Lecture outline 5
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Transcript Lecture outline 5
Mahāyāna Buddhism
Emerged primarily as a reaction against old schools of
Buddhism, which were
Highly ecclesiastic,
relatively pedantic,
Perceived as self-centered, focused on individual salvation
Known as the “Greater Vehicle”, which offered
A new set of literature called the Prajňāparamitā, or
“Perfection of Wisdom” literature
A new theory concerning the nature of Buddhahood
A different path to a new goal—the Bodhisattva path
Multi-Buddhas theory
All sentient beings can attain Buddhahood
Many celestial Buddhas (and Bodhisattvas)
permeated the pantheon of Mahāyāna Buddhism
Foremost among these celestial Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas are:
Amitābha,
or the Buddha of “Unlimited Light”, Sometimes
called Amitāyus, or the Buddha of “Unlimited Life”, said to
rule over the Western Paradise of Sukhāvatī, and known in
China as Amituofo, and in Japan as Amida Butsu
Akşobhya, “Immovable Buddha” said to reign over Eastern
Paradise known as Abhirati
Vairocana, “Shining Out Buddha”, “Great Sun Buddha”
Bhaiśajayaguru Buddha, “Healing Buddha”
Bodhisattva Maňjuśrī, “Gentle/Sweet Glory”,
symbolizing wisdom
Maitreya, future Buddha, “Benevolent One”, a
cult image said to rule over Tuşita Heaven
Avalokiteśvara, “The Lord Who Looks Down,”
Represented
in art in a variety of ways, including a
layman with eleven heads, a thousand arms…
Multi-World systems
“universes are as numerous as the sands of
Ganges”
Some of the world systems are Buddha fields
(lands) in which a Tathāgata lives and teaches the
Dharma
Tathāgata
is often translated as either “one who has
thus gone” or “one who has thus come”
Or simply “thus come one”
Each
Buddha land is a “pure land”—a pure world
formed by jewels, gems, diamond bodies,…as
opposed to “impure” worlds formed by organic
matters.
Better Known Buddha Lands
Abhirati,
Land of Light in the East, presided by the
Buddha Aksobhya, which means “immovable” or
“imperturbable”
This pure land and the Buddha Aksobhya are not
popular in East Asia, but are relatively popular in
Tantrism
In art, he is represented in blue, holding a diamond
scepter in his right hand; his left hand is in the earthwitness gesture, with a blue elephant for his mount.
The Buddha Aksobhya
Sukhāvatī, Land of Utmost
Bliss in the West, presided by
the Buddha Amitābha
/Amitāyus, which means
“immeasurable light/life span”
Story about this Buddha:
Found in the Longer/Larger
Sutra (one of the three major
Pure Land Sutras)
Amitāyus (The Buddha of Infinite life)
or Amitābha (The Buddha of
Immeasurable Light) and his Pure
Land are discussed in detail in these
three Pure Land sutras:
1. The Shorter/Smaller Sutra on
Amitāyus,
2. The Longer/Larger Sutra on
Amitāyus,
3. The Sutra on Contemplation of
Amitāyus
Amitāyus is known as O-mi-to fo, Wuliang-shou fo in Chinese, and Amida Butsu
in Japanese
Mahāyāna emphasis is on compassion for all
sentient beings and the emptiness (śūnyata)of
all phenomena
Split into different schools in India:
The
Mādhyamika school
The Yogācāra school
Pure Land tradition
Vajrayāna tradition
More schools emerged in China and other EA
countries
Mahāyāna literature
First category: Prajňāparamitā literature
Consists of a series of Mahāyāna texts:
Perfection of Wisdom Discourse in 8,000 lines”
Later expanded into 18,000, 25,000, and 100,000
verses.
Two shortened versions also appeared:
The Diamond Sutra
The Heart Sutra
Tantric texts also emerged:
The Perfection of Wisdom in One Letter
Bodhisattvas figured prominently in these texts
Second category: Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa sutra
Tells a story about the Buddha’s sermon in
the town of Vaiśālī
audience: 800 monks, 32,000 bodhisattvas,
and many lay disciples
Among lay disciples Vimalakīrti is absent due
to an illness
Bodhisattva Maňjuśrī offers to inquire after
Vimalakīrti
Vimalakīrti attributes his illness to his compassion for
the sickness of all sentient beings, noting that he
won’t become cured unless all other sentient beings
are cured.
Then Vimalakīrti poses a question: “how a
bodhisattva can enter the Dharma-door of nonduality?”
After hearing thirty-one replies, Maňjuśrī says that
those replies are themselves dualistic and that “to
know no one teaching, to express nothing, to explain
nothing, to announce nothing, to indicate nothing,
and to designate nothing” is the entrance into
nonduality.
Maňjuśrī requests
Vimalakīrti’s answer
to his own question.
Vimalakīrti’s
response: complete
and total silence.
This is considered
the only perfect
answer.
Vimalakīrti facing Maňjuśrī,
Dunhuang, Tang painting
Third category: Lańkāvatāra sutra
Discusses emptiness, the theory of eightconsciousnesses, five dharmas, the
Thathāgata is present in all sentient beings,
or Buddhahood is readily available to all.
Used as an early Chan/Zen text in China
Fourth category: Lotus Sutra
Full title: “Sutra on the Lotus of the
Good/Wonderful Teaching”
The basis of Tiantai school of Chinese
Buddhism; extremely important
Stresses “One Vehicle” Buddhism, the
nature of the Tathāgata the use of “skillful
means” or “skill-in-means” (upāya)
Fifth category: Pure Land Sutra
Three texts:
Larger Sukhāvatīvyuha Sutra (Larger Sutra)
Smaller Sukhāvatīvyuha Sutra (Smaller Sutra)
Sutra on the Viisualization of the Buddha of
Immeasurable Life, or Guan wuliangshoufo jing
Pure Land Faith
The Larger Sutra tells a story about the monk
Dharmakara and his forty-eight vows under a prior
Buddha known as Lokeśvararāja.
Rebirth in the Pure Land is available to those:
Make a vow to be reborn there
Employ their good merit to do so
Meditate on Amitābha
The Smaller Sutra
Focuses on repeated recitation of Amitābha’s
name to attain salvation
Expressed by the formula:
Namo Amitābhāya Buddhāya (in Sanskrit), Nanwu
Amituofo (in Chinese), and Namu Amida Butsu (in
Japanese)--- “Homage to Amitābha Buddha”
Regarded as the “easy way” to attain salvation
Faith is much stressed
Meditation secondary
Mahāyāna Schools
In India
The Mādhyamika school
The Yogācāra school
Pure Land tradition
Vajrayāna tradition
In China
The Mādhyamika school
The Yogācāra school (Mind-only School)
Pure Land tradition
Tiantai School
Huayan School
Chan School