BUDDHISM

A Level Religious Studies

Buddhist Practices + Identity

Unit 3.2 Mahayana 

Introduction

 Mahayana is an umbrella term which describes a number of different schools, the earliest of which emerged between the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE. Mahayana is seen by modern scholars as a new movement which developed its own vast collection of scriptures between the first and fifth centuries CE, which include different interpretations of the Buddha’s teachings. Mahayana also developed different forms of worship to Theravada Buddhism. Mahayana gave rise to two main philosophical schools of Buddhism – Madhyamaka and Chittamatra. Over the years Mahayana spread to other countries and other schools of Buddhism developed from it such as Zen and Pure Land, popular in Japan and China. 

Mahayana developed its own distinctive practices and doctrinal emphases in the context of Indian and Oriental second century BCE and the first century CE history.   These beliefs and practices helped give shape to their diverse and evolving expression of religious identity

Key to the developing Mahayana doctine and practices was the extension of the concept of the Buddha to include the Buddha and creation. For Mahayana the specific historical concept of the Buddha developed because of pyscho-cosmic inovations in their ideas of reality. Nargajuna being the key arcitech in the 2nd century in his Madhyamaka. He first embraced a more radical idea of Anatta (non-being) called Sunyatta (emptiness) that meant every thing was empty and therefore conequentialy everything is interconnected, which even included Samsara and Nirvana.  His two truth doctine suggested that ultimately there is no Nibanna and no Samsara.  Latter the Yogacara would crystalise into the idea of Trikaya – the while we exist in the earhly realm, there is a transcendent heavenly realm but that even this was also an emanation of eth final truth realm- Chittamatra.  The historical Buddha thus in one sense did not die but merely ascendended to the heaven realm so could return again. Yet both the historical and heavenly Buddha are mere concventaional truths when the ultimate truth is that everything is Buddha!  Buddha then became a cosmic presence that continues to influences the world first through new revelations and ultimately as the luminious mind or Buddha nature we each can dsicover.

This idea of the Buddha nature in every person became crystalised in its own School of Buddhism the Buddha nature school and text the Tatagatagarbha / Buddhanature Sutra with origins in 2nd Century Indian but being more fully developed by Hueing in 8th Century China.  

The Buddha Gautama in Mahayana remains central especially in their use of images and stupas but on the Bodhisattva view we all are aiming to become Buddhas better follow the path to becoming a Bodhisattva. Some have so developed the 6 or 10 virtues or parimitas they join Buddha Gautama to become transcendent Buddhas in heavenly realsm, e.g ther Bodhisattva of comppasion - Avalokitesvara, of wisdom - Manjushri,  and of the furtue-Maitreya. Mahayana dipictions of Bodhisattvas and Sutupas were created to explain the developed pycho-cosmic perfection of wisdom teaching.  The iconography  depicting their ideal of Wisdom and Compassion, of 6 perfections, 10 Bhumis and broader ideas such as Tikaya and Sunyatta.

Mahayana then developed three varied different schools that have their roots in Indian but spread beyond to Tibet, China and Japan. First the Way of Emptiness (Sunyattavada School) developed by Nargajuna (c. 150-250 C.E.) in the 2nd Century and reflected in the Lotus Sutra. Second the Yogacara Mind only Chittamatra school developed by the brothers Vasubandhu (c. 320-400 C.E.) and Asanga (c. 310-390) in the 4th  Century with their Mind only scriptures texts- The Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra ("Sūtra of the Explanation of the Profound Secrets"), the Mahāyānābhidharma Sūtra and Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra- (great wisdom discourse) and treastese by  Asanga the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, (A treatese on the stages of mind only)-  the Abhidharma-samuccaya.  Third the Tathagatagarbha Sutra and school  Buddha nature sutra and School) developed in the context of both India and then country of China. This development meant the way it was practised evolved given indiginious religions influence.  Chinese Chan and then Japanese Zen Buddhist practice which serchs for ways to discover through religious eperience the Buddha nature has its origins in Inda.

The ideas of A Basham are significant as one of the most important western scholars of the history of India and his accounts of the volution of the Bodhisattva doctrine.  The 14th Dalai Lama is signifticant not just as the worlds ost recognised Buddhat but as an advocate of aspects of Sunyatta, compassion, the discovery of our luminous mind or Buddha Nature

Watch the above video and make notes on the Mahayana overview

Read Cush chap on Mahayana

Read Side on Mahayana

Key Content

Topic         

Content

Key Knowledge

3.2 Distinctive practices and emphases of Mahayana Buddhism and how they shape and express religious identity

·         Its development and context in the second century BCE and the first century CE.

·         Basic beliefs and the practices of Mahayana Buddhism

·         How the perfection of wisdom literature developed from the 1000 lines, 100BCE, through 25,000 lines 0AD, Lotus Sutra, Buddha nature Sutra and Heart Sutra  

·         What are the ideas of Sunyata (Emptiness), The Bodhisttva Vow, The Six Perfections, and Upaya (Skill in Means).

·         Mahayana’s significance as the product of polemics with Sravaka “disciples of the elders”, ”Hinayana” (Little way / Early Theravada?) Buddhists.

·         The extension of the concept of the Buddha to include the Buddha and creation.

·         In what way is the Buddha thought of as a cosmic presence that influences the world.

·         What is the idea of the Trikaya?

·         How did Mahayana teachings come to assert the three Body Doctrine?

·         The Buddha nature in every person.

·         The concept of Buddha nature in every person.

·         The Tathagatagarbha Sutra  - Buddha nature Scripture.

·         The centrality of Buddha Gautama, especially in their use of images and stupas.

·         What are Mahayana  Buddha and Bodhisattva  rupas?

·         How did Mahayana develop the iconography of stupas?

·         What is the significance of the Buddha and other Bodhisattvas and use of stupas and images in Mahayana?

·         The different schools of Mahayana should be explored in the context of the countries in which they developed and are practised.

·         The developing schools of Sunyattavada (Way of emptiness),

·         The developing school of Yogacara (Mind only)

·         The developing school of Buddha nature.

Ø  The Indian and Oriental contexts for Mahayana’s development.

You need to understand the issues raised by the Distinctive practices and emphases of Mahayana Buddhism and how they shape and express religious identity, including:

·         how the distinctive practices and teaching emphasis Sunyata, Ekeyana, Upaya, Trikaya, Cittamatra and Tathagata) are understood in Mahayana in contrast to Theravada, both historically and in the contemporary world.

·         whether or not the Mahayana  the idea of Trikaya, and of transcendent Bodhisattvas, emphasis on the Bodhisattva Ideal  is justified.

·         What significant things A Basham and the 14th Dalai Lama have said about Theravada beliefs and practices.

Key Words

Mahasanghikas – The group from which Mahayana Buddhism was to emerge.

Sunyata/sunna/sunya Emptiness. – The doctrine that all things (atoms, biscuits, people) are empty of own-being (svabhava) or inherent existence. All things arise in dependence on conditions and are not supported by any fixed or final reality. This is said to lead to a profoundly open view, not limited by materialism or a belief in a creator God.

Hinayana – The little way- a derogatory name Mahayana Buddhists give to Theravada Buddhists not used by scholars.

Mahayana  – The great way or great vehicle. Someone who follows Mahayana Buddhism is aiming not to escape Samsara but return to the .

Vajrayana Buddhism – A later adaption of Mahayana ideas which also involve tantric beliefs. This developed and flourished in Tibet and is often called Tibetan Buddhism.

Bodhisattva – Enlightened beings who dedicate themselves to achieving nirvana not for themselves but in order to help all sentient beings to achieve it.

Buddhahood In Buddhism, Buddha, "awakened one", is a title for those who are awake,  and have attained nirvana and Buddhahood through their own efforts and insight, without a teacher to point out the dharma. The title is most commonly used for Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, who is often simply known as "the Buddha". In Mahayana Buddhahood is thought to be the potentiality of all living beings, it is the highest of the 10 realms / Bhumi’s of Buddhist practice- a state of absolute enlightenment attained by a Boddhisatva (awakened one).

Upaya Skilful means. The ability to adapt teachings to suit the audience; know exactly what to do for the best in each situation; or respond to the needs of others, even if that breaks laws, rules or traditions.

Lotus Sutra The Mahayana text, believed by some to be the highest teaching of Gotama Buddha given at Vulture's Peak.

Dalai lama This means ocean of wisdom. The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of both the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism and the Tibetan nation.

Six perfections Six guiding rules followed by Mahayana Buddhists to cultivate the virtues needed to achieve enlightenment.

Buddha-nature The fundamental nature of all beings that they are already an enlightened Buddha and all they need to do is realise it.

Avalokitesvara The Bodhisattva of compassion (Mahayana only).  

Ekayana  The teaching there is erally only one path to enlightenment and that is Mahayana.

Madhyamika philosophical school- The 'middle position' school founded by Nagarjuna, which took the philosophical position between the extremes of eternalism and nihilism.

Interbeing Everything is inter-linked and nothing can exist without all other things existing.

Conventional truth Conventional or relative truths are the obvious and apparent everyday truths; for example, empirical truths such as 'water boils at 100 degrees' and 'too much sugar is bad for your health'. Psychological and ethical truths are also conventional, because they are based in a dualistic thinking/consciousness that sees the world as being made up of inner self and I outer objects.

mandala A diagram used in mediation that depicts enlightenment. Often beautiful mandalas are constructed using coloured powder and chalks and then destroyed after a few days, as a remi nder of impermanence.

mantra Literally 'tool of the mind', a phrase containing the name of an enlightened being, which is repeated in order to manifest the qualities of that enlightened being.

mudra Hand gestures with particular meanings. Statues of enlightened beings always have mudras, so that they can be ident ified and associated with a specific Buddhist idea. Mudras are often used in worship, especially in Tibetan Buddhism.

om mani padme hum 'Hail to the Jewel in the Lotus', the mantra of the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokitesvara.

prayer flags / prayer wheels Flags with mantras written on them. Wheels containing mantras, which can be spun in order to symbolically 'say' the mantra many times.

Interbeing Everything

Interbeing Everything

Mahayana Buddhism:  Basics

There are about 350 million Buddhists in the world and although most are in Asian countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Thailand etc. Buddhism is now practised worldwide.    As Buddhism spread outwards from India, it gradually adapted to meet the needs of different peoples and cultures. As a result there are several different kinds of Buddhism.

Mahayana

Mahayana texts contain a mixture of ideas, the early texts probably composed in south India and confined to strict monastic Buddhism, the later texts written in northern India and no longer confined to monasticism but lay thinking also.

Mahayana uses Sanskrit as its main language, and monastic and lay followers work for the liberation of all sentient beings, making compassion and insight (wisdom) its central doctrines.  The Mahayana Buddhists, who emerged from the Mahasamgikas, believe that the Buddha gave a series of teachings at Vultures Peak (in modern day Rajgir, Northern India). Many of these have become Mahayana sutras. Some stories suggest that they were given to Nagas (benevolent snake like earth spirits) to remember and only later passed on to humans, when they had developed enough knowledge of the Buddhas ideas to understand them fully. Others i.e. Lotus Sutra that the Buddha gave new revelations at vulture peak to the more discerning followers who waited there and did not leave.

History of Mahayana

For nearly two millennia, Buddhism has been divided into two major schools, Theravada and Mahayana. Scholars have viewed Theravada Buddhism as "original" and Mahayana as a divergent school that split away, but modern scholarship questions this perspective.

Early second century BCE through first century CE developing Mahayana emphasis

The precise origins of Mahayana Buddhism are something of a mystery. The historical record shows it emerging as a distinctive school during the 1st and 2nd centuries CE. However, it had been developing gradually for a long time before that.

Historian Heinrich Dumoulin wrote that "Traces of Mahayana teachings appear already in the oldest Buddhist scriptures. Contemporary scholarship is inclined to view the transition of Mahayana as a gradual process hardly noticed by people at the time." [Dumoulin, Zen Buddhism: A History, Vol. 1, India and China (Macmillan, 1994), p. 28]

Although it seems to have originated about the last century BCE, it was not a widespread movement until several centuries later. It is not clear how this new movement began. It has been suggested that it developed from the Mahasanghika school, but there is no real evidence for this. Others have seen it as a lay protest against arrogant monks - but the evidence is that developments in Buddhist thought tend to come from those who specialise in it in the monasteries. A further suggestion is that it was influenced by developing Hinduism - but although similarities can be found, it is hard to know which way round the influence worked. It seems safest to agree with Paul Williams that 'the origins of the Mahayana are obscure in the extreme’

The Great Schism

About a century after the life of the Buddha the sangha split into two major factions, called Mahasanghika ("of the great sangha") and Sthavira ("the elders"). The reasons for this split, called the Great Schism, are not entirely clear but most likely concerned a dispute over the Vinaya-Pitaka, rules for the monastic orders. Sthavira and Mahasanghika then split into several other factions. Theravada Buddhism developed from a Sthavira sub-school that was established in Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BCE.

