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Mahayana Buddhism
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Definition
by Joshua J. Mark
published on 17 August 2021

Mahayana Buddhism is the largest Buddhist sect in the

world, and its beliefs and practices are what most non-
adherents recognize as "Buddhism" in the modern era. It
developed as a school of thought sometime after 383
BCE, possibly from the earlier school known as
Mahasanghika, though that claim has been challenged.

Mahasanghika ("Great Congregation") was an early

Buddhist school that developed after the Second
Buddhist Council of 383 BCE when the Sthaviravada
school ("Sect of the Elders" or "Teaching of the Elders")
broke away from the Buddhist community over doctrinal
differences. This early schism led to others and the
development of many different Buddhist schools of
which Mahasanghika was only one.

Mahasanghika, claiming to represent the majority of Siddhartha Gautama, the Historical Buddha
Buddhists (as its name suggests) was thought by 19th- Cristian Violatti (CC BY-NC-SA)
century scholars to have eventually become Mahayana
("The Great Vehicle"), but modern scholars contend that this is incorrect as evidence suggests
Mahayana existed alongside Mahasanghika and was supported and encouraged by that school.
How and why Mahayana Buddhism developed is a question still debated by scholars and Buddhist
theologians.

Buddha’s Life & Death

According to Buddhist tradition, the belief
system was founded by a former Hindu prince,
Siddhartha Gautama (l. c. 563 - c. 483 BCE),
THE CRAVING FOR
whose father protected him from experiencing PERMANENCE IN AN
any kind of pain or suffering for the first 29 IMPERMANENT WORLD, THE
years of his life. When the prince was born, a
seer prophesied that, should he ever experience
BUDDHA REALIZED, COULD
or even see evidence of pain and suffering, he ONLY LEAD TO SUFFERING
would become a great spiritual leader,
renouncing his kingdom. Siddhartha’s father,
hoping to preserve his dynasty, constructed a BECAUSE THE NATURE OF
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pleasure palace, which distanced his Would
son from
the everyday world of pain and disappointment
you like to receive
LIFE IS TRANSITORY.
notifications when new articles are
and kept him safely inside the compound
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Siddhartha sayup,
grew thanks!
married, and had a son, all the while believing he was living in the real world.
Periodically, he would be taken for a ride around what he believed was his father’s kingdom by a
coachman loyal to the king who made sure to stay away from the gates leading to the outside
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world. a Member
One day, Close this(or,
though, this coachman Message
in the most popular version of the tale, a substitute
who was unaware of the rules) took the prince out through one of the gates, and he encountered
the Four Signs that would change the direction of his life:

An aged man
A sick man
A dead man
An ascetic

He had never experienced anything like this before and questioned the coachman each time after
seeing the first three, asking, "Am I, also, subject to this?" The coachman explained how everyone
grew old, experienced illness and pain, and eventually died. This revelation horrified the prince
because he understood he had been living in a false world constructed by his father which was
actually governed by the same rules as this real world he was now encountering and, eventually, he
would lose everything he loved.

The fourth sign, the ascetic, intrigued him, however, as this man seemed unconcerned with age,
sickness, or death and so he had the coachman stop so he could ask why. The ascetic replied that
he was living a life of non-attachment to the world and was at peace, and shortly after this,
Siddhartha abandoned his life and fled to the woods to join a band of spiritual ascetics.

Gautama Buddha in Padmasana

Francis Chung (CC BY)

He learned meditation techniques and how to fast and various methods of spiritual discipline, but
none of these satisfied him. Finally, he removed himself from the ascetic community and went
out on his own, eventually seating himself beneath a Bodhi tree and claiming he would attain
enlightenment there or die in the attempt.

Enlightenment came in the form of the Four Noble Truths:

Life is suffering
The cause of suffering is craving
The end of suffering comes with an end to craving
There is a path which leads one away from craving and suffering
He understood that the suffering he felt at the thought of losing everything he loved was caused by

