Mahayana Buddhism(THE GREAT VEHICLE)

Who is the founder of Buddhism?The Buddhist tradition is founded on and inspired by the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. He was called the Buddha and lived in the 4th or 5th century B.C. in India.

Formed 100 CEOrigin IndiaFollowers 185,000,000Deity None / pantheon of deitiesSacred Texts Pali, Mahayana CanonHeadquarters None

MahayanaOne of the two major traditions of Buddhism, now practiced in a variety of forms especially in China, Tibet, Japan, and Korea. The tradition emerged around the 1st century AD and is typically concerned with altruistically oriented spiritual practice as embodied in the ideal of the BODHISATTVA.

Mahayana Buddhism(Sanskrit for "Great Vehicle")

Mahayana Buddhism is the primary form of Buddhism in North Asia and the Far East, including China, Japan, Korea, Tibet and Mongolia, and is thus sometimes known as Northern Buddhism

Mahayana BuddhismAccording to the teachings of

Mahāyāna traditions, "Mahāyāna" also refers to the path of the Bodhisattva -seeking complete enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings, also called "Bodhisattvayāna", or the "Bodhisattva Vehicle"

 Six Perfections of Mahayana Buddhism:

Perfection of GivingPerfection on Behaviour and DisciplinePerfection of ForbearancePerfection of Vigour and DiligencePerfection of MeditationPerfect of Transcendent Wisdom

Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. Ajaṇṭā Caves, Mahārāṣtra, India.

Mahayana BuddhismSamyaksaṃbuddha- "fully

enlightened Buddha". A bodhisattva who has accomplished this goal.A samyaksaṃbuddha can establish the Dharma and lead disciples to enlightenment.

Mahayana Buddhism

Mahayana Buddhists teach that enlightenment can be attained in a single lifetime, and this can be accomplished even by a layperson

Early statue of the Buddha from Gandhāra, 1st–2nd century CE.

Mahayana BuddhismThe most distinctive teaching of the

Mahayana is that the great compassion that is an inherent component of enlightenment is manifest in bodhisattvas (enlightenment beings); these beings postpone nirvana (final enlightenment) in order to assist and guide those beings still suffering in the cycle of rebirths.

Mahayana BuddhismThey employ what the Mahayana calls

"skillful means," which is the ability to know the particular mental and emotional capacity of each individual, and to deliver guidance appropriate to those capacities. The Mahayana developed a vast pantheon of bodhisattvas, Buddhas, and other powerful beings, and an complex array of devotional and meditational practices directed toward them.

OriginMahayana Buddhism

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Origin of M.B.The origins of Mahayana Buddhism remain obscure; the date and location of the tradition’s emergence are unknown, and the movement most likely took shape over time and in multiple places. The proper appraisal of the early Mahayana is even further complicated by the fact that most reconstructions have been heavily influenced by the agendas of modern sectarian movements and that the scriptures most valued by later groups are not necessarily the texts that best represent the movement in its formative period.

Origin of M.B.The earliest sources for the tradition are the Mahayana sutras, scriptures that were first compiled some four centuries after the Buddha’s death. As in earlier canonical Buddhist literature, these scriptures, almost certainly written by monks, present the movement’s innovative ideas in the form of sermons said to have been delivered by the Buddha Shakyamuni, as Siddhartha Gautama is known.

Origin of M.B.The earliest Western views of Mahāyāna assumed that it existed as a separate school in competition with the so-called "Hīnayāna" schools. The earliest Mahāyāna texts often depict strict adherence to the path of a bodhisattva, and engagement in the ascetic ideal of a monastic life in the wilderness, akin to the ideas expressed in the Rhinoceros Sūtra.

Origin of M.B.The earliest textual evidence of "Mahāyāna" comes from sūtras originating around the beginning of the common era. Jan Nattier has noted that in 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, and that "Mahāyāna" referred rather to the rigorous emulation of Gautama Buddha in the path of a bodhisattva seeking to become a fully enlightened buddha.

Doctrines

Turnings of the Dharma WheelMahayana Buddhists speak of the Three Turnings of the Dharma Wheel. The first turning was the teaching of the Four Noble Truths by Shakyamuni Buddha, which was the beginning of Buddhism.

The Second Turning was the doctrine of sunyata, or emptiness, which is a cornerstone of Mahayana. This doctrine was expounded in the Prajnaparamita sutras, the earliest of which may date to the 1st century BCE. Nagarjuna (ca. 2nd century CE) fully developed this doctrine in his philosophy of Madhyamika.

The Third Turning was was the Tathagatagarbha doctrine of Buddha Nature, which emerged in about the 3rd century CE. This is another cornerstone of Mahayana.

