Mahayana : Greater Vehicle, one of the two major Buddhist traditions; it is the form most adhered to in China, Korea, Japan & Tibet. It emerged in c. 1st century from the original orthodox schools (represented by the Theravadins of Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Laos & Cambodia & generally termed Hināyāna, Lesser Vehicle) as a more liberal & innovative interpretation of the Buddha’s teachings. The Mahayanist’ ideal is to become not an Arhat (perfected saint), but a Bodhisattva.
... Platonic and Aristotelian philosophy. I feel that the call of the Church to-day is to interpret the Gospel in the light of oriental philosophy, that is, the whole tradition of the Vedanta (as also of Mahayana Buddhism). It is here that I found Sri Aurobindo so enlightening as he introduced new concepts into Vedanta, which were so close to the Christian view. Whether this was due to an unconscious influence... understanding of 'Eastern mysticism'. What you say may apply to a good deal of Hindu mysticism and to the views of Sri Aurobindo, but there are other views to be found in the Tantra and especially in Mahayana Buddhism which are much nearer to Capra's view. I find that most people in the West find Buddhism far more congenial than Hinduism as a philosophy of life. So you see we really differ very ...
... about Buddhism. Krishnaprem puts his own interpretation. NIRODBARAN: He follows the Mahayana school. SRI AUROBINDO: Mahayana is nearer to the Advaita school. SATYENDRA: Even Mahayana teachings may be a modern interpretation. Nobody knows what Buddha said. SRI AUROBINDO: Yes. My impression is that even Mahayana has no clear idea about the ultimate concepts. ...
... course, Buddha never said that. Krishnaprem speaks according to the Mahayana. Mahayana went much further. Buddha didn't say what Nirvana is and he did not say that Nirvana and Samsara are equal. PURANI: As an authority on Buddhism, Mrs. Rhys Davies seems to be the best person. SRI AUROBINDO: No, she is not very reliable. The Mahayana conception of Nirvana seems to be something like Laotse's Tao. Tao ...
... lokasaṅgraha ; he is the friend of all existences, therefore is the sage who has found Nirvana within him and all around, still and always occupied with the good of all creatures,—even as the Nirvana of Mahayana Buddhism took for its highest sign the works of a universal compassion. Therefore too, even when he has found oneness with the Divine in his timeless and immutable self, is he still capable, since ...
... universal Law of Action or Karma which could be accomplished by extinguishing the fire of desire and finally disappearing into the utter state of Nirvanic Non-Self. But then the ferry-boat,—to use the Mahayana image,—that takes one to the Shore of Silence, away from this shore of ignorance and craving and death, does not do the return trip; consequently, whatever gets left behind remains in the same state ...
... Upanishads which will provide a few glimpses into the early stages of Indian concepts of education and of the good teacher and the good pupil. Rishi Atri and his wife (Anasuya), from a Mahayana manuscript. Page 39 ...
... added on to his name afterwards. For instance, very little of what is now known as Buddhism was taught by Buddha. Take the doctrine of karma – compassion. It was brought in by the teachers of the Mahayana school. Disciple : According to popular belief among the Jains Krishna is now in the seventh hell ! And in the next cycle he will be one of the Tirthankars ! He is now in hell because he was ...
... in the modern interpretations of Buddhism and any strictures I may have passed were in view of these; interpretations and that one-sided stress. I am aware of (course of opposite tendencies in the Mahayana and the Japanese cult of Amitabha Buddha which is a cult of bhakti. It is now being said even of Shankara that there was another side of his doctrine—but his followers have made him stand solely... feel the same thrill at his silence?" Well, in reality, that is just what He is m one aspect. This is the meaning of the doctrine of the Dharmakaya and of the " docetism " that marked so many Mahayana and also Page 31 Christian Gnostic schools. But for most this Formless remains a mere matter of words and is, consequently, a falsity. Without experience, the "formless" is an empty ...