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impermanent world, he realized, could
Would
the desire that these things remain just
only
youwere
as they like to
lead to
receiveThis craving for permanence in an
forever.
suffering because
notifications when new articles arethe nature of life was
transitory. All aspects of existence were in a constant state of change, growth, and dissolution;
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and claimed aspublished?
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one believed was oneself.
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The Buddha's teaching of [the Four Noble Truths] was based on his insight
into
Become interdependentClose
a Member this(pratitya
arising Message samutpada) as the nature of existence.
Interdependent arising means that everything is constantly changing, that
nothing is permanent. It also means that all existence is selfless, that
nothing exists separately, by itself. And beyond the impermanence and
selflessness of existence, interdependent arising means that whatever
arises, or ceases, does so dependent upon conditions. This is why
understanding the conditions that give rise to [suffering] is crucial to the
process of eliminating [suffering]. (64)

In this moment, he became the Buddha ("Enlightened One") and recognized, in the Fourth Noble
Truths, the way to live without suffering. He called this “the middle way” between extreme
asceticism and enslavement to sense attachments, also known as the Eightfold Path:

Right View
Right Intention
Right Speech
Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right Effort
Right Mindfulness
Right Concentration

By following this path, one could still appreciate all that one had without insisting on permanence;
one could appreciate without attachment. Buddha’s first sermon outlined this vision and attracted
adherents who became the first Buddhists.

Early Buddhist Schools

Buddha taught his precepts until the age of 80 when he died. He told his disciples they should not
choose a leader, every person should seek enlightenment individually just as he had done, and
requested that his remains be placed in a stupa at a crossroads, presumably so travelers would see
it and be reminded that there was a way to live without constant suffering through rebirth and
death in countless incarnations. His disciples, instead, divided his remains amongst themselves
and erected stupas at various locations throughout the region each felt most appropriate. They
then institutionalized the Buddha’s teachings, chose a leader, and wrote up rules and regulations
for the faith.
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Gandhara Relief of Buddha Eating with Monks

Mark Cartwright (CC BY-NC-SA)

The First Council was convened c. 400 BCE at which the rules governing the community (the
sangha) were established and the Buddha’s "true" teachings separated from "false" legends that had
already grown up around him. At the Second Council of 383 BCE, different factions within the
sangha offered their own interpretations of these teachings and of the rules previously agreed to.
Disagreements led to one group, later known as the Sthaviravada school, separating from the
main body and declaring they, alone, understood Buddha’s vision. The larger group became
known as Mahasanghika – the Great Congregation – which had more adherents than Sthaviravada
– and also claimed it alone understood the Buddha’s message.

The Sthaviravada school took Buddha’s

admonition that each person should seek their
own enlightenment and turned their focus AROUND 283 BCE, THE
inward toward each member of the sect working
to become an arhat (saint) with no responsibility
MAHASANGHIKA SCHOOL
for anyone else. Mahasanghika took the example DIVIDED OVER WHETHER
of Buddha’s life – complete selflessness in THE TEACHINGS OF
service to others – as their model and believed
each person could become a Bodhisattva
MAHAYANA WERE WORTHY
(“essence of enlightenment”) and it was a OF ACCEPTANCE.
Buddhist’s responsibility, after attaining
enlightenment, to help others achieve the same
state.

More schools developed out of these first two and, by the late 3rd century BCE, there were many
which included Mahayana. Around 283 BCE, the Mahasanghika school divided over whether the
teachings of Mahayana were worthy of acceptance. Sometime shortly after this, Mahasanghika
either died out or merged with Mahayana. It is unclear what happened to the school, but later
texts state that they lost the authority to ordain monks which must have meant that some larger
and more powerful school of thought now claimed that right. The only school with that kind of
power at the time was Mahayana.

Mahayana Beliefs
The claim that Mahayana developed from Mahasanghika is supported not only in the similarity of
the names (both claiming to be the largest group of believers and therefore the majority who
agreed on Buddha’s vision) but by what is known of Mahasanghika beliefs later held by Mahayana.
Mahasanghika rejected the Sthaviravada position that the primary goal of Buddha’s message was
individual spiritual perfection, claiming an arhat was just as fallible as any other human being and
possessed no supernatural powers or insights. To the Mahasanghika school, an arhat was simply a
spiritual ascetic who used Buddha’s vision as a guide toward spiritual development instead of one
of the many others in use at the time. Mahasanghika also believed:
 Bodhisattvas take vows prior to their incarnation to be born in the worst locales so they can

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help people overcome their suffering.
Only the present exists at all times; past andwhen
notifications future
newarearticles
illusions
arewhich distract and trouble
the mind.
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brings supramundane powers including the ability to communicate without
speech.

