Mahāyāna
Sign in to savethumb|260px|An illustration in a manuscript of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra from [[Nalanda, depicting the bodhisattva Maitreya, an important figure in Mahāyāna]]
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Mahāyāna is one of the major branches of Buddhism that developed later than early Buddhist traditions and emphasizes the role of bodhisattvas—enlightened beings who delay their own final liberation to help others achieve salvation. It matters as a major form of Buddhism that has shaped religious practice across East Asia and introduced different approaches to achieving enlightenment compared to earlier Buddhist schools.
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Article
44 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Original Sanskrit
- Chinese translation
- History
- Origin
- Early Mahāyāna
- Growth
- Expansion outside of India
- Later developments
- Worldview
- The Buddhas
- The Bodhisattvas
- The Bodhisattva Path
- Bodhisattva levels
- Skillful means and the One Vehicle
- Prajñāpāramitā (Transcendent Knowledge)
- Madhyamaka (Centrism)
- Vijñānavāda (The Consciousness doctrine)
- Buddha-nature
- Arguments for authenticity
- Claims of superiority
- Practice
- Devotion, ritual and meritorious practices
- The bodhisattva perfections
- Meditation
- Scripture
- Mahāyāna sutras
- Other literature
- Classifications
- Relationship with the early texts
- Contemporary forms of Mahāyāna Buddhism
- Chinese
- Korean
- Japanese
- Vietnamese
- Tibetan
- Relationship to the Theravada school
- Role of the Bodhisattva
- Theravāda and Hīnayāna
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Sources
- External links
thumb|260px|An illustration in a manuscript of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra from [[Nalanda, depicting the bodhisattva Maitreya, an important figure in Mahāyāna]]
Mahayana is the largest branch of Buddhism, followed by Theravada. It is a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices that developed in the Amaravati region of ancient India ( onwards). Mahāyāna accepts the main scriptures and teachings of early Buddhism but also recognizes various doctrines and texts that are not accepted by Theravada Buddhism as original. These include the Mahāyāna sūtras and their emphasis on the bodhisattva path and Prajñāpāramitā. Vajrayana or Mantra traditions are a subset of Mahāyāna which makes use of numerous Tantric methods Vajrayānists consider to help achieve Buddhahood.