essay about mahayana buddhism

Mahayana Buddhism: Growth and Development of Buddhism Essay

Theological development of the community, the use of sacred texts and rituals, social and architectural community building, the formation of hierarchical structures within the community, gender roles within and outside the religious center.

The origins of Mahayana Buddhism are still unknown; neither their date nor their place of birth is known, and it is most likely that the movement evolved over time and in several locations. According to popular belief, it was established in India and is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, the Enlightened Supreme Buddha (Pandey, 2021). It is difficult to evaluate the early Mahayana since most depictions have been greatly influenced by modern sectarian movements and because the holy scriptures most revered by subsequent activities may not always be the manuscripts that best record the growth in its formative years (Loy, 2019). Mahayana Buddhism is a movement little known to the average person, so it is important to tell people about the values that representatives of this branch of Buddhism represent.

The most significant branch of Buddhism, known as Mahayana, is what most non-followers today refer to as “Buddhism” because of its ideas and traditions. Following the Second Buddhist Council in 383 BCE, when the Sthaviravada branch split from the Buddhist communities due to doctrinal disagreements, the Mahasanghika (“Great Congregation”) school emerged (Silk, 2020). The Mahasanghika branch of Buddhism was just one of many various Buddhist schisms that resulted from this first split.

The assertion that Mahayana evolved from Mahasanghika is backed not only by the terms’ resemblance but also by knowledge of the Mahasanghika beliefs that Mahayana adopted later. Mahasanghika disagreed with the Sthaviravada viewpoint that the main objective of the Buddha’s message was for each individual to achieve spiritual completeness, contending that an arhat was no more superior to any other human being and lacked any supernatural abilities or perceptions. An arhat, according to the Mahasanghika school, was merely a spiritual ascetic who followed Buddha’s vision as their path to enlightenment rather than one of the many alternatives that were popular at the time.

Their emphasis on the significance of the bodhisattva was the primary distinction between Mahayana and other schools. The goal of one’s journey to awareness was to help the entire world, not just oneself. After becoming woke, it was incumbent upon each person to help others become enlightened. Mahayana views the Buddha as an immortal, transcendental entity who is either limitless or has such a long existence that he may as well be. Spiritual merit, which moves one closer to become a bodhisattva, is granted for acknowledging this realization and committing oneself to follow in the footsteps of the Buddha (Silk, 2020). Then appeared Sakyamuni, who was like Buddha, and the other individuals, both before and after him, according to Mahayana.

The Mahayana sutras are a large body of Buddhist literature that different Mahayana groups recognize as canonical. One hundred Mahayana sutras are still in existence, either in existing Sanskrit texts or in adaptations into Chinese and Tibetan. The Mahayana sutras are commonly seen by Mahayana Buddhists as having been trained by Gautama Buddha, memorized by his followers, and recounted as a result (Lee & Oh, 2019). They are seen as symbolizing the natural language of the Buddha during his exile after his parinirvana. Rather than being supported by historical data, this assertion is dependent on oral tradition. According to some conventional accounts of the Mahayana sutras’ dissemination, the Buddha definitely had several of its sections written down. Nagas are serpent-like mythical creatures that live in another dimension of existence.

According to these tales, the Mahayana teachings were only revealed later since the majority of people in the Buddha’s time could not comprehend the Mahayana sutras. Therefore, there had not yet been any humans who were a good fit for receiving these teachings. Some teachers hold that regardless of whether they are precisely the provable words of the historical Buddha or not, all directions that flow from the essential understanding of Buddha represent the Buddha’s speech. Even in the Pali Canon, there is confirmation for this viewpoint in the scriptures. The benefit of the entire teachings found in the Mahayana sutras has been compared to a loose collection of varied, occasionally incompatible teachings (Lee & Oh, 2019). As a consequence, it is difficult to make generalizations about the Mahayana doctrine.

