2008, p. 21. Buddhas unique to Mahāyāna include the Buddhas Amitābha ("Infinite Light"), Akṣobhya ("the Imperturbable"), Bhaisajyaguru ("Medicine guru") and Vairocana ("the Illuminator"). In Mahāyāna, a Buddha is seen as a being that has achieved the highest kind of awakening due to his superior compassion and wish to help all beings.Williams and Tribe (2002), pp. 136-137, 185-186.
The Bodhisattvas
The Mahāyāna bodhisattva path ( mārga) or vehicle ( yāna) is seen as being the superior Spirituality by Mahāyānists, over and above the paths of those who seek or "solitary buddhahood" for their own sake ( Śrāvakayāna and Pratyekabuddhayāna).Williams and Tribe (2002), pp. 136-137. Mahāyāna Buddhists generally hold that pursuing only the personal release from suffering i.e. nirvāṇa is a smaller or inferior aspiration (called " hinayana"), because it lacks the wish and resolve to liberate all other sentient beings from saṃsāra (the round of rebirth) by becoming a Buddha. Williams (2008), pp. 27-30, 46.Conze, Edward, The Perfection of Wisdom in eight thousand lines and its verse summaryWilliams and Tribe (2002), p. 138.
that being who has taken the vow to be reborn, no matter how many times this may be necessary, in order to attain the highest possible goal, that of Complete and Perfect Buddhahood. This is for the benefit of all sentient beings.
The Bodhisattva Path
In most classic Mahāyāna sources (as well as in non-Mahāyāna sources on the topic), the bodhisattva path is said to take three or four asaṃkheyyas ("incalculable eons"), requiring a huge number of lifetimes of practice to complete.Drewes, David, Mahāyāna Sūtras and Opening of the Bodhisattva Path , Paper presented at the XVIII the IABS Congress, Toronto 2017, Updated 2019.Williams and Tribe (2002), p. 176. However, certain practices are sometimes held to provide shortcuts to Buddhahood (these vary widely by tradition). According to the Bodhipathapradīpa ( A Lamp for the Path to Awakening) by the Indian master Atiśa, the central defining feature of a bodhisattva's path is the universal aspiration to end suffering for themselves and all other beings, i.e. bodhicitta.Williams, Paul, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, Routledge, 2008, pp. 195–196.
(2025). 9780028657189, Macmillan Reference USA. ISBN 9780028657189 Prajñā (transcendent knowledge or wisdom) is arguably the most important virtue of the bodhisattva. This refers to an understanding of the emptiness of all phenomena, arising from study, deep consideration and meditation.
Bodhisattva levels
Various Mahayana sutras associate the beginning of the bodhisattva practice with what is called the "path of accumulation" or equipment ( saṃbhāra-mārga), which is the first path of the classic five paths schema.Williams, Paul, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, Routledge, 2008, pp. 200–201.
Skillful means and the One Vehicle
Skillful means or Expedient techniques (Skt. Upaya) is another important virtue and doctrine in Mahāyāna Buddhism.Pye, Michael (1978). Skillful Means – A concept in Mahayana Buddhism. London: Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd. The idea is most famously expounded in the Lotus Sutra, and refers to any effective method or technique that is conducive to spiritual growth and leads beings to awakening and nirvana. This doctrine states that, out of compassion, the Buddha adapts his teaching to whomever he is teaching. Because of this, it is possible that the Buddha may teach seemingly contradictory things to different people. This idea is also used to explain the vast textual corpus found in Mahāyāna.Williams and Tribe (2002), p. 169.
Prajñāpāramitā (Transcendent Knowledge)
Some of the key Mahāyāna teachings are found in the Prajnaparamita ("Transcendent Knowledge" or "Perfection of Wisdom") texts, which are some of the earliest Mahāyāna works.Williams and Tribe (2002), p. 131. Prajñāpāramitā is a deep knowledge of reality which Buddhas and bodhisattvas attain. It is a transcendent, non-conceptual and non-dual kind of knowledge into the true nature of things.Williams (2008) pp. 49-50. This wisdom is also associated with insight into the emptiness ( śūnyatā) of dharmas (phenomena) and their illusory nature ( māyā).Williams and Tribe (2002), p. 134. This amounts to the idea that all phenomena (Dharma theory) without exception have "no essential unchanging core" (i.e. they lack Svabhava, an essence or inherent nature), and therefore have "no fundamentally real existence".Williams, Paul, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, Routledge, 2008, p. 52. These empty phenomena are also said to be conceptual constructions.Williams and Tribe (2002), p. 135.
