MAHAYANA BUDDHISM While Theravada was constructed for serious followers who could devote a large bulk of their time to media-tions, Mahayana Buddhism could accommodate a greater number o
Trang 1The Tripitaka and related commentaries are not
considered statements of divine truth to be accepted by
pure faith The teachings of Buddha are to be
experi-enced and assessed through personal experience It is
the fi nding of truth in the teachings of Buddha that
mat-ter, not the words of the teaching themselves In this
way the Tripitaka’s passages serve as a guide for
fol-lowers to use in their own path to enlightenment Until
the late 19th century the teachings of Theravada were
unknown outside of southern Asia, where it had grown
for more than 2,000 years
MAHAYANA BUDDHISM
While Theravada was constructed for serious followers
who could devote a large bulk of their time to
media-tions, Mahayana Buddhism could accommodate a
greater number of people Calling their path the Greater
Vehicle, Mahayana Buddhists distinguished themselves
from Theravada by calling Theravada the Lesser
Vehi-cle Instead of following a direct line of teachings from
the Buddha, the Mahayana Buddhists believed they
were recovering the original teachings of the Buddha
Their canon of scriptures represented the fi nal teachings
and accounted for the loss of their presence for
hun-dreds of years by claiming that these secret teachings
were only given to the most faithful Regardless of its
origins, Mahayana Buddhism is a departure from
Ther-avada philosophy in that the overall goal was to extend
religious authority over a greater number of people
In this quest Mahayana Buddhists developed a
the-ory of progressions for attaining enlightenment At the
top level was becoming a Buddha Preceding
enlighten-ment was a series of lives, called the bodhisattvas, or
beings of wisdom The bodhisattva was a major
contri-bution to Mahayana Buddhism in that it was a concept
created to explain Buddha’s lives before his last In this
tradition the lives of Siddhartha Gautama before his
last were spent working toward becoming a Buddha In
those lives he was a bodhisattva, a Buddha-to-be, that
could achieve wonderful acts of joy and compassion for
others Literature surrounding those lives is collectively
called the Jataka, or the Birth Stories
Although much is unknown about the earliest
tra-ditions in Buddhism, some evidence exists that
follow-ers thought there would only be one Buddha Within a
short amount of time, it was believed that another
Bud-dha would soon follow This concept of the Maitreya
Buddha, or Future Buddha, grew to include the belief
that if a Future Buddha was coming then a Buddha or
bodhisattva was already on earth passing through life
This meant that someone alive at any given moment
was the Maitreya In addition, the numbers of Maitreya Buddhas were uncertain The person serving food or cleaning the fl oors may be the Maitreya
Instead of the goal of attaining full enlightenment,
as in Theravada Buddhism, a practitioners’ goal is to
be the arhant, or the “worthy.” The worthy is one who
has learned the truth from others and has realized it as truth Mahayana Buddhists believe that in this way, the follower hears the truth, realizes it as truth, and then passes into nirvana
Mahayana Buddhists adhere to seven particular fea-tures of Mahayanism The fi rst is Its Comprehensive-ness Mahayana Buddhists do not confi ne their beliefs
to one Buddha but strive to see truth wherever it may
be found The second is Universal Love for All Sentient Beings This belief differs from Theravada Buddhism in that it strives for general salvation of all people Third
is Its Greatness in Intellectual Comprehension, meaning that all things in general are not directed by a metaphys-ical deity The fourth is Its Marvelous Spiritual Energy The bodhisattvas are thought never to tire of working for universal salvation, and they do not worry about how much time it takes to achieve this The fi fth feature
is Its Greatness in the Exercise of the Upaya Upaya
translates as “expediency,” or acting as appropriate to achieve a goal The sixth feature is Its Higher Spiritual Attainment, meaning that followers strive to achieve their highest spiritual level Seventh is Its Greater Activ-ity When a bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, it is then able to manifest everywhere to minister to the spiritual needs of all beings
Mahayana Buddhism disappeared from India dur-ing the 11th century In Southeast Asia, Theravada Buddhism replaced Mahayana Buddhism However, Mahayana Buddhism is the most popular of branch of Buddhism in the world today
See also Buddhism in China; Buddhist councils; Sakyas; Tantrism
Further reading: Eastman, Roger The Ways of Religion:
New York: Oxford University Press, 1999; Gross, Rita M
Buddhism after Patriarchy Albany, NY: State University of
New York, 1993; Lester, Robert C Theravada Buddhism
in Southeast Asia Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan,
1973; Lopez, Donald S Jr Critical Terms for the Study of
Buddhism Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2005;
Suzuki, Daisetz Teitaro Outlines of Mahayana Buddhism
New York: Schocken Books, 1963; Trainor, Kevin, ed
Bud-dhism New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Melissa Benne
Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism 463