Yogacara, a philosophy that originally developed in a Sthavira school called Sarvastivada, was another milestone in Mahayana history. The founders of Yogacara originally were Sarvastivada scholars who lived in the 4th century CE and who came to embrace Mahayana. 

Sunyata, Buddha Nature and Yogacara are the chief doctrines that set Mahayana apart from Theravada. Other important milestones in the development of Mahayana include Shantideva's "Way of the Bodhisattva" (ca. 700 CE), which placed the bodhisattva vow at the center of Mahayana practice.

Over the years, Mahayana subdivided into more schools with divergent practices and doctrines. These spread from India to China and Tibet, then to Korea and Japan. Today Mahayana is the dominant form of Buddhism in those countries.

TeachingThe Mahayana doctrine of the Trikaya says that each Buddha has three bodies. These are called the dharmakaya, sambogakaya and nirmanakaya. Very simply, dharmakaya is the body of absolute truth, sambogakaya is the body that experiences the bliss of enlightenment, and nirmanakaya is the body that manifests in the world.Another way to understand the Trikaya is to think of the dharmakaya as the absolute nature of all beings, sambogakaya as the blissful experience of enlightenment, and nirmanakaya as a Buddha in human form.

TeachingThis allows a Buddha to simultaneously be one with the absolute while appearing in the relative world for the benefit of suffering beings. Understanding the Trikaya can clear up a lot of confusion about the nature of a Buddha. In this sense, "absolute" and "relative" touches on

the Two Truths doctrine of Mahayana, and before we plunge into Trikaya a quick review of the Two Truths may be helpful. This doctrine tells us that existence can be understood as both absoute and relative.

TeachingWe normally perceive the world as a place full of distinctive things and beings. However, phenomena exist only in a relative way, taking identity only as they relate to other phenomena. In an absolute sense there are no distinctive phenomena

DharmakayaDharmakaya means "truth body." The dharmakaya is the absolute; the unity of all things and beings, all phenomena unmanifested. The dharmakaya is beyond existence or nonexistence, and beyond concepts. The late Chogyam Trungpa called the dharmakaya "the basis of the original unbornness.

Chögyam Trungpa

SambhogakayaSambhogakaya means "bliss body" or "reward body." The "bliss body" is the body that feels the bliss of enlightenment. It is also a Buddha as an object of devotion. A sambhogakaya Buddha is enlightened and purified of defilements, yet he remains distinctive.

NirmanakayaNirmanakaya means "emanation body." This is the physical body that is born, walks the earth, and dies. An example is the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, who was born and who died. However, this Buddha also has sambhogakaya and dharmakaya forms as well.

Gautama Buddha

Mahayana symbolism

In Mahayana, Buddhist figures and sacred objects leaned towards esoteric and symbolic meaning. The Mudras are a series of symbolic hand gestures describing the actions of the characters represented in only the most interesting Buddhist art. Many images also function as mandalas.

A mandala (Sanskrit: मण्डल, lit, circle) is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Indian religions, representing the universe. In common use, "mandala" has become a generic term for any diagram, chart or geometric pattern that represents thecosmos metaphysically or symbolically; a microcosm of the universe.

Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhist art frequently makes use of a particular set of eight auspicious symbols,ASHTAMANGALA, in domestic and public art. These symbols have spread with Buddhism to the art of many cultures, including Indian, Tibetan, Nepalese, and Chinese art.

These symbols are:Lotus flower. Representing purity and enlightenment.Endless knot, or, the Mandala. Representing eternal harmony.Golden Fish pair. Representing conjugal happiness and freedom.

Lotus flower

Endless knot

Golden Fish Pair

Victory Banner. Representing a victorious battle.Wheel of Dharma or Chamaru in Nepali Buddhism. Representing knowledge.Treasure Vase. Representing inexhaustible treasure and wealth.

Victory Banner

Wheel of DharmaTreasure Vase

Parasol. Representing the crown, and protection from the elements.Conch shell. Representing the thoughts of the Buddha.

Parasol Conch shell

In Zen Buddhism, a widely used symbol is the ensō circle.Other Vajrayana symbols include the Vajra, the Ghanta, the Snow lion, the Wind Horse, the Bhavacakra, mandalas, the number 108 and the Buddha eyes commonly seen on Nepalese stupas such as the Boudhanath stupa.

References:http://buddhism.about.com/od/mahayanabuddhism/fl/The-Trikaya.htmMahayana - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.htmlMahayana _ Buddhism _ Britannica.com.htmlInteresting Facts About Buddhism _ World Amazing Facts, Online Trivia Free.html