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Mahayana a Member
Buddhism acceptedClose
all of this
theseMessage
tenets but also claimed that a Mahayana sutra – a book
of Buddhist teachings, words of the Buddha, hagiographies, and meditative verses – represented
the authentic vision of the Buddha while those of other schools, however valuable they might be,
did not. The term Mahayana was self-applied – the school itself claimed to have the largest
number of followers – and they called other schools Hinayana ("The Lesser Vehicle") applied to
those groups that rejected Mahayana sutras and maintained their own beliefs regarding the
Buddha and his essential teaching.

Gandhara Bodhisattva
Mary Harrsch (Photographed at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco) (CC BY-NC-SA)

The main difference between Mahayana and other schools was their focus on the importance of
the bodhisattva. One’s path toward enlightenment was not for one’s benefit alone but for the
whole world. Once one had attained an awakened state, it was one’s responsibility to assist others
in doing the same. A further important difference is that Mahayana understands the Buddha
(known as Sakyamuni Buddha) as an eternal, transcendent being who is either eternal or is
possessed of so long a lifespan that he may as well be. Accepting this truth and dedicating oneself
to emulation of the Buddha’s path is rewarded by spiritual merit which advances one on the path
to becoming a bodhisattva and then a Buddha like Sakyamuni and the many others that
Mahayana believes came before and after him.

All Buddhas who have ever lived have always existed and will always exist in the eternal present
human beings experience as life. Sakyamuni Buddha, therefore, did not actually die of dysentery
after eating his last meal but only appeared to because those around him understood death as an
end to life. They experienced the Buddha’s death because they accepted the paradigm of someone
dying, but to the Mahayana school, this was only another of the many of life’s illusions.
Sakyamuni Buddha, like all others, has been active in the lives of believers and non-believers the
world over for centuries and will continue to be for generations yet to be born.

Mahayana Practices
These beliefs are observed in one’s daily life through the ten practices known as pāramitā (Sanskrit
for "perfection") essential to one’s spiritual development:

Dāna Pāramitā: Charity, the act of giving generously

 Śīla Pāramitā: Morality, self-discipline, virtuous conduct

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Ksānti Pāramitā: Patience, forbearance,
Vīrya Pāramitā: Effort, diligence,
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Dhyāna Pāramitā: Concentration, single-mindedness
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Pāramitā: Resolution, determination in working toward a goal
Bala Pāramitā: Spiritual power
Jñāna Pāramitā: Knowledge, both of the nature of life and of oneself
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There are different paramita lists, some only include the first six of the above, some all ten. It
should also be noted that the above is the list from Sanskrit sources while in the Pali sources (in
which the pāramitā are known as pāramī) the perfections are different and include renunciation
and a commitment to telling the truth at all times. The list of ten practices, eventually split into six
and four, is thought to reflect an early cohesion of Buddhist thought, which fractured as different
schools developed.

Stupa in Ajanta
Jean-Pierre Dalbéra (CC BY)

By including these practices in one’s daily life, one advances along the path of the bodhisattva.
Scholars Robert E. Buswell, Jr. and Donald S. Lopez, Jr. comment:

The practice of these perfections over the course of the many lifetimes of the
bodhisattva’s path eventually fructifies in the achievement of Buddhahood.
The precise meaning of the perfections is discussed at length [in Buddhist
commentary] as is the question of how the six (or ten) are to be divided
between categories of merit (Punya) and wisdom (Jnana). (624)

The accumulation of spiritual merit is an important aspect of Mahayana belief and is accrued
through adherence to the discipline of the paramita and acceptance of the truth of the Mahayana
sutras.

Mahayana Scriptures
Besides the Dhammapada, a collection of 423 verses attributed to Sakyamuni Buddha, the
foundational text of Mahayana Buddhism is The Perfection of Wisdom (the literal translation of the
Sanskrit title Prajñāpāramitā) written by various Buddhist sages primarily between c. 50 BCE - c.
600 CE. It is a kind of manual on how to become a bodhisattva with a full understanding of
Buddhist Dharma (“cosmic law”) unimpeded by one’s ego which darkens understanding through
willful ignorance and pride. The verses of this work aim at confusing rational thought and linear
thinking in order to free the mind to understand the world from a different, higher perspective.
For many people, this is the most important work in Buddhism, memorized and recited daily by

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Buddhists around the world. It contains some thetomost
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famous Buddhist sutras such as The
Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (c. 50 BCE), The Diamond Sutra (c. 2nd century CE), and
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the Heart Sutra (c. 660 CE). The Heart Sutra is the most often memorized and recited as it focuses
onWe are a non-profit
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is full of oneself, one has no room for anything else – like a home that has become
cluttered with so many possessions there is no room for even one more and, further, one no
longer even knows what is there – but by reciting the Heart Sutra, one removes, piece by piece, the
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it were, restoring a natural balance and order to one’s life.

