The Rise of the Mahyna

Williams Presentation
Participating in a conversation that,
previously, was about schism; argues at
length against this
The distinction between mahyna and
mainstream Buddhism should not be
interpreted through the lens of the Protestant
reformation
Main difference is intention
Mahynists believe that one can, and should,
strive to become a fully enlightened Buddha
Non-mahynists dont think this is a bad idea,
but that its unnecessary and impractical
Stepping back: historical
origins
Seems to have first appeared in Gandhra and Orissa
Mahyna indicates a constellation of ideas
Enlarged cosmology: many worlds, many Buddhas
Emerging devotion to Bodhisattvas and Buddhas
Most important, early on, were Maitreya (whom non-
mahynists accepted), Tr, Amitabh
Devotionalism led scholars to presume that mahyna was
primarily a lay movement, which was grudgingly accepted
over time by monks
Certain stras (rmaladev, Vimalakrti) criticize monks from
the viewpoint of householders and women
It is now widely thought that mahyna started as a
hyper-conservative, monastic forest tradition
Stepping back more: the big
reason
What is a mahyna practitioner?
Emergence of new scriptures
This began at some time before the 1st century BCE
Nagrjuna retrieves the Perfection of Wisdom (Praj-paramit) stras
Over time, more and more literature
Orientation toward full enlightenment
Early Mahyna: this is not for everyone!
Non-abiding (apratisthita) nirvna
Belief in Buddha-nature (tathgata-garbha)
Cornerstone: Recollection of the Buddha or enlightened qualities
(Buddhnusmrti) led to visions, images, and the idea of an ongoing
revelation
This conservative, forest-monastic orientation eventually merged with
other concerns (such as lay-practice and devotionalism) in an ongoing
process
Side note: Mahyna and mainstream canons were formed in dialogue
(or competition) with one another
Bodhisattvas: Tr, Manjur
A Guide to the Bodhisattvas Way
of Life
ntideva (8th century CE)
Monk at Nalanda (present-day Bihar)
Humility: wrote it for his own use; isnt wise enough to
benefit others
Genre: mind-training (Tibetan: lojong)
Similar to jihad in Islam
This text is the most widely known representative
Dalai Lamas presentation
Public teaching, to Buddhist practitioners
Begins with lineage
Gives transmission (Tibetan: lung)
The text is like the shelf; oral commentary is the real
book
Rhetoric: Tibet received the complete transmission of
Indian Buddhism; need to engage with Tibetans to
understand the full development of Indian Buddhist thought
 Late Indian-Tibetan System of
Interpretation
Buddha in Tibetan: Sangye
Sang: purify ignorance
Gye: expand qualities
Three Buddha Bodies
Dharmakya(realization)
Sambhogakya (pure land form)
Nirmnakya (Buddha-in-the-world)
Bodhisattva in Tibetan: Chanchub Sempa
Chanchub: bodhi
Sempa: striver (one with heroic intention)
 Mahyna practice
Six perfections:
Generosity
Morality/discipline
Patience
Energy
Concentration
Wisdom
Five stages
Accumulation, Preparation, Seeing, Meditation,
No more learning
Outlines of Philosophy
Two Truths (satyadvaya)
Conventional and Ultimate
Different schools described by Dunne differ in their accounts of how
these two relate
Three Turnings: Skill in means (upya)
First: Four Noble Truths
Selflessness of beings (antman)
Second: Perfection of Wisdom
Emptiness (snyat) of all phenomena
Third: Buddha Nature (Tathgatagarbha)
Clarity (on HHDLs presentation)
All beings have the inherent potential for full enlightenment
View emerges over time that Buddhahood is the only
enlightenment; arhats are not liberated
Single vehicle (the oxcart story from the Lotus Stra)
Dunne Article
Schools (darana, siddhnta)
Identify general positions
Obscure context, individual thinkers
Philosophy is systematic thought that is meant
to explain, guide, and sustain contemplative
practices (Dunne 1205)
Middle way (madhyamaka) in this context lies
between nihilism and essentialism
Philosophy as practice: cultivate view
With the proper view, one can really practice
the other perfections.
 Historical Overview
Ngrjuna (c. 2nd century CE)
Perfection of Wisdom (Prajpramit) Stras
Asanga and Vasubandhu (c. 4th century CE)
Received Yogcra texts from Maitreya,
systematized the philosophy based on Third-
Turning Stras
Dignga (c. 5th century) and Dharmakrti (600-
660)
Integrate Epistemology (pramna), particularly
with Yogcra but more slowly into
Madhyamaka
ntaraksita and Kamalala (8th century)
Unite all three strands together
 Vaibhsika
Abhidharma: Third basket, after Stra and Vinaya
Source text: Great Commentary (Mahvibhsa)
Dharmas are atoms, irreducibly real things
Property bearers (dhr, carry)
Example: elements (earth, water, fire, air, space)
Conventional truth: whatever can be broken down in
space, time or concepts
Ultimate truth: whatever is irreducible
Dharmas are not a Self; they dont occupy space or time
Chariot metaphor: nothing is both necessary and
sufficient to be an essence, or self
Irreducible parts do exist
 Sautrntika
Most problematic school, in that its unclear
whether anyone ever self-identified as a
Sautrntika