For some time it was thought Mahayana evolved from Mahasanghika, but more recent scholarship reveals a more complex picture. Today's Mahayana carries a bit of Mahasanghika DNA, so to speak, but it carries traces of long-ago Sthavira sects as well. It appears that Mahayana has roots in several early schools of Buddhism, and somehow the roots converged. The historical Great Schism may have had little to do with the eventual division between Theravada and Mahayana.

For example, Mahayana monastic orders do not follow a Mahasanghika version of the Vinaya. Tibetan Buddhism inherited its Vinaya from a Sthavira school called Mulasarvastivada. Monastic orders in China and elsewhere follow a Vinaya preserved by the Dharmaguptaka, a school from the same branch of Sthavira as Theravada. These schools developed after the Great Schism.

The Great Vehicle

Sometime in the 1st century BCE, the name Mahayana, or "great vehicle," began to be used to draw a distinction with "Hinayana," or the "lesser vehicle." The names point to an emerging emphasis on the enlightenment of all beings, as opposed to individual enlightenment. However, Mahayana Buddhism didn't yet exist as a separate school.

The goal of individual enlightenment seemed to some to be self-contradictory. The Buddha taught there is no permanent self or soul inhabiting our bodies. If that's the case, who is it that is enlightened?

Buddhists of 'the Great Vehicle', as opposed to that which they refer to as 'Hinayana' or 'Small Vehicle' Buddhism, represented nowadays only by the Theravada tradition. The name Mahayana suggests a superior path, or one with more room for more types of people, both of which Mahayana would claim. From a Mahayana viewpoint, 'Hinayana' Buddhism has its limitations, but from a Theravada viewpoint, their tradition is not a 'small vehicle', but the original, pure teaching of the Buddha, with which Mahayana Buddhists have tampered. There has however been little animosity between the two wings of Buddhism. Buddhism has always been tolerant of diversity, and in the heyday of Buddhism in India, Mahayana and non-Mahayana monks lived side by side in the same monasteries. In the historical development of Buddhism, Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism have flourished independently in different parts of the world.

Turnings of the Dharma Wheel

Mahayana is not a unitary phenomenon, but really just a useful label to describe a vast variety of Buddhist traditions, which have in common their acceptance of one or more sutras (S) or scriptures not found in the canon of Theravadins, and which are followed in the Northern and Far-Eastern countries mentioned above. In addition, Mahayana Buddhists share new - but differing - ideas about the goal of Buddhism, the Buddha(s), beings called bodhisattvas, and analyses of the nature of human consciousness and the universe. Mahayana is not so much a sect, denomination or school of thought, but a much vaguer 'movement', which would identify its key concepts as wisdom and compassion, and its goal as the aspiration towards Buddhahood for the benefit of all beings.

Mahayana 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.  (See take it Further below)

The Third Turning 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.  (You can find out more about Yogacara from any good textbook)

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. Most Buddhists from China, Japan, Tibet, Korea, Mongolia, Vietnam and the Himalayan kingdoms of Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan refer to themselves as 'Mahayana' Buddhists,

The Mahayana Sutras

The Mahayana Sutras are accepted as scripture and as the word of the Buddha by Mahayana Buddhists only. Historically, the earliest of these seem to date from the 1st century BCE, and others many centuries later, but Mahayana tradition is clear that these are the genuine teaching of the Buddha. In what sense? The answer to this is varied. Some claim that the Mahayana sutras were taught by the historical Buddha Shakyamuni while he was on earth, that Mahayana and, non-Mahayana teachings were delivered to different groups of listeners according to their capacity to understand.   

There is a tradition that at the same time as the Council of the arhats met to recite the Pali Canon, there was a Council of bodhisattvas gathering to recite the Mahayana scriptures. When queried as to why these scriptures did not come to public notice until centuries later, one explanation is that they were given into the keeping of the Nagaspirits until the time was ripe. Another suggestion is that the sutras were not revealed by the historical earthly Buddha, but by the Buddha conceived of by Mahayana Buddhists as still present either as a heavenly being or spiritual reality. This could either be Shakyamuni in his heavenly form, or another Buddha altogether, seen in visions that come in deep meditation. Another approach is to say that, even in the Pali Canon, the word of the Buddha is not just that literally spoken by Shakyamuni, but also words spoken by others that he approved of. Thus anyone who speaks from the complete insight into reality, known in Mahayana Buddhism as perfect wisdom, is speaking the word of the Buddha. This has to be taken in the context of the sayings even in the Pali Canon that whatever leads to spiritual progress 'dispassion, detachment, decrease of materialism, simplicity, content, solitude, delight in good', 'this is the master's message' (Vinaya 2.10); and also the remembrance that all teaching is like a raft, a means to an end rather than the end itself.

Questions – Test yourself!

1.   Who were the Mahasamgikas, and how did Mahayana Buddhism develop?

2.   Why is Mahayana Buddhism so called the great Vehicle?

3.   Explain what are the of the Three Turnings of the Dharma Wheel?

4.   Why do Mahayana Buddhists reject the need to follow the individual path, renounce the householder life and embrace the monastic lifestyle is the best way to achieve enlightenment?

5.   Who was Shantideva and why is he important?

Take it Further: Madhyamika and Prajnaparamita Emphasis.

Nagarjuna (approximately 150-250CE) was an Indian scholar who is credited as having developed the philosophy of the Prajnaparamita literature. The Madhyamika philosophical school uses the central ideas of the Prajnaparamita literature. Madhyamika means 'the middle position' and it teache's the middle way between eternalism and nihilism, that all objects and beings neither exist absolutely (eternalism) nor do not exist absolutely (nihilism). On a conventional level they exist relatively (duality of self and other). Ultimately, however, reality transcends these distinctions (nonduality).

This is the teaching of sunyata (emptiness), that reality is beyond all  categories of thought and relative experience. Nagarjuna claims that he is true to the original teaching of the Buddha. His teaching can be found in the Mulamadhamakarika (verses on the fundamentals of the middle way). Nagarjuna states that for something to have svabhava (own-being), its existence cannot be dependent on anything else. If something has svabhava it brings itself into existence and has unchanging characteristics which totally distinguish it from all other things. For example:

+ If chocolate digestives had own-being (svabhava) then they would come into existence on own rather than being made in a factory.

+ They would also contain ingredients that you would not find in any other item anywhere in the world.

But neither of these are true. Chocolate digestives are made in factories and are made from flour, butter, sugar, milk and chocolate - the same as chocolate chip cookies!

All things are dependent on causes and conditions to bring them about and are made from elements derived from outside them. When the conditions for the 'thing' cease, the elements are returned. This means all things are empty (sunyata) of own-being or inherent existence and exist only in relation.to other things. For example:

+ Chocolate digestives only exist because people want to eat them, so other people make them, people make the factories and the shops to sell them, farmers grow the crops needed to make them, and all this relies on the earth and the sun.

+ So, everything is inter-dependent on everything else because it exists in relation to everything else.

Key Quote

The Vietnamese Zen Teacher Thich Nhat Hanh told this story to explain sunyata, although he uses the word 'interbeing' or 'inter-are'. The word 'sunyata' translates as emptiness but interbeing or inter-are is a much better explanation for this word.

“There is a cloud floating in this sheet of paper. Without a cloud, there will be no rain; without rain, the trees cannot grow: and without trees, we cannot make paper. The cloud is essential for the paper to exist. If the cloud is not here, the sheet of paper cannot be here either. So we can say that the cloud and the paper inter-are. If we look into this sheet of paper even more deeply, we can see the sunshine in it. If the sunshine is not there, the forest cannot grow. In fact nothing can grow. Even we cannot grow without sunshine. And so, we know that the sunshine is also in this sheet of paper. The paper and the sunshine inter-are. And if we continue to look we can see the logger who cut the tree and brought it to the mill to be transformed into paper. And we see the wheat. We know that the logger cannot exist without his daily bread, and therefore the wheat that became his bread is also in this sheet of paper. And the logger's father and mother are in it too. When we look in this way we see that without all of these things, this sheet of paper cannot exist.” Source: www.awakin.org/readlView.php?tid=222

The middle way - non-dualism

If asked whether things exist, a person cannot say either yes or no as both would lead to extremes and give the wrong impression:

+ 'Yes' is too definite, implying that things exist eternally, separately and independently. This leads to eternalism.

+ 'No' is too negative, implying that things do not exist in any sense. This leads to nihilism.

Nagarjuna even denied the other possibilities: that they both exist and do not exist; and they neither exist nor do not exist. This is what Nagarjuna called non-dualism: reality is beyond concepts and beyond our ordinary way of seeing things. Another way Buddhists express this is to speak of the Tathata (suchness) of things - they simply are.

For example:

+ Custard cream biscuits exist at a conventional level. We can buy a packet from the shops, eat them, enjoy them and it all works fine (so long as we don't eat too many and feel sick!)

+ We think of custard creams as separate 'things', but they are 'put together' from flour, sugar and so on, which are also 'put together' from other elements. They have no separate existence. That is obvious.

+ However, in addition, all our reactions - loving them, hating them, craving more of them, feeling upset because we can't get any more - are also 'put together' and arise dependent on certain conditions. These conditions are our previous mental habits, physical cravings for sugar and clever marketing of products. That is not so obvious.

+ Nagarjuna said that if we believe in things and ourselves as existing in some real, fixed sense this is the ignorance (avidya) and causes suffering because the world is not fixed and neither are we. Sometimes we can't have the' custard creams. Sometimes they make us sick.

+ When we fully understand that all things arise dependent on certain conditions, this is what the Buddhists see as liberation. As Nagarjuna said 'Knowledge of the Unconditioned; the Deathless One sees things as they are; beyond the conventional self and the dualistic mind.' Things are said to have the quality of 'suchness' - they appear just as they are, beyond all categories of existence and non-existence, and the labels good or bad. One can still enjoy custard creams!

Nagarjuna said that 'the coming into being of own-being from conditions and causes is not possible'. Nagarjuna suggests that this is just a restatement of the Buddha's original teaching that all things come into being through causes and conditions: ‘It is dependent origination that we call emptiness.' To all things, emptiness is a way of trying to express that no individual thing is anything mand by Itself, but only in relation to others.

In teaching emptiness, Nagarjuna criticises the normally held view of causality, that really existing things are brought about by really existing causes. If things really exist (have own-being), then they would either exist forever or not at all. It would be illogical for things possessing own-being ever to be brought into being: 'No existing thing is produced, either from itself, from another, nor from both, nor from no cause.' This also suggests that instead of there being a cause followed by an effect, causes and effects exist simultaneously with each other. For example:

+ If the cause of a biscuit ends before the biscuit comes into being, then how do we move from one to the other?

+ Rather than cause and effect, Nagarjuna spoke of co-arising' or conditionality. When all the conditions for a biscuit are present, a biscuit factory, workers, demand for biscuits, the sun and the earth - then biscuits arise.

Nirvana and samsara

Nagarjuna also taught that there is ultimately no distinction between samssra and nirvana: 'The limit of nirvana is the limit of samsara.' He argues that nirvana and samsara are ways of seeing, with wisdom or with ignorance.

Nirvana is “the calming of all apprehension and the blissful calming of false concepts”. This teaching on emptiness, both samsara or nirvana point to a reality Which has no inherent existence. Therefore, nirvana and samsara cannot be separated and have no independent ultimate and opposite realities. Instead, nirvana is just seeing samsara for what it really is: empty. Nirvana is knowing the Unconditioned, the Deathless, the Unborn. Put more positively it is knowing the greater Self, living with compassion and without fear. Samsara is believing in our limited personality as ultimately real and then fearing death as a result.

If one can sort out the level of truth on which various statements are being made, then the teaching on emptiness - that nothing exists separately and independent of other things - is an obvious truth on one level.

The problem is that although logical analysis can show that all things are empty, we talk and live as if things did have own-being. Our language contains concepts that we use as if they did refer to independently existing objects (such as me, mine, yours, you, us and them). Therefore, the perfect wisdom of sunyata involves not just intellectually accepting emptiness, but realising It m our thoughts, words and actions. For Buddhists, both meditation and living skilfully (sila: morality) are necessary to help develop this wisdom.

Questions – Test yourself!

1.   Who was Nagarjuna and what was his middle way between eternalism and nihilism?

2.   What did the Vietnamese Zen Teacher Thich Nhat Hanh think the implications are of sunyata, for which he uses the words 'interbeing' or 'inter-are'? 

3.   What did Nargajuna teach about inherent existence or svabhava (own-being) in his text Mulamadhamakarika? 

4.   Explain what Nargajuna mean by 'suchness' and his thinking about existence?

5.   Explain what Nargajuna thinking about the radical implications of ‘emptiness / sunyata is for the origin of things or their ‘dependent origination’? Do you agree!

6.   Explain what Nargajuna thinks about what perspective the reailty of Nibanna gives!

The distinctive beliefs of Mahayana 1  

Mahayana developed following the great schism and out of the various early Nikyia schools of Buddhism alongside Theravada which the Mahayanists would latter refer to as 'Hinayana' (the small vehicle).  Mahayana is very diverse in nature and claims to have preserved the more advanced or perfected Dharma of the Buddha, kept secret since the 5th century BCE. However true that is, Mahayana Buddhism today certainly has its roots very early in Buddhism but developed most intensively from the 1st Century BC to 5th century CE. While its key ideas may predate that period 1st century BCE is when their scriptures began to be put into writing. Northern Buddhism Countries where Mahayana exists today include China, Japan, Korea, Nepal, Tibet, and Vietnam. 

