Mahayana | Buddhism Origins The origins of Mahayana Buddhism remain obscure; the date and location of the tradition’s emergence are unknown, and the movement most likely took shape over time and in multiple places. The proper appraisal of the early Mahayana is even further complicated by the fact that most reconstructions have been heavily influenced by the agendas of modern sectarian movements and that the scriptures most valued by later groups are not necessarily the texts that best represent the movement in its formative period. The earliest sources for the tradition are the Mahayana sutras, scriptures that were first compiled some four centuries after the Buddha’s death. As in earlier canonical Buddhist literature, these scriptures, almost certainly written by monks, present the movement’s innovative ideas in the form of sermons said to have been delivered by the Buddha Shakyamuni, as Siddhartha Gautama is known. Teachings Bodhisattva Awakening Monastic and philosophical traditions Read More on This Topic
Madhyamaka Buddhist philosophy founded by Nagarjuna Mādhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; Chinese: 中觀見; pinyin: Zhōngguān Jìan; Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ་ ; dbu ma pa), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no svabhāva doctrine"), refers to a tradition of Buddhist philosophy and practice founded by the Indian Buddhist monk and philosopher Nāgārjuna (c. 150 – c. 250 CE).[2][3] The foundational text of the Mādhyamaka tradition is Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā ("Root Verses on the Middle Way"). More broadly, Mādhyamaka also refers to the ultimate nature of phenomena as well as the non-conceptual realization of ultimate reality that is experienced in meditation. According to the classical Indian Mādhyamika thinkers, all phenomena (dharmas) are empty (śūnya) of "nature", of any "substance" or "essence" (svabhāva) which could give them "solid and independent existence", because they are dependently co-arisen. Etymology[edit] Philosophical overview[edit] Jay L.
Pali Middle Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian subcontinent Burmese Kammavaca manuscript written in Pali in the 'Burmese' script. Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Pāli Canon or Tipiṭaka as well as the sacred language of Theravāda Buddhism.[2] In early time, It was wrtitten in Bramhi script. Origin and development[edit] Etymology[edit] The word 'Pali' is used as a name for the language of the Theravada canon. The name Pali does not appear in the canonical literature, and in commentary literature is sometimes substituted with tanti, meaning a string or lineage.[3]: 1 This name seems to have emerged in Sri Lanka early in the second millennium CE during a resurgence in the use of Pali as a courtly and literary language.[4][3]: 1 Geographic origin[edit] Early history[edit] 19th century Burmese Kammavācā (confession for Buddhist monks), written in Pali on gilded palm leaf T. According to K.
Mahayana Buddhism Origins, Mahayana Buddhism History, Mahayana Buddhism Beliefs Mahayana Buddhism, also known as the Great Vehicle, is the form of Buddhism prominent in North Asia, including China, Mongolia, Tibet, Korea, and Japan. Arising out of schisms—about both doctrine and monastic rules—within Indian Buddhism in the first century C.E., the Great Vehicle considers itself a more authentic version of the Buddha's teachings. The Mahayana accepts the canonical texts of the Theravada tradition (what they derisively call the Hinayana, or "lesser vehicle), but also have a vast corpus of philosophical and devotional texts. The most distinctive teaching of the Mahayana is that the great compassion that is an inherent component of enlightenment is manifest in bodhisattvas (enlightenment beings); these beings postpone nirvana (final enlightenment) in order to assist and guide those beings still suffering in the cycle of rebirths.