... the eightfold path taken as the way to release was an austere sublimation of the Vedic notion of the Right, Truth and Law followed as the way to immortality, ṛtasya panthāḥ . The strongest note of Mahayana Buddhism, its stress on universal compassion and fellow-feeling, was an ethical application of the spiritual unity which is the essential idea of Vedanta. 3 The most characteristic tenets of the ...
... feel the same thrill at his silence?' "Well, in reality, that is just what He is in one aspect. This is the meaning of the doctrine of the Dharmakaya and of the 'docetism' that marked so many Mahayana and also Christian Gnostic schools. But for most this Formless remains a mere matter of words and is, consequently, a falsity. Only experience can give us the truth. Without experience, the 'formless' ...
... significance. There have been different gradations in this movement to bridge the gulf between an absolute impersonality and the dynamic possibilities of our nature. The thought and practice of the Mahayana approached this difficult reconciliation through the experience of a deep desirelessness and a large dissolving freedom from mental and vital attachment and sanskaras and on the positive side a universal ...
... of the monistic Page 83 Vedantins, the Sunyam of the nihilistic Buddhists, the Tao or omnipresent and transcendent Nihil of the Chinese, the indefinable and ineffable Permanent of the Mahayana. Many Christian mystics also speak of the necessity of a complete ignorance in order to get the supreme experience and speak too of the Divine Darkness—they mean the shedding of all mental knowledge ...
... The other day I read the book Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines by W. Y. Evans-Wentz.... The following is an interesting statement of his—not a text, but probably his own understanding of the Mahayana: "So long as there is one being, even the lowliest, immersed in suffering and sorrow, or in Ignorance, there remains one note of disharmony which cannot but affect all beings, since all beings are ...
... "Nirvana is only a stage." SRI AUROBINDO (surprised) : Is that so? PURANI: In Buddhism they have two paths: knowledge and devotion. They consider Buddha an Avatar. SRI AUROBINDO: It is the Mahayana path that goes through devotion. But isn't it a fact that all Buddhists utter: Buddham saranam gacchami, dharmam saranam gacchami, sangham saranam gacchami?5 Buddha himself couldn't have said it, ...
... Nirvana and Samsara also is the same teaching as in The Life Divine —about the acceptance of life. SRI AUROBINDO: Did Buddha say that? I thought he preached renunciation. PURANI: It is the Mahayana school, which came into existence after Buddha, that holds this view of the acceptance of life. The Hinayana school does not. SATYENDRA: Everybody finds things in The Life Divine according to ...
... experience. The eightfold path also came to be perceived as an austere sublimation of the Vedic notion of the Right, Truth, and Law, which was followed as the way to immortality. The strongest note of Mahayana Buddhism which laid stress on universal compassion and fellow-feeling was seen as an ethical application of the spiritual unity which is an essential idea of Vedanta. The Buddhistic theory of karma ...
... experience. The eightfold path also came to be perceived as an austere sublimation of the Vedic notion of the Right, Truth, and Law, which was followed as the way to immortality. The strongest note of Mahayana Buddhism which laid a stress on universal compassion and fellow-feeling was seen as an ethical application of the spiritual unity which is an essential idea of Vedanta. The Buddhistic theory of karma ...
... for the Page 78 change in the even and tranquil tenor of Aryan culture. In the beginning the Buddhists, like the Vedic Aryans, laid the greatest stress on knowledge. Later on, when Mahayana, the Great Path, came into vogue, there commenced the worship of the Buddha. When the compassion of the Buddha was recognised as the principal trait of Buddhism we moved away from intuition and resorted ...
... discouraging and withering effect on life in the world. The second attitude of qualified rejection is of a much wider applicability. The Vedanta as interpreted by Shankara, the catholic forms of Mahayana Buddhism, Jainism and Christianity accept action as a preliminary means of purification. Certain prescribed actions, calculated to calm the mind of the neophyte and help the growth of disinterestedness ...
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