Mahayana develop some very distinctive teachings to Theravada. Theravada aims at the individual Arhat path goal of Pari-nibanna whereas Mahayana aims at the Bodhisattva Ideal becoming compassionate, and being reborn to help others ‘escape the forest of samsara’. They belief that everything is radically impermanent and empty of inherent existence called Sunyata. They teach a more cosmic idea of the Buddha called Trikaya. The historical Buddha did not need to be enlightened as he like all of us was already enlightened and his life was only an act of Upaya to help those who could not accept the more perfected wisdom or Prajnaparamita. They teach a collective approach and emphasis returning to help others called The Bodhisattva vow. Each rebirth being an opportunity to become more perfected and achieve greater virtue called the Six Paramitas.   While Theravada reject the existence of God and mere metaphorical usefulness of the gods Mahayana teach there are higher beings or Transcendent Bodhisattvas who can answer our prayers. A further goal that is taught is to discover your already existing true self or Buddha nature.

The main beliefs which distinguish Mahayana from other forms of Buddhism are as follows:'

1.  Sunyata

Mahayana emphasizes sunyata, or the emptiness that comes with enlightenment. While Theravada Buddhism suggests that sunyata is the ultimate basis of all things, Mahayana holds that no such basis exists, that nothing is anything until compared to something else. Put briefly - and perhaps confusingly - everything is nothing! Mahayana embraces the letting go of all phenomena as aspects of illusion.

Śūnyatā, translated most often as emptiness, vacuity, and sometimes voidness, is an Indian philosophical and mathematical construct. Within Hinduism,

 “In Mahāyāna Buddhism, śūnyatā refers to the tenet that "all things are empty of intrinsic existence and nature (svabhava)", but may also refer to the Buddha-nature teachings and primordial or empty awareness, as in Dzogchen, Shentong, or Chan.” Paul Williams

Theravāda Buddhists generally take the view that emptiness is merely the not-self nature of the five aggregates. Emptiness is an important door to liberation in the Theravāda tradition just as it is in Mahayana.

There are two main sources of Indian Buddhist discussions of emptiness: the Mahayana sutra literature, which is traditionally believed to be the word of the Buddha in Mahayana Buddhism, and the shastra literature, which was composed by Buddhist scholars and philosophers.

The Prajñāpāramitā (Perfection of Wisdom) Sutras taught that all entities, including dharmas, are empty of self, essential core, or intrinsic nature (svabhava), being only conceptual existents or constructs. The notion of prajña (wisdom, knowledge) presented in these sutras is a deep non-conceptual understanding of emptiness (Suynata). The Prajñāpāramitā sutras also use various metaphors to explain the nature of things as emptiness, stating that things are like "illusions" (māyā) and "dreams" (svapna). The 100 BC 8000 lines (Astasahasrika Prajñaparamita, possibly the earliest of these sutras), states:

“If he knows the five aggregates as like an illusion, But makes not illusion one thing, and the aggregates another; If, freed from the notion of multiple things, he courses in peace— Then that is his practice of wisdom, the highest perfection.”

Perceiving dharmas and beings like an illusion (māyādharmatām) is termed the "great armor" (mahāsaṃnaha) of the Bodhisattva, who is also termed the 'illusory man' (māyāpuruṣa). The 2nd-5th C Diamond Sutra (Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra) adds the following similes to describe how all conditioned things are to be contemplated: like a bubble, a shadow, like dew or a flash of lightning. In the worldview of these sutras, though we perceive a world of concrete and discrete objects, these objects are "empty" of the identity imputed by their designated labels. In that sense, they are deceptive and like an illusion. The Perfection of Wisdom texts constantly repeat that nothing can be found to ultimately exist in some fundamental way. This applies even to the highest Buddhist concepts (bodhisattvas, bodhicitta, and even prajña itself). Even nirvana itself is said to be empty and like a dream or magical illusion.

In a famous passage, the 7th C Heart sutra, a later but influential Prajñāpāramitā text, directly states that the five skandhas (along with the five senses, the mind, and the four noble truths) are said to be "empty" (sunya):

Form is emptiness, emptiness is form

Emptiness is not separate from form, form is not separate from emptiness

Whatever is form is emptiness, whatever is emptiness is form.

In the Prajñāpāramitā sutras the knowledge of emptiness, i.e. prajñāpāramitā is said to be the fundamental virtue of the bodhisattva, who is said to stand on emptiness by not standing (-stha) on any other dharma (phenomena). Bodhisattvas who practice this perfection of wisdom are said to have several qualities such as the "not taking up" (aparigṛhīta) and non-apprehension (anupalabdhi) of anything, non-attainment (aprapti), not-settling down (anabhinivesa) and not relying on any signs (nimitta, mental impressions). Bodhisattvas are also said to be free of fear in the face of the ontological groundlessness of the emptiness doctrine which can easily shock others

2. Bodhisattva

Mahayana also differs in its preferred path to enlightenment. The Mahayana tradition privileges the Bodhisattva-path. A bodhisattva is one who has achieved enlightenment but postpones full nirvana to help others on their paths to do the same. Unlike the Theravada tradition, which held that enlightenment required years of careful study by trained monks and sometimes required multiple reincarnated lifetimes to achieve, Mahayana tradition holds that any individual can take up the bodhisattva-path and that enlightenment can occur suddenly and within one lifetime.

Mahayana Buddhism celebrates the Buddha as transcendent being and encourages the use of his image, as a meditative tool or object of devotion. Depictions of heroic bodhisattvas are also associated with Mahayana Buddhism.

The Dalai Lama is believed to be a reincarnation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion Avalokitesvara:

Arhat or Bodhisattva?

For Theravada Buddhism, an Arhat is a perfect person who has overcome craving and attachment and achieved enlightenment. This goal is achieved by following the Eightfold Path. An Arhat is said to have attained as blissful state beyond ordinary happiness, free from self-centred desires arising from ego, delusion, lust and conceit.  However, some have said that the Arhat path is limited because Arhats only work towards their own Enlightenment. For some this is seen as selfish, though Theravada Buddhists refute this by showing that the

Eightfold path encourages selflessness, ethics, generosity and developing loving kindness.

As Mahayana Buddhism developed, the term Arhat came to be used for someone who has made progress towards enlightenment but has not yet attained it. The ideal is the Bodhisattva rather than an Arhat. The Bodhisattva ideal places altruistic intent at its core. Bodhisattvas see their own enlightenment and the enlightenment of all beings as interconnected. Bodhisattvas choose rebirth in the cycle of samsara in order to help all other beings attain enlightenment. They combine the compassion for ending the suffering of all beings with the wisdom of understanding how to get all beings there. The Buddha's teaching to his disciples was to 'go forth for the welfare of the many' and some Mahayana Buddhists take a Bodhisattva vow with the aim of doing this. It is, of course, literally impossible for one being to achieve the ideal. It became a vast myth, with Bodhisattvas also conceived as of light, more than human, appearing all over the universe (the Sambhoga-kaya which are the 'bodies of light or enjoyment' of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas). The Theravada Critic Rahula calling the teaching ‘a fascinating class of mythical bodhisattvas’

The similarities and differences between the Arhat and Bodhisattva paths.

Similarities

Differences

Both accept the three refuges.

Both aim to gain enlightenment

The six perfections are similar to the elements of the Eightfold Path.

Bodhisattvas aim to help every sentient being gain enlightenment.

Mahayana aim at discovering their Buddha nature

The virtue of renunciation (nekkhamma) is rejected by Mahayana and the virtue of Upaya (Skillful means) is rejected by Mahayana.

The Bodhisattva vow

Today the Mahayana Buddhist begins his faith by taking the The Bodhisattva vow.  The

It is 'Beings are numberless, I vow to save them; Desires are inexhaustible, I vow to end them; Dharma gates are boundless, I vow to enter them; Buddha's way is unsurpassable, I vow to become it.'

The Six perfections

Six guiding rules are followed by Mahayana Buddhists to cultivate the virtues, character strengths, needed to achieve enlightenment.

The India Scholar Santideva (690-743cE) stated that there are six perfections which an aspiring Bodhisattva must focus on. They are:

1. generosity

2. morality

3. patience

4. energy

5. meditation

6. wisdom.

Key Quote

‘May I be like a guard for those who are protectoriess. A guide for those who journey on the road. For those who wish to go across the water. May I be a boat. a raft. a bridge.’ Santideva

These ideas first collected as six the 2nd Century Lotus Sutra were then developed in the 3rd century through ninth century and Santideva's six perfections became part of a ten-stage path (called the ten Bhumis) to become a Bodhisattva.

Table 5.1 The ten-stage path to becoming a Bodhisattva

Ten Stages (Bhumis)

perfections

1 Joyous

2 Stainless

3 Luminous

4 Radiant

5 Difficult to conquer

6 Approaching or face to face

7 Gone afar

8 Immovable

9 Good intelligence

10 Cloud of Dharma 

Generosity

Morality

Patience

Energy

Meditation

Wisdom

Skill in means (Upaya)

Determination

Power

Gnosis (higher knowledge)

Transcendent Bodhisattvas

Mahayana Buddhists believe that there are earthly and transcendent Bodhisattvas. The 'earthly' ones continue to be reborn in this world and live as humans (the Dalai Lama is seen as an earthly Bodhisattva), while 'transcendent' ones remain in some region between earth and nibbana as spiritual or mythical beings. However, they remain active in the world, appearing in different forms to help others and leading them to enlightenment.

Mahayana Buddhists pray to these Bodhisattvas in times of need.

The four main Bodhisattvas are:

+ Avalokitesvara: represents great compassion. He has a thousand arms, each one helping someone. In China and Japan, he is seen as Guanyin/ Kannon who is female and sometimes shown as a mother with child.

+ Manjusri: represents great wisdom. He is often depicted with a sword which represents cutting through ignorance.

+ Ksitigarbha: for many Mahayana Buddhists he best embodies the Bodhisattva vow. He lives in the hell realms, trying to save the hell beings.

+ Samantabhadra: represents practice and meditation. He is the patron of the Lotus Sutra and in Nichiren Buddhism he is the protector of the Lotus Sutra.

Alongside these Bodhisattvas there are countless others and a large number of Buddhas from other realms who act in the same way as the Bodhisattvas; for example, the Medicine Buddha, Green Tara, White Tara and Maitreya.

Merit Transference

Merit transfer is directing one's own good deeds (or karma) to benefit another being. Practices of merit transfer are common in all major Buddhist traditions, and are typically performed to help deceased family members, deities, or all beings. 

In Mahāyāna Buddhism, it was believed that celestial Buddhas or bodhisattvas could transfer merits to devotees to help relieve their suffering. The latter could then share that merit with others. When a bodhisattva transferred his merits, his merits did not decrease in the process, because transfer of merit was seen as a merit in itself. This was called the inexhaustible store of merit.

The idea of the bodhisattva transferring merit has led to several Buddhist traditions focused on devotion. According to Gombrich, this is where the entire idea of the bodhisattva is based on, and according to Buddhist studies scholar Luis Gómez, it is the expression of the Buddhist ideals of compassion and emptiness. In Chinese Buddhism, influenced by Pure Land Buddhism, it became common to transfer merit and help the deceased attain the Pure Land.

Questions – Test yourself!

1. What is the idea of emptiness or Sunyata?

2. What is the difference between the Arhat goal of Theravada and the Bodhisattva ideal of Mahayana?

3. What is the Mahayana idea of the Bodhisattva vow?

4. How do Mahayana think about the possibilities of their being gods or transcendent Buddhas who can answer prayers?

5. What is merit transference and why is it important? 

The distinctive beliefs of Mahayana 2  

3. The Prajnaparamita Sutras

The Prajnaparamita Sutras

The Prajnaparamita Sutras are among the oldest of the Mahayana Sutras and are the foundation of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy. Prajnaparamita means 'perfection of wisdom', which refers to the realisation or direct experience of sunyata (emptiness).

The Prajnaparamita Sutras vary from very long to very short and are often named according to the number oflines in the sutra, for example, 'The Perfection of Wisdom in 25,000 Lines'. The most well-known of the wisdom sutras are the Diamond Sutra, also called 'The Perfection of Wisdom in 300 Lines', the Lotus sutra, Buddha nature Sutra and the Heart Sutra.

Mahayana Buddhist legend says that the Prajnaparamita Sutras were given by the historical Buddha to various disciples. Because the world was not ready for them, however, they were hidden until Nagarjuna the second century Buddhist scholar discovered them in an underwater cave guarded by nagas (semi-divine deities). The 'discovery' of the Prajnaparamita Sutras is considered the second of the three turnings of the dhamma wheel.

Scholars believe the oldest of the Prajnaparamita Sutras the 8000 lines was written in about 100BCE, and some may date them to as late as the fifth century CE The oldest surviving versions of these texts are mostly Chinese translations that date from the early first millennium CE.