Madhyamaka (Centrism)
The Mahāyāna philosophical school termed Madhyamaka (Middle theory or Centrism, also known as śūnyavāda, 'the emptiness theory') was founded by the second-century figure of Nagarjuna. This philosophical tradition focuses on refuting all theories which posit any kind of substance, inherent existence or intrinsic nature ( Svabhava).Westerhoff, Jan (2009). Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka: A Philosophical Introduction, Oxford University Press, pp. 12, 25.
Vijñānavāda (The Consciousness doctrine)
Vijñānavāda ("the doctrine of consciousness", a.k.a. vijñapti-mātra, "perceptions only" and citta-mātra "mind only") is another important doctrine promoted by some Mahāyāna sutras which later became the central theory of a major philosophical movement which arose during the Gupta Empire called Yogachara. The primary sutra associated with this school of thought is the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra, which claims that śūnyavāda is not the final definitive teaching ( nītārtha) of the Buddha. Instead, the ultimate truth ( paramārtha-satya) is said to be the view that all things ( dharmas) are only mind ( citta), consciousness ( vijñāna) or perceptions ( vijñapti) and that seemingly "external" objects (or "internal" subjects) do not really exist apart from the dependently originated flow of mental experiences.Williams, Paul (2004), Mahayana Buddhism, Bury St. Edmunds, England: Routledge, pp. 78–81.
Buddha-nature
The doctrine of Tathāgata embryo or Tathāgata womb (Buddha-nature), also known as Buddha-nature, matrix or principle (Sanskrit: Buddha-dhātu) is important in all modern Mahāyāna traditions, though it is interpreted in many different ways. Broadly speaking, Buddha-nature is concerned with explaining what allows sentient beings to become Buddhas.Williams and Tribe (2002), p. 160. The earliest sources for this idea may include the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra and the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra.Paul Williams, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, Second Edition, Routledge, Oxford, 2009, p. 317 The Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa refers to "a sacred nature that is the basis for beings becoming buddhas",Kevin Trainor, Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 207 and it also describes it as the 'Self' ( atman).Zimmermann, Michael (2002), A Buddha Within: The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra, Biblotheca Philologica et Philosophica Buddhica VI, The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology, Soka University, pp. 82–83
Arguments for authenticity
Indian Mahāyāna Buddhists faced various criticisms from non-Mahāyānists regarding the authenticity of their teachings. The main critique they faced was that Mahāyāna teachings had not been taught by the Buddha, but were invented by later figures.Sree Padma. Barber, Anthony W. Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra. 2008. p. 68.Werner et al. (2013). The Bodhisattva Ideal: Essays on the Emergence of Mahayana. pp. 89, 93. Buddhist Publication Society. Numerous Mahāyāna texts discuss this issue and attempt to defend the truth and authenticity of Mahāyāna in various ways.Werner et al. (2013). The Bodhisattva Ideal: Essays on the Emergence of Mahayana. pp. 89-90, 211-212, 227. Buddhist Publication Society.
Claims of superiority
Mahāyāna often sees itself as penetrating further and more profoundly into the Buddha's Dharma. An Indian commentary on the Mahāyānasaṃgraha, gives a classification of teachings according to the capabilities of the audience:Hamar, Imre. Reflecting Mirrors: Perspectives on Huayan Buddhism. 2007. p. 94
Practice
Mahāyāna Buddhist practice is quite varied. A common set of virtues and practices which is shared by all Mahāyāna traditions are the six perfections or transcendent virtues ( pāramitā). Another central practice advocated by numerous Mahāyāna sources is focused around "the acquisition of merit, the universal currency of the Buddhist world, a vast quantity of which was believed to be necessary for the attainment of Buddhahood".Drewes, David, Mahayana Sutras, forthcoming in Blackwell Companion to South and Southeast Asian Buddhism, Updated 2016
Devotion, ritual and meritorious practices
Indian Mahayana Buddhist practice included numerous elements of devotion and ritual, which were considered to generate much merit (punya) and to allow the devotee to obtain the power or spiritual blessings of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. These elements remain a key part of Mahayana Buddhism today. Some key Mahayana practices in this vein include:
The bodhisattva perfections
Mahāyāna sūtras, especially those of the Prajñāpāramitā genre, teach the practice of the six transcendent virtues or perfections ( pāramitā) as part of the path to Buddhahood. Special attention is given to transcendent knowledge ( prajñāpāramitā), which is seen as a primary virtue.Williams (2008), pp. 50-51. According to Donald S. Lopez Jr., the term pāramitā can mean "excellence" or "perfection" as well as "that which has gone beyond" or "transcendence".Lopez, Donald S. Jr. (1988). The Heart Sutra Explained: Indian and Tibetan Commentaries, p. 21, SUNY Press. .