The concept of the Bodhisattva path is fundamental to the Mahayana sutras, yet it is not exclusive to them. The Mahayana elaboration of this concept is unusual in that it uses the term “bodhisattva” to refer to anyone who has the desire to become a Buddha and does not require that this desire be created or expressed in front of a living Buddha. The Mahayana sutras also assert that everybody who reads and pays attention to these teachings has already gained the name of a bodhisattva from a real Buddha or will do so very soon (Lee & Oh, 2019). The Mahayana sutras emphasize “the acquisition of merit, the global currency of the Buddhist universe, a huge quantity of which was considered to be essential for the achievement of Buddhahood” as the primary practice. The Mahayana sutras themselves must be heard, memorized, recited, preached, copied, and worshipped in order to earn merit according to these sutras.

There are numerous different ways to practice modern Chinese Mahayana Buddhism. The majority of Buddhists worldwide are found in this group. In the past, the majority of temples, organizations, and Buddhist practitioners typically drew from a variety of diverse aspects of Chinese Buddhist theory and practice rather than belonging to any particular system (Bocking et al., 2014). Buddhists, or people who practice Buddhism, gather to worship in monasteries or temples. They have included buildings referred to in various areas and dialects as vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, and pagoda. In Buddhism, temples stand in for the Buddha’s serene environment or country.

Chinese Buddhism as a whole has maintained this non-sectarian and eclectic quality in the present course. Organizations and temples in the Chinese Buddhist community have been impacted by the modernization of an ideology known as humanistic Buddhism. A sort of religious syncretism between Chinese Buddhism and other Chinese religions, such as Taoism, may also be practiced by Chinese Buddhists. The reform and opening-up era in late 20th-century contemporary China witnessed a notably significant rise in the number of Chinese Buddhist adherents (Bocking et al., 2014). Chinese Buddhism is also practiced outside of mainland China in Taiwan and other places where there are Chinese diaspora populations.

The Jogye Order and the Taego Order are the two prominent representatives of the Korean Seon school of Buddhism in Korea. Pure Land techniques are also incorporated into Korean Seon. About 10 million Buddhists live in South Korea, where it is primarily embraced (Bocking et al., 2014). There are also a few lesser-known architectural institutions, like the esoteric Jingak and Chinn schools, the Cheontae, and others. Numerous traditions of Japanese Buddhism exist, including diverse branches of Pure Land Buddhism, Tendai, Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon, and Zen. In the years following World War II, various new Japanese religions with a Mahayana focus emerged (Bocking et al., 2014). Lay initiatives like Soka Gakkai and Agon Shu make up many of the new beliefs. It should be mentioned that a significant number of Japanese Buddhists engage in Shinto rituals and activities, including going to shrines, gathering amulets, and witnessing celebrations.

A number of hierarchical systems that have shaped the church’s structure have emerged during the historical evolution of Buddhism. The most critical two-level conceptual hierarchy of “Teacher-Student” appeared first (McRae, 2018). Systems of hierarchies that controlled the Mahayana Buddhist community’s structural stability had various points of origin and significance. Their focuses changed over the course of historical eras that placed varying amounts of emphasis on things like education levels or the establishment of reincarnated lamas. These hierarchies occasionally showed correlation, but they also frequently deviated.

The “Teacher-student” hierarchy evolved naturally into a hierarchy based on levels of spiritual development. Buddhist literature offers a thorough explanation of this system, illustrating the steps taken by the disciple from the start of the road to awakening. It should be remembered, though, that there is no set standard for spiritual perfection. A single person’s placement in a particular stage of this hierarchy is typically decided by social consensus after the qualities outlined in the texts are generally identified by the expert himself at a sufficiently high level of progression (McRae, 2018). Nevertheless, this scale is essential for creating a social order despite its conventionality. In the view of its adherents, the community’s organization has validity because it rewards members for their spiritual accomplishments.

It is a revolutionary phenomenon for Buddhism to witness the rise of female monasticism. The establishment of female monastic communities helped raise the status of women in Asian nations. In the years that followed, the Buddha’s proclamation of gender equality began to take shape. Mahayana Buddhism does not discriminate against women or men since it acknowledges the relativity and prudishness of gender differences (Pandey, 2021). The Mahayana teachings on the Buddha, who is present in everyone, regardless of gender, helped to elevate the standing of women in religion. In the Mahayana paradigm, the bodhicitta idea is crucial. It is predicated on the idea that all organisms were mothers to all other living things during their different incarnations in samsara. The connection between kindness and care and the concept of a mother highlights the important place that women play in Mahayana Buddhism. Women now have equal opportunity to become enlightened thanks to the tantric Mahayana tradition.