Nagarjuna's Madhyamika philosophy is clearly developed from the Prajnaparamita  Sutras, where the basic teaching is:

+ All phenomena and beings are empty of own-being and they inter-exist.

+ They are 'neither one nor many, neither individual nor indistinguishable'; all phenomena are empty of independent characteristics.

+ They are 'neither born nor destroyed; neither pure nor defiled; neither coming nor going', all beings inter-exist, we are not truly separate from each other. Realising this is enlightenment and liberation from suffering.

The Lotus Sutra

The Lotus Sutra is one of the most popular Mahayana scriptures, especially in China and Japan. The sutra contains the context of and the sermon given by Gautama Buddha to a vast congregation of disciples and Bodhisattvas at Vulture's Peak. In this vast congregation were Theravada monks and nuns, but they did not like what they heard and left shortly after the Buddha started the sermon.  For early Mahayana Buddhists, this explained why the Lotus Sutra is not included in the Pali Canon. Scholars today might say that the Lotus Sutra and the Mahayana were natural expansions of Buddhas culture and practice. Mahayana means 'Great Way' because it refers all great beings and broadens Buddhism out from the narrowly monastic ideal.

The key concepts the Lotus sutra contains are:

+ all beings are called, not just arhats but to be buddhas (Bodhisattva vow)

+all beings have the embryo or potential of Buddha within them- (Buddha Nature)

+the Buddha is a being with a transcendent existence far beyond the beyond the brief

Life story usually told about Siddhartha Gotoma – (Transcendent Buddhas / Trikaya).

+ upaya is an important tool in leading others to enlightenment

+ there is only one vehicle (ekayana - path to enlightenment) and that is Mahayana.

The Lotus Sutra contains many parables told by the Buddha to illustrate this new set of teachings.  Out of all of the parables told in the Lotus Sutra, the following three are particularly important to Mahayana Buddhists.

The Burning House (Chapter 3)

An old, wise man comes home to find that his house is on fire and his many sons are trapped inside. He tells them to come out, but they do not understand what he means, and they are too busy playing. So, the father tells them that he has presents outside: carts pulled by goats, deer and bullocks. The children come out and ask for the carts, but the father does not have them. Instead, he gives each child a magnificent cart, drawn by white oxen. The Buddha explains that he is the father in the story and uses upaya to deal with the situation; the house is samsara, which is on fire with the three poisons; the children are disciples; the promised carts are the various apparent rewards or benefits of following Buddhist teachings and practices; and the ox carts are the true vehicle for liberation or nirvana.

The Magic City (Chapter 7)

A group of people are being led by a guide through a wilderness to a place where they will find great treasure. After a long time travelling, the group become tired and want to tum back. The guide tells them that, just a short distance ahead, there is a city where they can stay and rest. They enter the city and stay until they feel better, then the city vanishes. The guide says that he created the city by magic to satisfy their needs. Now that it has fulfilled its purpose, he has made it disappear. He says that the treasure is close, and with one more effort, they will find it. The Buddha is the guide; the group of people are disciples; the magic city is Buddhism; and the treasure is not enlightenment but Buddha-nature (becoming a Buddha)

The Hidden Gem (Chapter 8) 

See further below under Buddha-Nature

The Tathāgatagarbha sūtra

The Buddha Nature (Tathāgatagarbha) is the topic of the Tathāgatagarbha sūtras, where the title itself means a garbha (womb, matrix, seed) containing Tathāgata (Buddha). In the Tathāgatagarbha sūtras the perfection of the wisdom of not-self is stated to be the true self. The ultimate goal of the path is characterized using a range of positive language that had been used in Indian philosophy previously by essentialist philosophers, but which was now transmuted into a new Buddhist vocabulary to describe a being who has successfully completed the Buddhist path.

These Sutras suggest, states Paul Williams, that 'all sentient beings contain a Tathāgata as their 'essence, core or essential inner nature'. They also present a further developed understanding of emptiness, wherein the Buddha-nature, the Buddha and Liberation are seen as transcending the realm of emptiness, i.e. of the conditioned and dependently originated phenomena.

The Heart Sutra

The Heart Sutra famously states, 'form is emptiness, emptiness is form'. This is the basic formulation for the teaching on sunyata. The Heart Sutra is a condensed explanation of the Mahayana teaching of the two truths doctrine, which says that ultimately all phenomena are sunyata, empty' or own-being, but conventionally they all look like they are different and separate. This is explained more fully in Chapter 6.

In the sutra, the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara addresses Sariputra, who represents the Theravada author of the Abhidha!llma. Avalokitesvara explains the idea of emptiness (sunyata) of all phenomena, then suggests that the Buddha's teachings on the Four Noble Truths are just conventional truths and cannot be applied to ultimate truths. Therefore, a Bodhisattva must rely on the perfection of wisdom, defined in the Prajnaparamita Sutras .

Questions – Test yourself!

1. What is the Prajnaparamita?

2. Who was Nagarjuna and what do Mahayana Buddhists think he discovered?

3. How does the narrative Lotus Sutra present Theravada and Arhatship as a goal as lacking in perfected wisdom?    

4. What are the key teachings of the Lotus Sutra?

5. What is message of the Burning house parable?

6. What is message of the Magic City parable?

7. What is message of the Buddha Nature Sutra?

8. What is message of the Heart Sutra?

The distinctive beliefs of Mahayana 2  

4. Upaya

Upaya is generally translated as skillful means and refers to the way the Buddha adapted his teaching to suit his audience. Mahayana Buddhists believe that it is these adapations to different people's different needs that result in some teachings seeming to contradict each other. The Buddha used upaya for all of his teachings. For example, he chose to teach his own ascetic friends rather than lay people after he was enlightened because he knew that

They would not understand his ideas. When he taught Upali, the householder, he started by talking about the virtues of a good householder and slowly working his way towards the ideas of the Four Noble Truths, By doing this, he recognised the concerns of Upali, rather than just trying to convert him.

Upaya works on the principle that there are two levels of truth - ultimate and conventional (see below).

Mahayana and Theravada Buddhists both understand the two truths. The parable of the burning house in the Lotus Sutra is a good example of this. The house represents conventional reality, the ordinary way of seeing things. Children are playing in the house but there is a fire. The father encourages his children to leave the house by saying there are bigger and better toys outside in the garden. This is an example of using skilful means because they would not yet understand that the house is on fire or what the danger was. They are saved for now and later he can point to the ultimate truth that the house (the world) is on fire (with greed, hatred and delusion).

Interpretations of upaya

There are different views of upaya.

+ Some scholars suggest that Theravada Buddhists think upaya is just an excuse to allow the Buddha's teachings to be changed and for people to claim that they are true.

+ Some scholars have also suggested that Mahayana Buddhists use upaya to question whether the Theravada teachings are in fact true as they suggest that the Pali Canon is only the most basic teaching and that the Mahayana sutras are the more complex 'truer' version.

+ The modern Buddhist scholar Schroeder challenges both of these views as he suggests that the Buddha uses upaya throughout his teaching career and that both the Theravada Pali Canon and the Mahayana sutras contain elements of upaya.

5. Trikaya

The three-body doctrine of the Buddha. The three bodies are Dharma-kaya (Truth-body),

Sambhoga-kaya (Enjoyment body), and Nirmana-kaya (Manifestation-body).

The Trikaya doctrine

The Mahayana needed to account for the continuing influence and presence of the Buddha centuries after the death of the historical Buddha. The Theravadins had a practice of imagining the Buddha and placed images of the Buddha or something representing him on their shrines. They felt his continued presence through this. The Mahayana made this into a formal and more comprehensive teaching known as the Trikaya.

According to this philosophy, all of the Buddhas have three bodies (trikaya), or three aspects. This means that they are in essence transcendent beings rather than limited to their human form. In the Pali Canon, the Buddha seems to make a distinction between himself as the enlightened but mortal individual on the one hand and on the other hand the embodiment of the truth. This shows two ways of viewing the Buddha. This is possibly where the concept of Trikaya originated.

The enlightened historical individual was known as the Nirmana-kaya (Manifestation-body). Nirmana-kaya is the term used to describe the physical body of the Buddha who was born, gained enlightenment, taught the Four Noble Truths and died. The person of the Buddha died like we all die -however, this is only one aspect of the meaning and significance of the

Buddha.

The Dharma-kaya (Truth-body) is the embodiment of the dharma or truth. They are a physical person who embodies the truth contained in the universe. In Christian terms this is like Jesus being the word of God made flesh.) This is the essence of all Buddhas and is independent of the person realising it. The Buddha did not invent the Dharma, he discovered it. 'Dharma' does not always refer to the teachings of the Buddha recorded in scriptures. The Dharma in this case refers to the truth from which all Buddha's teachings

come, which transcends individual personality.

Key Quote

‘The Buddha told one of his monks, Vasettha, that the Buddha was Dharmakaya, the 'Truth-body' or the 'Embodiment of Truth'. On another occasion, the Buddha told Vakkali, 'He who sees the Dhamma (Truth) sees the Tathagata, he who sees the Tathagata sees the Dhamma' (samyutta Nikaya).

In later Mahayana philosophy, the idea of the Sambhoga-kaya (Enjoymentbody) developed. The Sambhoga-kaya can be considered as the body or aspect through which the Buddha appeared in the world. 'Enjoyment' refers to a selfless, pure, spiritual enjoyment, not the enjoyment of sensual pleasure. The Enjoyment-body is considered to be a person, though not necessarily a human. This is often called the heavenly body. Some Theravada Buddhist scholars have suggested that this was only added by those who could not come to terms with the fact that the Buddha was just a man who had lived and died.

For Theravada Buddhism, an Arhat is a perfect person who has overcome craving and attachment and achieved enlightenment. This goal is achieved by following the Eightfold Path. An Arhat is said to have attained as blissful state beyond ordinary happiness, free from self centre desires arising from ego, delusion, lust and conceit. However, some have said that the Arhat path is limited because Arhats only work towards their own Enlightenment. For some this is seen as selfish, though Theravada Buddhists refute this by showing that the Eightfold path encourages selflessness, ethics, generosity and developing loving kindness.

As Mahayana Buddhism developed, the term Arhat came to be used for someone who has made progress towards enlightenment but has not yet attained it. The ideal is the Bodhisattva rather than an Arhat. The Bodhisattva ideal places altruistic intent at its core. Bodhisattvas see their own enlightenment and the enlightenment of all beings as interconnected. Bodhisattvas choose rebirth in the cycle of samsara in order to help all other beings attain enlightenment. They combine the compassion for ending the suffering of all beings with the wisdom of understanding how to get all beings there. The Buddha's teaching to his disciples was to 'go forth for the welfare of the many' and some Mahayana Buddhists take a Bodhisattva vow with the aim of doing this. It is, of course, literally impossible for one being to achieve the ideal. It became a vast myth, with Bodhisattvas also conceived as 35 of light, more than human, appearing all over the universe (the Sambhoga-kaya which are the 'bodies of light or enjoyment' of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas).

Questions – Test yourself!

1. What is the teaching of Upaya?

2. How does the Burning house parable teach Upaya?

3. What is the conventional and ultimate truths to be learn from the Burning house parable?

4. What do Theravada think about the idea of Upaya?

5. What is the Trikaya doctrine?

6. Why do Mahayana reject the idea of becoming Arhats?

The distinctive beliefs of Mahayana 3  

5 The two-truth doctrine

The Buddhist doctrine of the two truths differentiates between two levels of satya (meaning "truth" or "reality" in the teaching of the Śākyamuni Buddha: the "conventional" or "provisional" (saṁvṛti) truth, and the "ultimate" (paramārtha) truth. The belief that there are two levels, two concurrent perspectives, on which to understand “reality,” was originated by Nagarjuna in the Middle Way Philosophy and has become a core belief in Mahayana Buddhism.

+ Conventional or relative truths are the obvious and apparent everyday truths, such as empirical truths like water boils at 100 degrees and too much sugar is bad for your health. Psychological and ethical truths are also conventional, because they are based in a dualistic consciousness that sees the world as being made up of inner self and outer objects.

+ Ultimate or absolute truth is non· dualistic awareness, which sees everything as it is, beyond self and other, the spacious and timeless essence of life.

The Burning house parable idea of Upaya is based on the idea of the two truths (see above)

The exact meaning varies between the various Buddhist schools and traditions. The best known interpretation is from the Madhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, whose founder was the Indian Buddhist monk and philosopher Nāgārjuna (c. 150 – c. 250 CE). For Nāgārjuna, the two truths are epistemological truths or ways of knowing reality.

+ The phenomenal world is accorded a provisional existence. The character of the phenomenal world is declared to be neither real nor unreal, but logically indeterminable.

+ Ultimately, all phenomena are empty (śūnyatā) of an inherent self or essence, but exist depending on other phenomena (pratītyasamutpāda).

The idea is reflected for Mahayana in the wheel of dependent existence.  

Nargajuna famoulsy he said ‘all assertions are false!’ What idid he mean? He and the other Madhyamikas distinguish between loka-samvriti-satya, "world speech truth" c.q. "relative truth" c.q. "truth that keeps the ultimate truth concealed", and paramarthika satya, ultimate truth.

Nagarjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā provides a logical defense for the claim that all things are empty (sunyata) of an inherently-existing self-nature.  Sunyata, however, is also shown to be "empty", and Nagarjuna's assertion of "the emptiness of emptiness" prevents sunyata from constituting a higher or ultimate reality.  Nagarjuna's view is that "the ultimate truth is that there is no ultimate truth".

In Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā the two truths doctrine is used to defend the identification of dependent origination (pratītyasamutpāda) with emptiness (śūnyatā):

“The Buddha's teaching of the Dharma is based on two truths: a truth of worldly convention and an ultimate truth. Those who do not understand the distinction drawn between these two truths do not understand the Buddha's profound truth. Without a foundation in the conventional truth the significance of the ultimate cannot be taught. Without understanding the significance of the ultimate, liberation is not achieved.” Nagarjuna, Mūlamadhyamakakārika 24:8–10.

6. Buddha-nature

The fundamental nature of all beings that they are already an enlightened Buddha and all they need to do is realise it.  An influential division of 1st-millennium CE Buddhist texts develop the notion of Tathāgatagarbha or Buddha-nature called the Buddha nature Sutras. Some argue Chapter 8 Of the Lotus Sutra is one of the earliest references to the idea. However, the explicit Tathāgatagarbha doctrine, at its earliest, probably appeared about the later part of the 3rd century CE, and is verifiable in Chinese translations of 1st millennium CE.

The Hidden Gem (Chapter 8, Lotus Sutra) 

A man who has become poor visits his friend who has become rich. They enjoy a meal together, but the poor man gets very drunk and falls asleep. The rich man, who has to leave, gives the poor man a priceless gem, which he sews into the lining of his friend's clothes. When the poor man wakes, he sees that his friend is gone but has not left him anything to improve his life, so he goes back to his old life, unaware of the treasure he received. Later, he meets the rich man again, who shows him where the gem is hidden and the poor man realises his wealth. The Buddha is the rich man; the poor man is a human, drunk with pleasure and craving; and the jewel is the truth about the Buddha-nature.

The Nine Similes of the Tathagatagarbha Sutra

The Nine Similes of the Tathagatagarbha Sutra is a work developed by the Dalai lama to comment on the Sutra.  In the sutra Maitreya says (RGV 1:80-81):

This [tathāgatagarbha] abides within the shroud of the afflictions, as should be understood through [the following nine] examples:

Just like a buddha in a decaying lotus, honey amidst bees,

a grain in its husk, gold in filth, a treasure underground,

a shoot and so on sprouting from a little fruit,

a statue of the Victorious One in a tattered rag,

a ruler of humankind in a destitute woman's womb,

and a precious image under clay,

this [buddha] element abides within all sentient beings,

obscured by the defilement of the adventitious poisons.

The Dalai lama says

“By using nine similes, the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra gives us an inkling of the buddha nature that has always been and will continue to be within us. Maitreya's Sublime Continuum and its commentary by Asaṅga explain these similes that point to a hidden richness inside of us—a potential that  we are usually unaware of. Contemplating the meaning of these similes generates great inspiration and confidence to practice the path.

1.    The buddha essence is like a beautiful buddha image in an old, ugly lotus.

2.    The buddha essence is like honey with a swarm of bees surrounding it.

3.    The buddha essence resembles a kernel of grain in its husk.

4.    The buddha essence resembles gold buried in filth.

5.    The buddha essence is like a treasure under the earth.

6.    The buddha essence resembles a tiny sprout hidden within the peel of a fruit.

7.    The buddha essence is like a buddha statue covered by a tattered rag.

8.    The buddha essence resembles a baby who will become a great leader in the womb of a poor, miserable, forlorn woman.

9.    The buddha essence is like a golden buddha statue covered by a fine layer of dust.”

Can we all discover our Buddha nature?

The Śrīmālā Sūtra is one of the earliest texts on Tathāgatagarbha thought, composed in the 3rd century in south India, asserted that everyone can potentially attain Buddhahood, and warns against the doctrine of Śūnyatā. The Śrīmālā Sūtra posits that the Buddha-nature is ultimately identifiable as the supramundane nature of the Buddha, the garbha is the ground for Buddha-nature, this nature is unborn and undying, has ultimate existence, has no beginning nor end, is nondual, and permanent. The text also adds that the garbha has "no self, soul or personality" and "incomprehensible to anyone distracted by sunyata (voidness)"; rather it is the support for phenomenal existence.

According to some scholars today, the Buddha-nature which these sutras discuss does not represent a substantial self (ātman). Rather, it is a positive expression of emptiness, and represents the potentiality to realize Buddhahood through Buddhist practices. In this view, the intention of the teaching of Buddha-nature is soteriological rather than theoretical. According to others, the potential of salvation depends on the ontological reality of a salvific, abiding core reality – the Buddha-nature, empty of all mutability and error, fully present within all beings. 

Questions – Test yourself!

1. What is the idea of of two kinds of truth or satya and who developed it?

2. What is the idea of the conventional truth?

3. What is the idea of the ultimate truth?

4. How do Mahayana develop the idea of dependent arising / origination pratītyasamutpāda?

5. What is the Buddha Nature ?

6. What does the simile of the bees and the honey try to show?

7. What does mean to say Buddha nature is only a representation of the possibility of achieving Buddhahood?

The Distinctive Practices Mahayana

The most common practices of Mahayana Buddhism are the giving of offerings,  recitation of mantras and meditation, which may or may not be done at a shrine at home or at the temple.

Early second century BCE through first century CE developing practices

From the beginning, all Buddhists practiced meditation and observance of moral precepts as the foundation of Buddhist practice. The five basic moral precepts, undertaken by members of monastic orders and the laity, are to refrain from taking life, stealing, acting unchastely, speaking falsely, and drinking intoxicants.  Members of monastic orders also take five additional precepts: to refrain from eating at improper times, from viewing secular entertainments, from using garlands, perfumes, and other bodily adornments, from sleeping in high and wide beds, and from receiving money. Their lives are further regulated by a large number of rules known as the Pratimoksa. The monastic order (sangha) is venerated as one of the three jewels, along with the dharma, or religious teaching, and the Buddha. Lay practices such as the worship of stupas (burial mounds containing relics) predate Buddhism and gave rise to later ritualistic and devotional practices.

The bodhisattva as an actual religious goal for lay and monastic Buddhists.

The bodhisattva would became an actual religious goal for lay and monastic Mahayana Buddhists, as well as the name for a class of celestial beings who are worshiped along with the Buddha.

Initially early Indian proto-Mahayana aims and practices would have been similar to early proto-Theravadin practices. The Pali Canon describes eight progressive states of absorption meditation or Jhana. The first four are connected to the physical realm and the last four only with the mental realm (i.e. there is no experience of the body in the four higher Jhanas).  These Dhyana stages and the practices were largely the same, as both aimed at enlightenment and both seemed to have be distinctly conservative, especially with respect to monastic ethics and the maintaining of the four fold sangha order of laity and ordained monks and nuns. The laity making merit, doing puja, making offerings would have been the same and the ordained doing study and meditation.  All monks obtained their ordination in one of the sectarian Vinaya lineages, and both proto-Mahayana and latter full Mahayana Buddhism was initially organized as a thoroughly monastic movement. The early 383BC first council differences of practice were really about how conservative or ascetic in your practice you should be. e.g. how much salt one could use to flavour food.

Following the 2nd Council Great Schism it seems both sides still practiced what they perceived to be the Buddhas Dhyana practice of progressing through the eight Janna’s in a method that included both experiential awareness and insight into Buddhist teaching.  Following the Asoka’s period 3rd 240BC Council doctrinaire power grab the more ultra-conservative writers of the ‘points of controversy’ of the Abhidhamma Sutta Pittaka placed yet further ascetic demands on the practice of those in ordained communities.  It seems despite Asoka’s pillars of orthodoxy and orthopraxy not everyone fully complied and so Mahayana teaching and practice proper began to emerge in the early 2nd Century BC.

Questions – Test yourself!

1. What is the practice of the early Sangha following the first council

2. What is the idea of the Pratimoksa.?

3. What where the Pali Canon eight progressive states of progressing through the Jhanas?.

TAKE IT FURTHER - the Dharmaguptaka and the Mūlasarvāstivāda

The origin and history of the early proto-Mahayana school practices. 

The 8000 lines and other early texts BC reflect the reality of continued ‘institutional affliction’ but a growing divergence of doctrine division which would lead to the development of two alternative proto-Mahayana groups the Dharmaguptaka and the Mūlasarvāstivāda which each emphasised ordination and the use of Vinaya and began to differ from the Sarvāstivāda- The proto-Theravada group.

The practices of the Dharmaguptaka (1st -3rd C AD)

The Dharmaguptaka are one of the eighteen or twenty early Buddhist schools, that originated from the Mahīśāsakas and even earlier 2nd council Mahasamgikas groups.   The Dharmaguptakas regarded the path of a śrāvaka (śrāvakayāna) and the path of a bodhisattva (bodhisattvayāna) to be separate.  They took the “bodhisattva vows” that the 8000 lines had developed, but their practice was increasingly different to the standard mediation with the aim of pr progression through the 8 Jhannas.

‘They say that although the Buddha is part of the Saṃgha, the fruits of giving to the Buddha are especially great, but not so for the Saṃgha. Making offerings to stūpas may result in many extensive benefits. The Buddha and those of the Two Vehicles, although they have one and the same liberation, have followed different noble paths. Those of outer paths (i.e. heretics) cannot obtain the five supernormal powers. The body of an arhat is without outflows. In many other ways, their views are similar to those of the Mahāsāṃghikas.’ the Samayabhedoparacanacakra

These five powers reflect earlier Mahasamghikas debates with the Sarvastivadins and are a reference to the transcendental qualities of the Buddha. This increasingly Mahayanist emphasize on the great merit the Buddha gained through bodhisattva practice, and how there is greater merit in making offerings to the transcendental Buddha  than to the Sangha.  

According to the Abhidharma Mahāvibhāṣā Śāstra, the Dharmaguptakas held that the Four Noble Truths are to be observed simultaneously in an act of Sudden insight rather than gradual progression.  The practices of such an aim were similar to the śrāvaka (śrāvakayāna)practices e.g. the cultivation of the mind through meditation. The Dharmaguptakas Vinaya became the standard in China and neighbouring regions.

There are the same four pārājika rules for Dharmaguptakas as other monks, concerning sexual intercourse, killing, stealing, and lying about spiritual achievements. Nuns must abide by these plus an additional four rules: two on improper behavior with a man; one on concealing another nun’s offenses; and one on helping a suspended monk.   Yet the most interesting rule, that differentiated it from Theravada, is a particular aspect of the first pārājika rule: that allows a monk to return home. This means the former monk, now a layman, can as such engage in sexual intercourse as long as he has previously withdrawn from his monastic community. Since he / she is no longer considered a monk / nun, he / she cannot commit a pārājika offense.  This emphasis allowed for a more flexible approach to ordination than would be allowed in latter Theravada but is continued and is reflects in the development of more family friendly forms of Mahayana Buddhism. 

The practices of the Mūlasarvāstivāda (2nd -7thC AD)

The Mūlasarvāstivāda developed during the 2nd century AD and went into decline in India by the 7th century and also undertook particularly Mahayanistic “bodhisattva vows.” and Vinaya ethical rules of Sangha conduct.   The Mūlasarvāstivāda vinaya is one of three surviving vinaya lineages, along with the Dharmaguptaka and Theravāda. The Tibetan Emperor Ralpacan restricted Buddhist ordination to the Mūlasarvāstivādin Vinaya. Latter as Mongolian Buddhism was introduced from Tibet, Mongolian ordination also followed the Mūlasarvāstivāda vinaya rule as well. 

The distinctives of the Mūlasarvāstivāda vinaya are its extent - covering some eight thousand "pages." of some rules, and mostly stories and narrative tales especially of miracles of the Buddha.  The rules detail for example usually how monks should unusually lend money on interest or borrow money from laymen, how they should warehouse and sell rice, take images in procession into town, make up parts of canonical texts, and a host of other things not commonly presented as integral parts of Buddhist monasticism.

The Twin Miracle, also called the Miracle at Savatthi (Pali), or the Miracle at Śrāvastī (Sanskrit), is one of the miracles of Gautama Buddha.  Like the Dharmaguptaka, the Mūlasarvāstivāda empasised devotion through offerings to a heavenly Buddha who can do miracles today as he did in his life as key to their practice.  

Questions – Test yourself!

1. What is the significance of the Dharmaguptakas belief in the 5 powers of the Buddha and the idea of simultaneous sudden understanding of the Four Noble truths?