Meditation
Mahāyāna Buddhism teaches a vast array of meditation practices. These include meditations which are shared with the early Buddhist traditions, including Anapanasati; mindfulness of the unattractivenes of the body; loving-kindness; the contemplation of dependent origination; and mindfulness of the Buddha.Ven. Dr. Yuanci, A Study of the Meditation Methods in the DESM and Other Early Chinese Texts , The Buddhist Academy of China.Luk, Charles. The Secrets of Chinese Meditation. 1964. p. 125 In Chinese Buddhism, these five practices are known as the "five methods for stilling or pacifying the mind" and support the development of the stages of dhyana.Zhang, Shengyen; Dan Stevenson (2002). Hoofprint of the Ox: Principles of the Chan Buddhist Path as Taught by a Modern Chinese Master. Oxford University Press, pp. 27–28.
Those who, while walking, sitting, standing, or sleeping, recollect the moon-like Buddha, will always be in Buddha's presence and will attain the vast nirvāṇa. His pure body is the colour of gold, beautiful is the Protector of the World. Whoever visualizes him like this practises the meditation of the bodhisattvas.
In the case of Pure Land Buddhism, it is widely held that the practice of reciting the Buddha's name (called nianfo in Chinese and nembutsu in Japanese) can lead to rebirth in a Buddha's Pure Land, as well as other positive outcomes. In East Asian Buddhism, the most popular Buddha used for this practice is Amitabha.Luk, Charles. The Secrets of Chinese Meditation. 1964. p. 83
Scripture
Mahāyāna 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, Anatman, Shunyata, dependent origination, and the Four Noble Truths. Mahāyāna Buddhists in East Asia have traditionally studied these teachings in the Āgamas preserved in the Chinese Buddhist canon. "Āgama" is the term used by those traditional Buddhist schools in India who employed Sanskrit for their basic canon. These correspond to the Nikāyas used by the Theravāda school.Hirakawa, Akira, A History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna , Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1993, p. 74.
Mahāyāna sutras
In addition to accepting the essential scriptures of the early Buddhist schools as valid, Mahāyāna Buddhism maintains large collections of sūtras that are not recognized as authentic by the modern Theravada school. The earliest of these sutras do not call themselves 'Mahāyāna', but use the terms vaipulya (extensive) sutras, or gambhira (profound) sutras. These were also not recognized by some individuals in the early Buddhist schools. In other cases, Buddhist communities such as the Mahāsāṃghika school were divided along these doctrinal lines.
Other literature
Mahāyāna Buddhism also developed a massive commentarial and exegetical literature, many of which are called shastras (treatises) or vrittis (commentaries). Philosophical texts were also written in verse form ( karikās), such as in the case of the famous Mūlamadhyamika-karikā (Root Verses on the Middle Way) by Nagarjuna, the foundational text of Madhyamika philosophy. Numerous later Madhyamaka philosophers like Chandrakirti wrote commentaries on this work as well as their own verse works.
Classifications
Dating back at least to the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra 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":Joseph Kitagawa (2002). The Religious Traditions of Asia: Religion, History, and Culture. Routledge. : p. 80
Relationship with the early texts
Scholars have noted that many key Mahāyāna ideas are closely connected to the earliest texts of Buddhism. The seminal work of Mahāyāna philosophy, Nagarjuna Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, mentions the canon's Katyāyana Sūtra (SA 301) by name, and may be an extended commentary on that work.Kalupahana, David (2006). Mulamadhyamakakarika of Nagarjuna. Motilal Banarsidass: p. 5. Nāgārjuna systematized the Madhyamaka school of Mahāyāna 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 Mādhyamaka system.Lindtner, Christian (1997). Master of Wisdom. Dharma Publishing: p. 324. Nāgārjuna also referred to a passage in the canon regarding "nirvanic consciousness" in two different works.Lindtner, Christian (1997). Master of Wisdom. Dharma Publishing: p. 322. Lindtner says that Nāgārjuna is referencing the DN.
Contemporary forms of Mahāyāna Buddhism
The main contemporary traditions of Mahāyāna in Asia are:
Chinese
Contemporary Han Chinese Buddhism is practiced through many varied forms, such as Chan Buddhism (Zen), Pure land, Tiantai, Huayan and mantra practices. This group is the largest population of Buddhists in the world. There are between 228 and 239 million Mahāyāna Buddhists in the China. This does not include the Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhists who practice Tibetan Buddhism.Harvey, Peter (2013). An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices, p. 403.