en.m.wikipedia Indian philosopher Nāgārjuna (c. 150 – c. 250 CE), (Tibetan: mGon-po kLu-grub) is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.[2] Along with his disciple Āryadeva, he is considered the founder of the Madhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism.[2] Nāgārjuna is also credited with developing the philosophy of the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras and, by some sources, with having revealed these scriptures to the world after recovering them from the nāgas. He is traditionally thought to have written many treatises on rasayana, as well as serving a term as the head of Nālandā.[3] History Very little is reliably known of the life of Nāgārjuna, since the surviving accounts were written in Chinese[4] and Tibetan centuries after his death. According to a 4th/5th-century biography translated by Kumārajīva, Nāgārjuna was born into a Brahmin family[6] in Vidarbha[7][8][9] (a region of Maharashtra) and later became a Buddhist. Works Mūlamadhyamakakārikā Major attributed works Other attributed works
Śūnyatā Śūnyatā (Sanskrit: शून्यता, translit. śūnyatā; Pali: suññatā) – pronounced ‘shoonyataa’, translated into English most often as emptiness[1] and sometimes voidness[2] – is a Buddhist concept which has multiple meanings depending on its doctrinal context. It is either an ontological feature of reality, a meditative state, or a phenomenological analysis of experience. In Theravada Buddhism, suññatā often refers to the non-self (Pāli: anattā, Sanskrit: anātman)[note 1] nature of the five aggregates of experience and the six sense spheres. Suññatā is also often used to refer to a meditative state or experience. In Mahayana, Sunyata refers to the tenet that "all things are empty of intrinsic existence and nature (svabhava)," [4][5] but may also refer to the Buddha-nature teachings and primordial or empty awareness, as in Dzogchen and Shentong. Etymology[edit] "Śūnyatā" (Sanskrit) is usually translated as "devoidness," "emptiness," "hollow, hollowness," "voidness." Early Buddhism[edit] Chán[edit]
Mahayana Buddhism "Wishing: In gladness and in safety, may all beings be at ease." The Metta Sutta Mahayana Buddhism is sometimes called Northern Buddhism. It is mainly followed by monks and nuns, and is mainly found throughout China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Nepal, Russia, Tibet, and Vietnam. Buddhism Continues to Grow: The original tradition within Buddhism, Theravadan, continues to flourish even today, but around the First Century BCE, a split began to develop. "Theravada Buddhism focused primarily on meditation and concentration, the eighth of the Eightfold Noble Path; as a result, it centered on a monastic life a an extreme expenditure of time in meditating. The story goes that at first, the abilities of Buddha’s followers to comprehend what he had attained was limited, thus his teachings had to focus on the most important concepts of enlightenment and Nirvana. Graeme Lyall wrote on "The Rise of Mahayana: Bohdisattva Warriors: Molly C. The spread of Mahayana in Asia: Mary Hendriks commented:
en.m.wikipedia Nihilism is also a characteristic that has been ascribed to time periods: for example, Jean Baudrillard and others have called postmodernity a nihilistic epoch,[4] and some Christian theologians and figures of religious authority have asserted that postmodernity[5] and many aspects of modernity[3] represent a rejection of theism, and that such rejection of their theistic doctrine entails nihilism. Forms of nihilism[edit] Nihilism has many definitions, and thus can describe philosophical positions that are arguably independent. [edit] Metaphysical nihilism is the philosophical theory that there might be no objects at all—that is, that there is a possible world where there are no objects at all—or at least that there might be no concrete objects at all—so that even if every possible world contains some objects, there is at least one that contains only abstract objects. Epistemological nihilism[edit] Mereological nihilism[edit] This interpretation of existence must be based on resolution.
Sunyata (Emptiness) in the Mahayana Context 1. Sunyata (Emptiness) is the profound meaning of the Mahayana Teaching. Two thousand five hundred years ago, the Buddha was able to realise "emptiness" (s. sunyata). By doing so he freed himself from unsatisfactoriness (s. dukkha). From the standpoint of enlightenment, sunyata is the reality of all worldly existences (s. dharma). There are two ways for us to understand this concept of sunyata in the Mahayana context. Mahayana teachings have always considered that the understanding of sunyata is an attainment which is extremely difficult and extraordinarily profound. For example, in the Prajna Sutra it says "That which is profound, has sunyata and non-attachment as its significance. Again in the Dvadasanikaya Sastra (composed by Nagarjuna, translated to Chinese by Kumarajiva A.D. 408) it says: "The greatest wisdom is the so-called sunyata." This sunyata, no creation, calmness and extinction (s. nirvana) is of a profound significance in the Mahayana teachings. 2. 3. 4. 5.