2. What were the practices of the Dharmaguptaka?

3. What were the vinaya of the Dharmaguptaka especially that made the sangha more porous?

4. What were the practices of the Mūlasarvāstivāda?

5. What were the vinaya of the Mūlasarvāstivāda?

TAKE IT FURTHER - the practices of Madhyamika, Yogacara and Tathagatagarbha schools

From the early Mahayana schools(The Dharmaguptaka and Mūlasarvāstivāda) and their practices developed three particular strands of Buddhism (Madhyamika, Yogacara and Tathagatagarbha)  each of which developed their own practices between the 2nd and 6th Centuries AD.  In turn these schools would influence latter Chan, Zen, Pureland and Tibetian Buddhism

The practices of Madhyamika (200-600 AD)

Madhyamika or Sunyatavada beginning with Nargajuna 150 AD through 600 Ad perhaps persisted as a discreet school of teachings and practices before morphing into Chinese Chan Buddhism latter Zen and into some aspects of Tibetian Buddhist belief and practice.  As with other types of Buddhism it would loose influence and power in India after the 9th Century even as it carried on elsewhere. Nāgārjuna had like others taught the world is a cosmic flux of momentary interconnected events (dharmas).  His Sunyatavada teaches monastic practices of mediation aimed realising through meditative analysis of the flux itself; insight was focused on understanding how it could not be held to be real, nor could the consciousness perceiving it, as it itself is part of this flux.

He recommended meditation that was focused in realisation that if this world of constant change is not real, neither can the serial transmigration be real, nor its opposite, nirvana. Transmigration and nirvana being equally unreal, they are one and the same. His practice aimed at insight that realised reality can only be attributed to something entirely different from all that is known, which must therefore have no identifiable predicates and can only be styled the void (sunyata).

Mādhyamika thinkers strongly emphasize using mediation in developing mutations of human consciousness to grasp the reality of that which is ultimately real beyond any duality. To do this a two stage process is encouraged.

v First the world of duality could be assigned a practical reality of vyavahāra (“discourse and process”), but, then

v Second once the ultimate meaning (paramārtha) of the void is grasped, this reality falls away. 

Thus Mādhyamika practice empahsised practice to realise we are “empty, yet full”.  As Nagarjuna wrote, “For whom emptiness is possible, everything is possible.”

The practices of Zen Buddhists today like Thich Nhat Han has its roots in the teaching of emptiness and what they do today is not dissimilar to what Nagarjuna encouraged. In his Mūlamadhyamakakārikā he systematically set forth the vision of the void that informs the Prajñāpāramitā-sūtras. In some 450 verses, the develops the doctrine that nothing, not even the Buddha or Nirvāṇa, is real in itself. It ends by commending to spiritual realization the ultimate identity of the transitory phenomenal world and Nirvāṇa itself.  The Zen practices and aims such as Zazen, and analysis that aims at insight would look very similar.    

Nagarjuna also composed hymns of praise to the Buddha and expositions of Buddhist ethical practice.  They laity would have used these in acts of Buddhist devotion and ethical life

The Practices of Yogacara

"Yoga" means mystical union; "cara" means a spiritual practice. This is the "practice tradition" of Buddhist Yoga. The Yogacara school is also known as Vijnanavada ('the Way of Consciousness'), alluding to its epistemological interests. The title Vijnanavada emphasizes the interest of that school in the workings of consciousness (*vijnana) and its role in creating the experience of samsara. Yogacara developed a therapeutic framework for engaging in the practices that lead to the goal of the bodhisattva path, namely enlightened cognition.  Meditation served as the laboratory in which one could study how the mind operated. Yogācāra focuses on the question of consciousness from a variety of approaches, including meditation, psychological analysis, epistemology (how we know what we know, how perception operates, what validates knowledge), scholastic categorization, and karmic analysis.

Yogacara as a Reform movement

The Yogacara method tries to recover the Buddhas practice of individual solitude and silence in the forest. They rejected the Sarvāstivāda  /  Theravada emphasis on monastic gathering of an elite group of renunciants who followed a practice far beyond the ability of the laity.  Instead they tried to recover early Buddhism was concerned in demonstrating how anyone, male or female, could follow a definite path of spiritual exercises and meditation, so as to come to the same realization. The Buddhist Yogacara movement thus was an effort at reform, a return to the direct practice of mystical (yoga) experience and a revolt against the overly scholastic, non-contemplative monastic Buddhism which then existed.

Influence of Hindu practice on Yogacara

Yoga (Skt., yoking, joining) is any form of spiritual discipline aimed at gaining control over the mind with the ultimate aim of attaining liberation from *rebirth. Yogic practices such as bodily postures and breath control are common to many Indian religions, although such practices were only termed 'yoga' a little before the time of the *Buddha. The Buddha used such techniques primarily as aids to *meditation, whereas other teachers emphasized the physical exercises and bodily postures that became known as Hatha yoga. The process of systematization of these techniques was carried out by the Yoga school, one of the six systems (*darsana) of Indian philosophy, and its teachings are codified in the Yoga Sutra (2nd-3rd century CE) of Patanjali. According to this text, the goal of yoga is 'the cessation of mental fluctuation' (cittavrtti nirodha), and the practical methods it uses to attain this are very similar to early Buddhist techniques of meditation based on breath control.  Its perhaps not surprising that the half brothers Asaṅga and Vasubandhu who founded Yogacara were born in Brahmin Hindu families and perhaps were well steeped in such texts and practices.

Meditation in Yogacara- From Vijnapti (dualistic perceptions) to nirvikalpa-jnana (non-dual awareness).

The aim of Yogacara practice is to realize the false and illusory nature of the vijnapti projections of samsara we experience and attain non-dual awareness (nirvikalpa-jnana). Consciousness (vijñāna) is not the ultimate reality or solution, but rather the root problem. This problem emerges in ordinary mental operations, and it can only be solved by bringing those operations to an end.  Vijnapti (Skt.) meaning Representation; a Yogacara term which denotes the mentally generated projections of subject and object that are falsely believed to exist. In reality, according to Yogacara teachings, they are merely superimposed by unenlightened beings upon actuality. 

The Yogacara ‘how to’ practice handbook

Asaṅga's magnum opus, the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra (Treatise on the Stages of Yoga Practice YBh), mapped out according to his Yogācārin view of how one progresses along the stages of the path to enlightenment.  The main or basic section of the YBh is structured around seventeen bhūmis / grounds (explained in fourteen books), which are "foundations" or "groundings" of meditation, referring to "a field of knowledge that the Yogācāra acolyte ought to master in order to be successful in his or her yoga practice." Some of these are doctrinal topics such as the five vijñānas (book 1- the five sensory sources of consciousness), the ālayavijñāna, afflictive cognition (kliṣṭaṃ manaḥ), the 51 mental factors (book 2), and the defilements (saṃkleśa, book 3). Other books discuss meditation practice proper (books 4, 9, 10, and 12).

To account for all aspects and functions of the mind, eight aspects or modes of consciousness were distinguished (the doctrine of eight consciousnesses) – the five sense consciousnesses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch), supplemented by the mental consciousness (manovijñāna), the defiled mental consciousness (kliṣṭamanovijñāna), and finally the fundamental store-house consciousness (ālāyavijñāna), which is the basis of the other seven. These are described in Book 2 of the YBh as the “Foundation on Cognition" as.

Next further Yogaca practice involves scriptural / commentarial study of the problems of discernment and discursive thinking as the two cognitive factors play a crucial role in samsaric bondage and as the focus of meditative concentration.  In Buddhism, vitarka applied thought," "attention," and vicāra discernment," "sustained thinking," are qualities or elements of the first dhyāna or jhāna.

The text practice / Bhumi then the development various types of meditation practices / samādhi, to use in the pacification of these two factors "non-thinking," including samādhi, e.g. meditations on emptiness (śūnyatā), wishlessness (apraṇihita), and imagelessness (ānimitta).   Other practices

v The process of purification of the four defilements of the mental functions of the manas-consciousness (Manas (Pali)- the faculty of thought).   In the seventh of the eight consciousness there are four basic afflictions: self-delusion, self-love, self-view, and self-conceit. These are purified through Bodhisattva's practice of the YBh wisdom (prajñā) which realizes of the inexpressible Ultimate Reality (tathata) or the 'thing-in-itself (vastumatra), which is essenceless and beyond the duality (advaya) of existence (bhāva) and non-existence (abhāva).  The YBh practices of bodhisattvas, include of the six perfections (pāramitā), the thirty-seven factors of Awakening, and the four immeasurables. Two key practices which are unique to bodhisattvas in this text are the four investigations (paryeṣaṇā) and the four correct cognitions (yathābhūtaparijñāna).  E.g. 1. names>“just names”, 2. Things>a mere presence/ thing-in-itself; 3. verbal designations> mere verbal designations 4. verbal designations expressing individuation and differences>  existing or non-existing things-in-itself

v Various types of meditation used as antidotes (pratipakṣa) against the afflictions (like contemplating death, unattractiveness, impermanence, and suffering). 

v The practice of śamatha through "the nine aspects of resting the mind" (navākārā cittasthitiḥ), the practice of insight (vipaśyanā), mindfulness of breathing (ānāpānasmṛti).

Latter Yogacara - Developing the Buddha Awarenesses (buddha-jnana)

Asangas brother Vishabandu and many others developed the strategy of Yogacara meditation practice to eliminate all the implanted unwholesome predispositions from an individual's alaya-vijnana (the substratum or storehouse consciousness) and their afflicted mind (klista-manas) which generates the idea of a self (*atman) through its indistinct awareness of the (alayavijnana).

Yogacara would be adopted in Tibetian Buddhism with the aim of eliminate the false dualism of a perceiving self and perceived objects the practices of Yogacara aims at utterly abandoning such dualism at the moment of enlightenment or nirvana, a radical transformation occurs in which various aspects of the mind change into the Buddha Awarenesses (buddha-jnana)—the alaya-vijnana becomes 1. the Mirror-like Awareness, the afflicted mind becomes the 2. Awareness of Sameness, thought consciousness (manovijnana) become 3. Investigating Awareness and the remaining perceptual consciousnesses become the 4. Accomplishing Activity Awareness. Each of these Awarenesses is a facet of enlightenment and, unlike the ordinary consciousnesses, are non-conceptualizing and non-dual, able to experience reality directly and authentically.

The practices of Buddhnature school Buddhism

The Buddha nature or Tathagatagarbha schools 200Ad and following developed in contrast to the Madhyamaka schools and before the Yogachara school.  Although latter Yogacara and Buddhanature school ideas and practices would merge in various ways.

The origins and inception of the with the the Tathāgatagarbha doctrine goes back to the 2nd council 386BC Mahāsāṃghika sect of Buddhism, of the Āndhra region (i.e. the Caitika schools).   Yet the practice of discovering that which is your true Buddha nature self also has its origin in the Pali Cannon (PC)- The where the idea of Luminous mind "brightly shining mind", or "mind of clear light".   The PC does not support the identification of the "luminous mind" with nirvanic consciousness, though it plays a role in the realization of nirvana. Upon the destruction of the fetters, Harvey (1989, p. 99) says "the shining nibbanic consciousness flashes out of the womb of arahantship, being without object or support, so transcending all limitations”.

“The Manual of Buddhist Monism”

The term tathāgatagarbha does not predate Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra (200-250 CE) and Paul Williams argues (200, p.51) the Buddhanature school and text was less prominent in India, but became increasingly popular and significant in Central Asian Buddhism and East Asian Buddhism.  The practices of the Buddhnature school were focused on the purification of the fetters that prevent us from realising our potential- tathāgatagarbha immortal, inherent transcendental essence or potency. 

Buddhanature school Practices – A process of self transformation

The first practice might be the study of the text of the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra and the reflection on the nine similies as a means of purifying ignorance and the other kehelsas (Kleshas, in Buddhism, are mental states that cloud the mind and manifest in unwholesome actions. Kleshas include states of mind such as anxiety, fear, anger, jealousy, desire, depression.  The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, some versions of which teach tathagatagarbha, lists approximately 50 kleshas, including those of attachment, aversion, stupidity, jealousy, pride, heedlessness, haughtiness, ill-will, quarrelsomeness, wrong livelihood, deceit, consorting with immoral friends, attachment to pleasure, to sleep, to eating, and to yawning; delighting in excessive talking and uttering lies, as well as thoughts of harm. Tathagatgarbja Schools taught like all Buddhist schools that through Tranquility (Samatha) meditation the kilesas are pacified, though not eradicated, and through Insight (Vipassana) the true nature of the kilesas and the mind itself / Buddha nature is understood. When the Buddhanature and empty nature of the Self and the Mind is fully understood, there is no longer a root for the disturbing emotions to be attached to, and the disturbing emotions lose their power to distract the mind.

Secondly the latter 4thc compendium of Buddha nature sutras the Ratnagotravibhāga suggests this potentiality IS temporarily obscured by mental obscuration, such as vices and other negative mental phenomena. However, they are 'adventitious' since they are temporary obscurations that can be removed.   This reflects the paradoxical active vs passive practice ideas reflected in the nine active vs passive similies of Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra meaning we mostly don’t have to do anything to realise our Buddhanature!  Just let it shine forth!  (see latter Zazen below)

Thirdly where the self-transformation is active it is focused on meditation that realises that the perception of the ontological oneness and non-duality of all existents through the pervasion of the one, non-dual Essence of the Buddha in all sentient beings. In this way, the sense of ʻInessʼ lodged in them is dissolved. Their self-transformation, therefore, is also the phenomenon of their selfawareness.