In brief: Move away from categories, but still hold

onto the idea of irreducible particles (dharmas)

The main difference with Vaibhsika is that particles

are not tied to specific qualities (such as earth), but
can aggregate in various ways
Not substantially different in its presentation of the
two truths from Vaibhsika
The Self in these first two
schools
What doesnt exist is an tman: a stable,
abiding soul
What does exist is the physical-mental stream
Five Aggregates:
Form: 6 senses (sight, etc, plus mind) and their
objects
Feeling: good, bad, neutral
Perceptions: chair
Volitions: habits
Consciousness: that is a chair
The Self isnt any of these, or apart from them;
it isnt inside, nor outside of these (therefore it
doesnt exist)
 Madhyamaka
Began with Ngrjuna (c. 2nd century CE)

Critiques idea of essence (svabhva) or fixed

identity
Main takeaway point: emptiness (nyat) of
essence
Emptiness is not a thing; its the fact of
interdependence
Neither things nor persons have any fixed
identity
Just as short and long are co-referential, so
is everything in the world (including self)
Personification: The Perfection of
Wisdom, Mother of All Buddhas
 The Heart Stra
Part of the Perfection of Wisdom
(Prajpramit) literature (the earliest
Mahyna stras)
Longest: 100,000 verses
Shortest: A
Heart Stra is chanted by Mahyna
practitioners the world over (chanting texts is
another form of practice)
Main characters: Avalokitevara (bodhisattva
of compassion) and riputra (early follower
of the Buddha)
Buddha doesnt preach, but only agrees
 Ngrjunas Madhyamaka
The Victorious Ones have said
That emptiness is for the relinquishing of all
views.
For whoever emptiness becomes a view
That one will accomplish nothing (MMK 13:8)

Whatever is dependently co-arisen,

That is explained to be emptiness.
That, being a dependent designation,
Is itself the middle way (MMK 24:18)
 Yogcra
Later than madhyamaka (the last school) but
considered by some late Indian thinkers (post
11th-century) and by Tibetans to be less
profound
Conventional: mistaken view of subject-object
duality
Logical extension of Sautrntika: Irreducible
particles cant act in the world!
Ultimate: non-duality of subjects and objects,
phenomena and mind
 Three Natures (tri-svabhva)
Imagined (parikalpita)
Mistaken view of subjects and objects

Dependent (paratantra)
Causal flow, devoid of subject/object duality

Perfected (parinispanna)
Seeing the Dependent nature correctly
 Eight Consciousnesses
5 senses plus mental

7: afflicted thinking-mind grasps onto

duality

8: karmic storehouse (layavijna)

Karmic seeds are made of mind-stuff, and
create all of our experiences
Every moment, karmic seeds ripen; due to our
ignorance, new karmic seeds are placed in the
storehouse.