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Ancient Buddha Statue of Kuanyin What is Mahayana Buddhism? • “the Greater Vehicle” • the most common form of Buddhism in Asia • Varies more than Theravada The Characteristics of Mahayana Very wide spread Containing many different aspects form indigenous groups Cooperative Contains Bodhisattvas Compassion is the main objective Noi - The role of the Buddha in Mahayana See Buddha as a god Have many Bodhisattvas Anyone can become a Bodhisattvas Prayed to for assistance Only through being selfless can enlightenment be attained Once you reach nirvana you reside in the heavens with the other Buddhas The Bodhisattva Vows The Four encompassing Vows Masses of creatures, without bonds, [I/we] vow to save [them all] Anxiety and Hate, delusive-desires inexhaustible, [I/we] vow to break [them all] Dharma gates beyond-measure [I/we] vow to learn [them all] Buddha way, nothing higher, [I/we] vow to accomplish [it] Where is Mahayana present? ? China Japan North Korea South Korea Vietnam Mongolia Bhutan Taiwan Diversity • Mahayana broke into many different subgroups – – – – – Zen Chinese Chán Pure land Tiantai Nichiren Brief History Separated from Theravada Many monks expelled from the Sangha Many moved into China Many aspects of the history still unclear not a great amount of scripture was made during this time Not until 7th century was there any Mahayana writing Chinese monk visits India That’s the earliest writing He describes how the two school are not in competition Haeinsa *** “Temple of Ocean Mudra” Located in South Korea Contains over 81,000 wooden printing blocks (since 1398) One of the three jewel temples Built in 802 Two monks cured a queen from sickness King Aejang supported the temple Queen became Buddhist helping the legitimacy in Korea Burned down in 1817 Found the robe of the king during the Korean war Haeinsa was almost destroyed North Korean Soldiers were posted around the temple UN forces were ordered to bomb the temple The leader of the air force did not obey in fear of destroying the temple