Latter Tibetan practice mixed up practises from the earlier schools with tantric practices.  However, the practices related to developing from ‘everyday awareness to luminous mind’ are directly related.  The diamond that obscures the mud as a metaphor for deilesments that need cleasning further echoing this. 

Latter Chan and Zen Practice – In Zazen one sits just to sit, and the sitting itself manifests the *Buddhanature that is already inherent in every being. Ironically, the term 'silent illumination Ch'an' began as a term of disparagement given by the Lin-chi side, but it stuck.

Key issue - Vegetarianism and embryonic Buddhas

One practice the advent of *Mahayana in * India saw a movement towards the total abstention from meat-eating as this was felt to contradict a *Bodhisattva's cultivation of compassion. Additionally, a number of Mahayana texts such as the *Nirvana Sutra and the *Lankavatdra Sutra are quite specific in their condemnation of meat-eating, as the *tathagatagarbha or Buddha-nature doctrines which teaches that teach imply that all living beings are embryonic Buddhas.

Questions – Test yourself!

1. What the key practices of Madhyamika?

2. What the key practices of Yogacara?

3. What the key practices of Tathagatagarbha?

Practices related to Trikaya and to Bodhisattvas

Mahayana Buddhism extended the concept of the Buddha to include the Buddha and creation as it emerged out of early Nik Buddhism. The Buddha as a specific concept developed into a cosmic presence that influences the world.

During the period of emperor Ashoka (third to second century BCE), Buddhists placed more emphasis on faith, as Ashoka helped develop Buddhism as a popular religion to unify his empire. This new trend led to an increased worship of stūpas and an increase of Avadāna faith-based literature. In the second century CE, it became more common to depict the Buddha through images, and there was a shift in emphasis in Indian religion towards emotional devotionalism. This led to new perspectives in Buddhism, summarized by Buddhist studies scholar Peter Harvey as "compassion, faith and wisdom". These perspectives paved the way to the arising of Mahāyāna Buddhism.

With the rising of Mahāyāna Buddhism, a great number of bodhisattvas became focus of devotion and faith, giving Mahāyāna Buddhism a "theistic" side.  In early Buddhism, there were already some passages that suggested the Buddha and other enlightened beings had a world-transcending nature. Later Theravādins believed that Maitreya, the future Buddha, was waiting for them in heaven and they honoured him gradually more. Nevertheless, Mahāyānists took this idea much further- the Trikaya doctrine.

Mahayana developed the idea of the three Bodies meaning the “Buddha verse” includes heavenly transcendent Bodhisattvas who then became objects of acts of devotionalism in Buddhism.

Mahayana Buddhists worship a wide range of bodhisattvas and semi-divine beings. The Buddha, the bodhisattvas Avalokiteshvara, Manjushri, and Amitabha, and the goddess Tara are among the most popular objects of devotion, providing protection and guidance to their devotees.

 After the   Buddha's death, there was a sense of regret among Buddhist  communities about the absence of the Buddha in the world, and a desire to "see" the Buddha (Sanskrit: darśana) and receive his power.  Mahāyānists extended the meaning of the Triple Gem to include Buddhas that reside in heavens, and later called these sambhogakāya Buddhas ('embodiment of the enjoyment of the Dharma').  The increased emphasis on these celestial Buddhas, manifest all the time and everywhere, started to overshadow the role of Gautama Buddha in the Buddhist faith. Pure Land Buddhism mostly focused its faith to these celestial Buddhas, especially the Buddha Amitābha.

Starting from this devotion to celestial Buddhas, advanced bodhisattva beings, representing Mahāyāna ideals, gradually became focus of an extensive worship and cult. By the sixth century, depiction of bodhisattvas in Buddhist iconography had become common, such as the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara representing compassion, and Manjusri wisdom. Accounts about the bodhisattvas and their good deeds often included actions with great stakes, and it is likely that writers meant these accounts as devotional more than exemplary.

Rites and Ceremonies

Mahayana Buddhists engage in a tremendous range and variety of rituals and ceremonies: complex meditation practices, ritual devotion to buddhas and bodhisattvas, visualizations, pilgrimage, and mantra recitation.

Thus, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the emphasis in Japanese Buddhism shifted from personal enlightenment to connecting with the universal Buddha nature and the realms in which the Buddhas live.

With the development of the Mādhyamaka system of thought, the Buddha was no longer regarded as only a historical person, and the idea of essential unity in all living beings became an intrinsic part of Buddhist theory and practice. According to Buddhist scholar Minoru Kiyota, this development led to the devotion movement of Pure Land Buddhism, whereas in Zen Buddhism it led to the emphasis of seeking the Buddha Nature within oneself.

Terms for faith that are primarily used in Mahāyāna Buddhism are Xin (Chinese) and shin (Japanese): these terms can refer to trust, but also an unquestioned acceptance of the object of one's devotion. They are also used, as it is in Chan and Zen Buddhism, with regard to a confidence that the Buddha nature (tathāgatagarbha) is hidden within one's mind, and can be found as one suspends the habits of the mind.

As such, Chan and Zen Buddhists consider faith as one of the Three Essentials in meditation practice, together with resolve and doubt. Pure Land Buddhists, on the other hand, make a distinction between the aspect of the mind which is faithful, and which is awakened by practising devotion and humility to the Buddha Amitābha, known as xinji (Chinese) or shinjin (Japanese); and the joy and confidence of being able to meet the Buddha Amitābha, known as xinfa (Chinese) or shingyō (Japanese). Pure Land traditions describe the awakening of faith as a transcendental experience beyond time, similar to a state preceding enlightenment. In the teachings of the Japanese Pure Land teacher Shinran, such experience of faith, which he called "the Light" (Japanese: kōmyō) involved devotees not only feeling completely assured about the Buddha Amitābha as to his determination and wisdom to save them, but also feeling fully reliant on Amitābha because of their personal incapacity

Questions – Test yourself!

1. What the key practices of Madhyana related to the Trikaya Doctrine

2. What the key practices of Pure land Buddhism?

3. What are the Three Essentials in meditation practice in Chan Zen?

Task it Further Other Practices 

In early Buddhism, it was a common practice to recollect the qualities of the Buddha, known as buddhānussati. In the period of the arising of Mahāyāna Buddhism, there was a growing sense of loss in Buddhist communities with regard to the passing away of the Buddha, and a growing desire to be able to meet him again. These developments led to the arising of faith-based forms of Buddhism such as Pure Land Buddhism, in which the practice of buddhānussati involved celestial Buddhas such as the Amitābha Buddha. Devotional practices became commonplace, as new techniques were developed to recollect the qualities and magnificence of the celestial Buddhas, such as visualization and chants.

Buddhism regards inner devotion as more important than outer ritual. However, devotion does have an important place in Buddhism. Devotion is developed through several practices, expressed through physical movement, speech, and mind. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, it is common to combine several devotional practices in one three-fold or seven-fold ceremony. In the threefold ceremony, practitioners will 1 confess their wrongdoings and 2 rejoice in the goodness that others have done. Thirdly, 3 either merits are dedicated to other living beings, or the Buddhas are requested to keep on teaching for the benefit of the world. In the seven-fold series, all four of these practices are also engaged in, plus an obeisance and an offering are given, and the Buddhas are requested to not yet leave the world to go to final Nirvana. These ceremonies, whether three- or sevenfold, often precede a meditation session. Several elevenfold series are also known, which also include going for refuge, upholding the five ethical precepts and reminding oneself of the aim of enlightenment for all living beings. The ceremonies are described in several Mahāyāna sūtras, among which the Avataṃsaka Sūtra and the Gandavyūha.

Prostrations  

In Buddhism, prostration is performed in several situations. Buddhists may prostrate for images of Gotama Buddha, and in Mahāyāna Buddhism also to other Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Devotion towards bodhisattvas is focused on their compassion, their skill and extraordinary powers. Apart from that, lay devotees may prostrate for a stūpa or a Bodhi Tree (a tree of the same type that the Buddha became enlightened under), but also to a monastic, or sometimes a religious teacher of some kind. They may also prostrate to their parents or to their elders. Monastics will prostrate for a monk ordained earlier, but female monastics are expected to prostrate to all male monastics, regardless of date of ordination.

Prostration is done as an expression of humility and an acknowledgement of the other's spiritual experience. It is usually done three times, to pay respect to the Buddha, the Dharma and the Saṁgha. The prostration is done by holding the hands in front of the chest and bringing them to the different parts of the upper body, to indicate paying respect by the three gates of action, or to indicate the spiritual realization of the truth by a Buddha, realized through body, speech and mind. After that, one either bows with the elbows and head onto the ground, or by fully outstretching one's entire body. Apart from such threefold prostrations, prostrations may also be done continuously as a form of repentance, or as part of the ritual of circumambulating (walking around) a stūpa or other holy place. Finally, sometimes a pilgrimage is completely or partly done by prostrating oneself forward.

At a more basic level, respect may be shown by a gesture of clasped hands held against the chest (añjali) and raising the hands to one's head or chin, depending on the position and level of respect at which the other person is.

Recitation

Recitation of traditional texts is encouraged in many Buddhist traditions. A very basic form that is very important is the recitation of Three Refuges, of which every phrase is repeated three times. This is called taking refuge, and it is done by a naming the Buddha, the Dharma and the Saṃgha as refuges.

The anussatis or recollections (see § Meditation) can also be chanted, as well as a review of the five precepts. Protective chantings (Pali: paritta) are also widespread. Many forms of protective chanting exist in Buddhism, among which the well-known Karaṇīyamettā Sutta. Whereas some of these chants are used to ward of specific dangers, such as that during childbirth, or meant for specific occasions, such as weddings, others are considered to be beneficial in a more general sense. They are believed to affect only the life of the practitioner who recites them with a mind of faith. They are considered to bring benefits to mental health and well-being, and are a form of practicing loving-kindness in thought. Moreover, they are considered to speed up the fruits of good karma, please the devas (deities) and are expressions of the truth of the Buddha's teachings.

In Mahāyāna Buddhism mantras and dhāraṇīs are also used, which include the Heart Sutra and the mantra Om Maṇi Padme Hum. Dharanis are often summaries of teachings that function like mnemonic aids. Besides these, there are also chantings in homage to Amitābha in Pure Land Buddhism, chantings in homage to the Lotus Sutra in Nichiren Buddhism and chantings in homage of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara in East Asian and Tibetan Mahāyāna Buddhism.

In Tibetan and other forms of Mahāyāna Buddhism, the name of Avalokiteśvara is called upon through the Om Maṇi Padme Hum mantra, which is done by using praying wheels, by printing the mantra on prayer flags and carving it on stones and other materials.But this mantra is not the only form of chanting which is preserved in ritual ways: other mantras and Buddhist verses are also kept in the form of tiny scrolls kept in ornaments, amulets and even tattoos.

In Tibetan Buddhism this mantra is written on flags, sometimes called prayer flags (although mantras are not prayers in the Christian sense) and on pieces of paper that are put inside prayer wheels, which the worshipper turns. In turning the wheel, the mantra is symbolically 'said'- thus generating more compassion.

Chanting of Buddhist texts is the most widespread mental cultivation practice for lay people. It is believed to help overcome hindrances and negative emotions in the mind and cultivate positive ones. Buddhist chants are reflections on the good spiritual qualities of the Three Refuges or an enlightened teacher, and aspirations of spiritual perfection. Furthermore, chanting texts is considered a way to manifest the healing power of the Buddhist teaching in the world, and to benefit and protect the nation and the world. In early Buddhism, recitation of texts was done mainly for its mnemonic purpose, in a time period when religious texts were not written down. Later on, even though writing became widespread, recitation was still continued out of devotion and to commit the teachings to memory out of respect. Some elements of chanting in Buddhism, such as the monotonous style, still indicate its original mnemonic nature.

Although much chanting is done in ancient ritual languages such as Sanskrit or Pali, chants in vernacular languages also exist. A common Pali chant starts with Namo tassa..., and is often chanted to introduce a ceremony. In many Buddhist traditions, prayer beads are used during the chanting. Apart from being a tool to count the number of recitations chanted, in some traditions, the beads are a symbol of the Buddhist faith. Moreover, in Pure Land Buddhism, the beads are a reminder of the Buddha Amitābha's greatness and one's own limited capacities compared to him.

Apart from chanting, in some traditions, offerings of music are given in honor of the Triple Gem, consisting of traditional music performed by specialists, or just the ritual music that accompanies the chanting. Recitation of texts need not always be in the form of ritual chanting: in Tibet, it is considered meritorious to invite monks to read from Buddhist texts, sometimes for days on end. Devotion can also be expressed in lofty forms of everyday speech, as in the verbs used when talking about a Buddha image in some Southeast Asian languages.