Korean
Korean Buddhism is dominated by the Korean Korean Seon school (i.e. Zen), primarily represented by the Jogye Order and the Taego Order. Korean Seon also includes some Pure Land practice.Carter J. Eckert (Author), Ki-Baik Lee, Young Ick Lew, Michael Robinson, Edward W. Wagner (1991). Korea Old And New: A History. Ilchokak Publishers. p. 94. . It is mainly practiced in South Korea, with a rough population of about 10.9 million Buddhists. There are also some minor Korean schools, such as the Cheontae (i.e. Korean Tiantai), and the esoteric Jingak Order and Chinŏn schools.
Japanese
Japanese Buddhism is divided into numerous traditions which include various sects of Pure Land Buddhism (the largest being Shin and Jodo), Tendai, Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon Buddhism and three major sects of Japanese Zen (Soto, Rinzai school and Obaku). There are also various Mahāyāna oriented Japanese new religions that arose in the Post-war. Many of these new religions are lay movements like Soka Gakkai, Risshō Kōsei Kai and Agon Shu.Harvey, Peter (2013). An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices, pp. 404-406.
Vietnamese
Vietnamese Buddhism is strongly influenced by the Chinese tradition. It is a synthesis of numerous practices and ideas. Vietnamese Mahāyāna draws practices from Vietnamese Thiền (Chan/Zen), Tịnh độ (Pure Land), and Mật Tông (Mantrayana) and its philosophy from Hoa Nghiêm (Huayan) and Thiên Thai (Tiantai).Prebish, Charles. Tanaka, Kenneth. The Faces of Buddhism in America. 1998. p. 134 New Mahāyāna movements have also developed in the modern era, perhaps the most influential of which has been Thích Nhất Hạnh's Plum Village Tradition, which also draws from Theravada Buddhism.
Tibetan
Tibetan Buddhism derives from the Vajrayana Buddhism that was adopted in medieval Tibet. Though it includes numerous tantric Buddhist practices not found in East Asian Mahāyāna, Northern Buddhism still considers itself as part of Mahāyāna Buddhism (albeit as one which also contains a more effective and distinct vehicle or yana).
As with Eastern Buddhism, the practice of northern Buddhism declined in Tibet, China and Mongolia during the communist takeover of these regions (Mongolia: 1924, Tibet: 1959). Tibetan Buddhism continued to be practiced among the Tibetan diaspora population, as well as by other Himalayan peoples in Bhutan, Ladakh and Nepal. Post-1980s though, Northern Buddhism has seen a revival in both Tibet and Mongolia due to more liberal government policies towards religious freedom.Harvey, Peter (2013). An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices, pp. 414-416. Northern Buddhism is also now practiced in the Western world by western convert Buddhists.
Theravāda school
Role of the Bodhisattva
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.Harvey, Peter (2000). An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics. Cambridge University Press: p. 123.
Theravāda and Hīnayāna
In the 7th century, the Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang describes the concurrent existence of the Mahavihara and the Abhayagiri Vihara in Sri Lanka. He refers to the monks of the Mahāvihara as the "Hīnayāna Sthaviras" ( Theras), and the monks of the Abhayagiri Vihara as the "Mahāyāna Sthaviras". Xuanzang further writes:Hirakawa, Akira. Groner, Paul. A History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna. 2007. p. 121
(2025). 9780674040120, Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674040120Swearer, Donald (2006). Theravada Buddhist Societies. In: Juergensmeyer, Mark (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Global Religions: p. 83 Some authors have argued that it should not be considered such from the Mahāyāna perspective. Their view is based on a different understanding of the concept of Hīnayāna. Rather than regarding the term as referring to any school of Buddhism that has not accepted the Mahāyāna canon and doctrines, such as those pertaining to the role of the bodhisattva, these authors argue that the classification of a school as "Hīnayāna" should be crucially dependent on the adherence to a specific phenomenological position. They point out that unlike the now-extinct Sarvastivada school, which was the primary object of Mahāyāna criticism, the Theravāda does not claim the existence of independent entities ( dharmas); in this it maintains the attitude of early Buddhism.Hoffman, Frank J. and Mahinda, Deegalle (1996). Pali Buddhism. Routledge Press: p. 192.King, Richard (1999). Indian Philosophy: An Introduction to Hindu and Buddhist Thought. Edinburgh University Press: p. 86.Nyanaponika, Nyaponika Thera, Nyanaponika, Bhikkhu Bodhi (1998). Abhidhamma Studies: Buddhist Explorations of Consciousness and Time. Wisdom Publications: p. 42.
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