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 Mahāyāna (literally Great Vehicle; Chinese:大乘, Dàshèng; Japanese: Daijō) is one of the major branches of Buddhism (See Yana for the classification of Buddhism into vehicles, and Schools of Buddhism for further information.). Some of the areas in which it is practiced are China, Tibet, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Taiwan. From Mahayana developed the esoteric Vajrayana which claims to combine all previous schools.
OriginsScholars believe that Mahayana as a distinct movement began around the 1st century BCE in the northwestern Indian subcontinent, estimating a formative period of about three centuries before it was transmited in a highly evolved form to China in the 2nd century CE. According to Williams (1989), the development of the Mahayana was a slow, gradual process. The Mahayana was not a rival school, and therefore it was not the consequence of a schism (sanghbheda). Mahayana and non-Mahayana monks could live without discord in the same monastery, so long as they held the same code. The first known Mahayana texts are translations made into Chinese by the Kushan monk Lokaksema in the Chinese capital of Loyang, between 178 and 189 CE. Lokaksema's work includes the translation of the Pratyutpanna Sutra, containing the first known mentions of the Buddha Amitabha and his Pure Land, said to be at the origin of Pure Land practice in China, and the first known translations of the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, a founding text of Mahayana Buddhism. The earliest stone inscriptions containing recognizably Mahayana formulations were found in the Indian subcontinent in Mathura and dated to around 180 CE. Remains of a statue of a Buddha bear the Brahmi inscription: Such inscriptions are rather late and few (the next known one is dated to the end of the 3rd century), in comparison to the multiplicity of Mahayana writings transiting from Central Asia to China at that time, and the involvement of Central Asian Buddhist monks, suggesting the focus of Mahayana development was probably in the northwest. The formal rise of Mahayana Buddhism has been dated to around the middle of the 2nd century CE, when the Kushan emperor Kanishka convened the 4th Buddhist Council in Gandhara, which confirmed the formal scission of Mahayana Buddhism from the traditional Nikaya schools of Buddhism. This was also the time and place of a rich cultural interaction between Buddhism and Hellenistic culture, which influenced the early representations of Buddhas, in what is known as Greco-Buddhist art. See also: Silk Road transmission of Buddhism, History of Buddhism ScripturesMahayana departs from the Nikaya tradition (sometimes referred to as the Hinayana schools) in its acceptance of the Mahayana sutras. Mahayana schools do not, however, reject Nikaya sutras, such as those recorded in the Pali Canon; these are also seen as authoritative. The Mahayana scriptures were set in writing in the 1st century BCE. Some of them, such as the Perfection of Wisdom sutras, are presented as actual sermons of the Buddha that would have been hidden. By some accounts, these sermons were passed on by the oral tradition as with other sutras, but other accounts state that they were hidden and then revealed several centuries later by some mythological route. In addition to sutras, some Mahayana texts are essentially commentaries. Among the earliest major Mahayana scriptures that are attested to historically are the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajna-Paramita) Sutras, the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, the Vimalakīrti Sutra, and the Nirvana Sutra. The Mahayana canon further expanded after Buddhism was transmitted to China, where the existing texts were translated. New texts, such as the Platform Sutra and the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment were explicitly not of Indian origin, but were widely accepted as valid scriptures on their own merits. Other later writings included the Linji Lu, a commentary by Chan master Linji. In the course of the development of Korean Buddhism and Japanese Buddhism, further important commentaries were composed. These included, for example, in Korea, some of the writings of Jinul, and in Japan, works such as Dogen's Shobogenzo. DoctrineMissing image Buddha_tenthousand.jpg A representation of 10,000 Buddhas. Hong Kong. The way of the Mahayana, in contrast to the more conservative and austere Theravada school of Buddhism, tends to be characterized by a greater emphasis on the supernatural. These include from celestial realms and powers, to a spectrum of Bodhisattvas, both human and seemingly godlike, who can assist believers. The primary goal of Mahayana Buddhism is bodhicitta: a mind of great compassion conjoined with wisdom realizing emptiness. With this mind the bodhisattva will realize the final goal of full enlightenment, or Buddhahood: an omniscient mind completely free from suffering and its causes, that is able to work tirelessly for the benefit of all living beings. The large number of bodhisattvas and the combined inviting nature within Mahayana doctrine allows the religion to be extremely syncretic. For example, Taoism existed within China before the arrival of Buddhism, and metaphysically, there are important distinctions between the two. However, the structure of Mahayana Buddhism allows it to simply absorb Taoist deities. Mahayana Buddhism, at its core, regards such ideas as skillful means of bringing people closer to enlightenment. Bodhisattvas are the ultimate practitioners of this approach. Despite having attained enlightenment, by refusing Nirvana they remain in the physical plane - the realm of illusion (Maya) - and in so doing deprive themselves of Nirvana's bliss out of compassion for the other beings. Their purpose is to guide other beings on their path to enlightenment. As an example, it is unlikely that a drunkard will, without assistance, achieve enlightenment. A bodhisattva may appear to such a person as a fellow drunkard. Over time, the bodhisattva will guide that person to a path that will lead them closer to Nirvana - often without the beneficiary ever realizing what has happened or why. Description by William Edward Soothill"Mahāyāna; The great yāna, wain, or conveyance, or the greater vehicle in comparison with the Hīnayāna. It indicates universalism, or Salvation for all, for all are Buddha and will attain bodhi. "It is the form of Buddhism prevalent in Tibet, Mongolia, China, Korea, Japan, and in other places in the Far East. It is also called Northern Buddhism. "It is interpreted as the greater teaching as compared with the smaller, or inferior. Hīnayāna, which is undoubtedly nearer to the original teaching of the Buddha, is unfairly described as an endeavour to seek nirvana through an ash-covered body, an extinguished intellect, and solitariness; its followers are śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas (i.e. those who are striving for their own deliverance through ascetic works). "Mahāyāna, on the other hand, is described as seeking to find and extend all knowledge, and, in certain schools, to lead all to Buddhahood. It has a conception of an Eternal Buddha, or Buddhahood as Eternal (Adi-Buddha), but its especial doctrines are, inter alia, (a) the bodhisattvas, i.e. beings who deny themselves final Nirvana until, according to their vows, they have first saved all the living; (b) salvation by faith in, or invocation of the Buddhas or bodhisattvas; (c) Paradise as a nirvana of bliss in the company of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, saints, and believers. "Hīnayāna is sometimes described as self-benefiting, and Mahāyāna as self-benefit for the benefit of others, unlimited altruism and pity being the theory of Mahāyāna. "There is a further division into one-yana and three-yanas: the trīyāna may be śrāvaka, pratyeka-buddha, and bodhisattva, represented by a goat, deer, or bullock cart; the one-yāna is that represented by the Lotus School as the one doctrine of the Buddha, which had been variously taught by him according to the capacity of his hearers. "Though Mahāyāna tendencies are seen in later forms of the older Buddhism, the foundation of Mahāyāna has been attributed to Nāgārjuna. ... "Two of its foundation books are the Awakening of Faith and the Lotus Sutra, but a large number of Mahāyāna sutras are ascribed to the Buddha."
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