It is well acknowledged that the Buddha valued women and advocated for the equality of all individuals, regardless of their position in society, caste, color, or gender. The Buddha was also the first to organize a female monastic society, which went on to become the first female institution in the world and has been around (Pandey, 2021). Women received a more significant religious position as a result than non-specialists. It is well known that the Buddha did not discount the possibility of a woman reaching significant levels of spiritual practice, including the arhat state.

The Buddha did not, however, decide to locate a female monastery community right away, and it was only after repeated pleas from women that he decided to educate the nuns. It was a result of the challenges the monks faced. The early Buddhist monks led a life of begging; except for a few monastic items, they had nothing, and they sometimes even remained alone or in small groups. They had to walk great miles begging for alms in order to find nourishment. It was difficult for them to defend themselves against wolves or robbers because they lacked weapons and adhered to the philosophy of non-violence. It was significantly more complicated for women to lead a monastic life in these conditions.

The Mahayana paradigm elevated women’s spiritual standing. It does not discriminate against women or men and acknowledges the relativism and prudishness of gender distinctions. The voidness of all things is argued in the prajnaparamita cycle sutras, which are significant in the Mahayana canon (Pandey, 2021). They also contend that all ideologies, including those based on gender, are empty and conventional. Women’s religious standing was also influenced by the Mahayana teachings on tathagatagarbha, or the Buddha’s nature that resides within everyone, regardless of gender.

Mahayana Buddhism’s beginnings are still a mystery; neither its beginning nor its location is known, and it is most likely that the movement developed over time and in several locations. The majority of representations have been greatly influenced by the goals of contemporary sectarian movement patterns, and the religious texts most highly regarded by later groups may not necessarily be the texts that best capture the movement in its formative years, making it even more challenging to assess the early Mahayana. The Mahayana sutras, a body of literature that was originally written some four centuries after the Buddha’s passing, are the tradition’s earliest sources. The Mahayana tradition of Buddhism is known for its respect for and tolerance of women. Instances of the perception of women as full members of society are female monastic institutions.

Bocking, B., Cox, L., & Yoshinaga, S. I. (2014). The first Buddhist mission to the West: Charles Pfoundes and the London Buddhist mission of 1889–1892 . Diskus , 16 (3), 1-33. Web.

Lee, K. C., & Oh, A. (2019). Introduction to human view intervention: A Buddhist counseling technique based on Mahāyāna Buddhist teachings . Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health , 21 (2), 132-151. Web.

Loy, D. R. (2019). Nonduality: In Buddhism and beyond . Simon and Schuster. Web.

McRae, E. (2018). Suffering and the six perfections: Using adversity to attain wisdom in Mahāyāna Buddhist ethics . The Journal of Value Inquiry , 52 (4), 395-410. Web.

Pandey, R. (2021). Growth and Development of Buddhism . Web.

Silk, J. A. (2020). Origins of the Mahāyāna . Indo-Iranian Journal , 63 (4), 371-394. Web.

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"Setting Out on the Great Way: Essays on Early Mahāyāna Buddhism"

Setting Out on the Great Way brings together different perspectives on the origins and early history of Mahāyāna Buddhism and delves into selected aspects of its formative period. As the variety of the religion that conquered East Asia and also provided the matrix for the later development of Buddhist Tantra or Vajrayāna, Mahāyāna is regarded as one of the most significant forms of Buddhism, and its beginnings have long been the focus of intense scholarly attention and debate.

The essays in this volume address the latest findings in the field, including contributions by younger researchers vigorously critiquing the reappraisal of the Mahāyāna carried out by scholars in the last decades of the twentieth century and the different understanding of the movement they produced. As the study of Buddhism as a whole reorients itself to embrace new methods and paradigms, while at the same time coming to terms with exciting new manuscript discoveries, our picture of the Mahāyāna continues to change. This volume presents the latest developments in this ongoing re-evaluation of one of Buddhism’s most important historical expressions.