Magicio / Religious Mantras as tantric practice

Reciting ‘Dharani’s’ (Parittas), Mantras, are Buddhist chants, mnemonic codes, incantations, or recitations, usually the mantras consisting of Sanskrit or Pali phrases. Believed to be protective and with powers to generate merit for the Buddhist devotee, they constitute a major part of historic Buddhist literature.  The word dhāraṇī derives from a Sanskrit root √dhṛ meaning "to hold or maintain".  This root is likely derived from the Vedic religion of ancient India where chants and melodious sounds were believed to have innate spiritual and healing powers even if the sound cannot be translated and has no meaning (as in a music). The same root gives dharma or dhamma.

Dharanis are found in the ancient texts of all major traditions of Buddhism. They are a major part of the Pali canon preserved by the Theravada tradition. Mahayana sutras – such as the Lotus Sutra and the Heart Sutra – include or conclude with dharani. Some Buddhist texts, such as Pancaraksa found in the homes of many Buddhist tantra tradition followers, are entirely dedicated to dharani. They are a part of the regular ritual prayers as well as considered to be an amulet and charm in themselves, whose recitation believed to allay bad luck, diseases or other calamity. 

The Megha-Sutra is an example of an ancient Mahayana magico-religious text. In it, the snake deities appear before the Buddha and offer him adoration, then ask how the suffering of snakes, as well as people, can be alleviated. The text suggests friendliness (maitri) and lists numerous invocations such as those to female deities, exorcisms, means to induce rains, along with a series of magical formulae such as  "sara sire sire suru suru naganam java java jivi jivi juvu juvu etc.",

Questions – Test yourself!

1. What the key practices of Madhyana related to the threefold ceremony?

2. What the key practices of Recitation?

3. What are Mantras as tantric practice?

Mahayana Practices related to Bodhisattva Rupas

In Mahayana Buddhism, statues may be of the historical Buddha, but they may also represent other enlightened beings; for instance, in Japan it is much more common to see Temples dedicated to Amida (Amitabha) than to the historical Buddha. Other enlightened beings commonly found include Manjusri, Avalokitesvara, or the five dhyani Buddhas. Mahayana devotional acts or puja traditions include confessing bad actions, wishing

These images are full of symbolism. They do not represent historical persons, rather aspects of enlightenment, or the qualities of enlightened beings that the Buddhist tries to imitate.

 For example, Manjusri's flaming sword that cuts through the darkness of ignorance represents the wisdom of seeing reality as it really is.

Avalokiteshvara Puja

As the Bodhisttva that embodied the Mahayana ideal of compassion for others. The practice of worship would have included mantras. The Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra, 4th -5th C which extols the virtues and powers of Avalokiteśvara, and is particularly notable for introducing the mantra Om mani padme hum mantra recitation which it states can lead to liberation (moksha) and eventual Buddhahood.

Avalokiteśvara is considered a potent savior in times of life-threatening dangers, (increasingly depicted with many arms) who watches over all beings and heeds their cries of suffering and distress. Early Avalokiteshvara Puja practice then included extemporary prayers / supplications to the deity to responds directly to the pleas of those in great need, while also serving in symbolic manner as the embodiment of the principle of compassion, a fundamental aspect of the Buddhist way of life.

Avalokiteshvara was traditionally placed on hill tops in part an evangelistic tactic to claim space and place.  

The height of the veneration of Avalokiteshvara in northern India occurred in the 3rd–7th century.   Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra: Universal Gate of Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara describing him as a compassionate bodhisattva who hears the cries of sentient beings, and who works tirelessly to help those who call upon his name.  A total of 33 different manifestations of Avalokiteśvara are described, including female manifestations, all to suit the minds of various beings.   In China the female version of him is Guanyin   

 Due to her symbolization of compassion, in East Asia, Guanyin is associated with vegetarianism. Buddhist cuisine is generally decorated with her image and she appears in most Buddhist vegetarian pamphlets and magazines.

Bodhisattva puja devotional rituals

These include prostrating (kneeling and bowing with forehead, hands, knees and feet touching the floor) themselves towards a Buddha / Bodhisattva image to show commitment and to request blessings. They may also make offerings, such as flowers, food, water and other gifts. When one flower is offered, this symbolises unity. When three flowers are offered, this symbolises the Three Jewels (also known as the Triratna). Gifts such as water and food represent the respect paid to the Buddha / Bodhisattva, as if he were an honoured guest.

When Mahayana Buddhists perform puja In front of a statue of Manjusri, they are showing their respect for the quality of wisdom, and their determination to develop it within themselves. The hands of any statue will be held in mudra.

Ways of doing puja to Bodhsiattva Rupas

Making extensive offerings to them and reciting Mantras, ‘Dharani’s’

Making offerings to Bodhisttva Rupas at Temple or home shrines-  Common offerings include:

·         flowers, to symbolise that things don’t stay the same – they are always changing

·         incense, to represent the idea of purity of speech and behaviour

·         candles, which are lit to represent the idea of light triumphing over darkness and knowledge triumphing over ignorance

Murdras / Hand Gestures and Bowing in Bodhisattva Puja

In the context of puja, bowing refers to the act of raising one's hands together (anjali) and lowering one's head in a gesture of homage and humility. As a devotional act, one bows to the Buddha's / Bodhisattvas likeness in a statue, to a stupa (a pagoda that enshrines bodily relics of the Buddha) or to the Bodhi tree. Traditionally, one also bows to parents, teachers, the elderly and monastics.

Harvey (1990) identifies the movement of the hands from head to lips to chest as being particular to Northern Buddhism (Mahayana) but it has been seen in other Buddhist communities as well.

When bowing before a sacred object such as a Buddha / Bodhisttva statue, one usually bows three times, recalling with the first bow the Buddha, then the Dhamma and then the Sangha. One may simply offer a head-lowered bow with palms-together hands held in front of one's heart or forehead, or one may move one's hands in a single flowing movement from the head to the lips to the chest (representing thought, speech and body). More formally, one may bow with a series of head-to-floor prostrations.

The images in Mahayana as Icons of Immanence and Transcendence?

         Pureland Bodhisattva reflects aspiration of eventual transcene

 1. In Mahayana Buddhism any being who has taken the Bodhisattva vow is a Trainee Bodhisattva. Will be reborn as have not raised wisdom or compassion needed. 

2. Mahayana Buddhists believe ​earthly Bodhisattvas have partially realized their Buddha nature has achieved a level of Buddha nature but continue to be reborn and live on Earth as they have not yet attained all 10 Bodhisattva Stages of development.

3. Transcendent Bodhisattvas have attained Buddhahood and may manifest as heavenly spiritual or mythical beings in the celestial realms.  Mahayana Buddhists pray to these Bodhisattvas in times of need.

The practice of offerings to Bodhisattva Rupas is to obtain merit or PUNYA

Offerings Bodhisattva Rupas +  Stupas

Another important practice is the giving of offerings (pūjā) out of respect and humility to a Buddha image or other artifact. This is often combined with chanting. Buddhists may offer flowers as a symbol of growth, or incense to remind themselves of the "odor of sanctity" of the Buddha. Candles and lights may also be offered, symbolizing the dispelling of the darkness of ignorance. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a set of seven offerings is often given, in which the first two offerings represent hospitality, and the other five the senses. Such an offering indicates respect through one's entire being, as represented by the five senses. When an offering is given in a temple, the devotees will normally take off their shoes, wash the object to be offered, approach the image or stūpa holding their hands in añjali and perform the actual offering, after which they prostrate.

The offering of flowers and other offerings and care that is given to a holy place are not only signs of respect, but they also are meant to change the environment of the devotee in a place where the Buddha would be at home.

Offerings given to the monastic community are also considered a form of devotion, and offerings of food are often given to the Buddha image first, after which offerings are given to the monks for their breakfast or mid-day meal.

Questions – Test yourself!

1. What the key practices related to Bodhsittva Rupas?

2. What the key practices of Murdras / Hand Gestures and Bowing in Bodhisattva Puja?

3. What the key practices of Offerings Bodhisattva Rupas +  Stupas?

Mahayana Practices related to Bodhisattva Stupas

Psycho-cosmic Symbolism of Mahayana Supas

Mahayana sutpas developed their own “Psycho-cosmic Symbolism”

 of the Buddhist Stupa

From the bottom up:

The three steps at the base, the Throne: the three refuges of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha


The four steps below the Bumpa, or dome: the legs of the Buddha: the Four Immeasurables of loving kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity (pre-Buddhists objects of mediation accepted by both TV and MA Bud)

The Bumpa: the Buddha’s chest: the Seven Elements of Enlightenment: mindfulness, discrimination, exertion, joy, pliancy, samadhi, and equanimity


The Harmika, just below the spire: Eyes of the Buddha: the Eight-fold Noble Path of Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration


The Spire, or 13 rings: the ten levels or bhumis of the Mahayana path and the three highest stages of the Vajrayana path. 


The Parasol: compassion
The Moon/Sun shapes represent the union of compassion and wisdom!, joining the all-accomplishing action of compassion with the all-pervading awareness of wisdom

Jewel/Sun/Moon: Enlightenment, Wisdom, Bodhicitta (Heart of Awakening)

The purpose and practice of Stupas in Mahayana.

Stupas speak of enlightenment on many different levels. The outer form of a stupa represents a meditating Buddha, seated and crowned. When seen from above, a stupa is a perfect mandala, a pure distillation of the universe.

Borobudur Temple above / opposite .

9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple and the largest STUPA in the world. 

When viewed from above, takes the form of a giant tantric Buddhist mandala, simultaneously representing the Buddhist cosmology and the nature of mind

The monument's three divisions symbolize the three "realms" of Buddhist cosmology, namely Kamadhatu (the world of desires), Rupadhatu (the world of forms), and finally Arupadhatu (the formless world). Ordinary sentient beings live out their lives on the lowest level, the realm of desire.

Those who have burnt out all desire for continued existence leave the world of desire and live in the world on the level of form alone: they see forms but are not drawn to them. Finally, full Buddhas go beyond even form and experience reality at its purest, most fundamental level, the formless ocean of nirvana

The liberation from the cycle of Saṃsāra where the enlightened soul had no longer attached to worldly form corresponds to the concept of Śūnyatā, the complete voidness or the nonexistence of the self.

Vajrayana Tibetan Buddhist Stupas Kathmandu, Nepal

The addition of prayer flags, there are eight different kinds of stupas in Tibetan Buddhism, each referring to major events in the Buddha's life.

In addition Stupas can commemorate the lives of important Lamas.  In Vajrayāna lineage back to the original lama is an important expression of the belief in the emanation of the sense world from the celestial world and it from the Buddha Nature of all.  Also the importance of the Guru in Vajrayana Tradition is that emulating a lineage schools Masters is a Path to Awakening. 

These stupas become the object of pilgrimage and vernation via offerings.

Pilgrimage Supas and Rupas

Mahayana Buddhists go on pilgrimage which has been described by scholars as the summit of all devotional practices in Buddhism. According to early texts, it is advocated by the Buddha himself. He suggests to pay respect to four places, that is, the place where he is born (Lumbini), the place where he has first attained enlightenment (Bodh Gaya), the place where he preached his first teaching (Sarnath), and finally, the place where he attained his Final Nibbāna (Kusinara). Indeed, to dispel any doubt about the usefulness of such pilgrimage, the Buddha states that he accepts in advance all gifts presented to memorial places such as cetiyas or stūpas, and places of pilgrimage. Such offerings and pilgrimage are therefore considered just as fruitful after he has died, as when he was still alive. Pilgrimage to these four sites in India, especially to Bodh Gaya, has been popular in ancient times, and is now popular again, though on a much larger scale than before. Among the four sites, Bodh Gaya is considered by many to be the most important. The Buddha is believed to have realized the truth there that lies at the foundation of Buddhism.

Other places were later added, particularly in other countries, where pilgrimage to the original sites would be daunting. In 11th-century Japan, an institutional system was developed called Shugendō, in which various parts of Japan's geography came to be regarded as symbols of the Buddhist teaching, or to stand for certain bodhisattvas or important historical figures in Japanese Buddhism. Numerous pilgrimage routes were developed to honor these sites, as narratives about them were written down and monasteries and shrines were established on them. In Tibetan Buddhism, many pilgrimage guides have been written with practical instructions for the pilgrim, but also to describe the mystical vision which accompanies the pilgrimage. Buddhists might go on pilgrimage for several reasons: to gain merit, to remind themselves of the Buddha's life, to suffuse themselves with the spiritual power of the pilgrimage places and its artifacts, as a promise made to a bodhisatta in exchange for favors, to gain protection from devas that protect the pilgrimage places, or to bring harmony to their family. Furthermore, pilgrims might want to dedicate the good karma of the trip to their ill or deceased relatives. But often the pilgrimage is simply done to enjoy the nature or cultural settings, to escape city life, or out of nostalgia for the past.

Rupas.

Questions – Test yourself!

1. Explain what the Psycho-cosmic Symbolism of Mahayana Supas is?

2. Explain the purpose and practice of Stupas in Mahayana.

3.    Why do Mahayana go on Pilgramage to Supas?

4. Make a note of how mandalas are linked to Stopa devotion by Monks

Madyamaka and Yogacara

Watch the above and write a summary of Madyamaka and Yogacara  

The india 

Read 

Lesson 1 Resources

 1. Videos on the Origin and development of the Mahayana Buddhism.