Buddhist Illuminated Manuscript, Goryeo Period

Eggmoon (CC BY-SA)

There are many more significant scriptures in Mahayana Buddhism including the equally, if not
more, famous Lotus Sutra (also known as Sutra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma) which makes
clear that all forms of Buddhism are aspects of Ekayana ("One Vehicle" or "One Path") and
Mahayana Buddhism, while still claiming to be the most complete or authentic, is only one of
many.

There are also the Pure Land Sutras, celebrating the work of the Celestial Buddha Amitabha and the
realm of bliss he created, which awaits believers in the afterlife. The Golden Light Sutra emphasizes
the importance of order in one’s internal life that is reflected externally, specifically concerning
kings and those in authority. Another work, the Tathagatagarbha Sutras, makes clear that all living
things are possessed of a Buddha-nature which, if developed, lead to the enlightenment of
Buddhahood. Other, equally important, sutras, develop these themes and others in providing a
complete guide to following the path of the bodhisattva and freeing oneself, and then others,
from ignorance, avarice, and the craving that binds one to the wheel of perpetual suffering.

Conclusion
Buddhism did not initially find a wide audience in India where Hinduism, which was already well
established, and Jainism, which appealed to the ascetic community, were more popular. It was not
until Buddhism was embraced by Ashoka the Great (r. 268-232 BCE) of the Mauryan Empire (322-
185 BCE) that it was spread across the Indian subcontinent and was exported to other lands such as
China, Sri Lanka, Korea, and Thailand.
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Sanchi Stupa
Elleen Delhi (CC BY-NC-SA)

In the present day, there are many schools of thought around the world representing the Buddhist
vision but the main three are:

Mahayana Buddhism
Theravada Buddhism (The School of the Elders, possibly developed from the Sthaviravada
school)
Vajrayana Buddhism (The Way of the Diamond, also known as Tibetan Buddhism)

Of these, as noted, Mahayana Buddhism is the most widely practiced, and its rituals, such as
pilgrimage to stupas and other holy sites and veneration of statues of the Buddha, are most widely
recognized. Contrary to claims by some modern writers, Theravada is not the oldest school of
Buddhism as it developed at the same time as Mahayana. All schools recognize the value of
Buddha’s essential teaching of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path but interpret and
express that value differently in the way they think best to address suffering and encourage
compassionate enlightenment throughout the world.

Bibliography
Baird, F. E. & Heimbeck, R. S. Philosophic Classics: Asian Philosophy. Routledge, 2010.
Buddha. The Dhammapada . Scribners, 2010.
Burtt, E. A. The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha. Berkley, 2000.
Buswell, R. E. jr & Lopez, D. S. jr. The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press, 2013.
Dalai Lama, His Holiness, et. al. Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions. Wisdom Publications, 2017.
Keay, J. India: A History. Grove Press, 2010.
Koller, J. M. Asian Philosophies. Prentice Hall, 2007.
Shantideva & Padmakara Translation Group. The Way of the Bodhisattva. Shambhala, 2006.
Suzuki, D. T. Outlines of Mahayana Buddhism . Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2010.
Williams, P. Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations. Routledge, 2008.
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We areJ.aMark
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Joshua J. Mark is World History Encyclopedia's co-founder and Content Director. He was
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a professor at Marist College (NY) where he taught history, philosophy, literature, and
writing. He has traveled extensively and lived in Greece and Germany.
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Cite This Work

APA Style
Mark, J. J. (2021, August 17). Mahayana Buddhism. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from
https://www.worldhistory.org/Mahayana_Buddhism/

Chicago Style
Mark, Joshua J.. "Mahayana Buddhism." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified August 17, 2021.
https://www.worldhistory.org/Mahayana_Buddhism/.

MLA Style
Mark, Joshua J.. "Mahayana Buddhism." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 17 Aug
2021. Web. 05 Jun 2024.

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