![]() ![]() Over the last twenty-five years Western interest in Mahayana has increased considerably, reflected both in the quantity of scholarly material produced and in the attraction of Westerners towards Tibetan Buddhism and Zen. Originating in India, Mahayana Buddhism spread across Asia, becoming the prevalent form of Buddhism in Tibet and East Asia. Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations by Paul Williams. The book also contains meditation and visualization techniques associated with the Bodhisattva of Compassion, and translations of poems and yogic texts devoted to her. ![]() The account is full of charming stories of Blofeld’s encounters with Kuan Yin’s devotees during his journeys in China. John Blofeld’s classic study traces the history of this most famous of all the bodhisattvas from her origins in India (as the male figure Avalokiteshvara) to Tibet, China, and beyond, along the way highlighting her close connection to other figures such as Tara and Amitabha. She is the embodiment of selfless love, the supreme symbol of radical compassion, and, for more than a millennium throughout Asia, she has been revered as "The One Who Hearkens to the Cries of the World." Kuan Yin is both a Buddhist symbol and a beloved deity of Chinese folk religion. This text will be will be of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students and scholars of Buddhism, religious studies, history and philosophy.īodhisattva of Compassion: The Mystical Tradition of Kuan Yin by John Blofeld. Walser challenges commonly-held assumptions about Mahāyāna Buddhism, offering a fascinating new take on its genealogy that traces its doctrines of emptiness and mind-only from the present day back to the time before Mahāyāna was "Mahāyāna." In situating such concepts in their political and social contexts across diverse regimes of power in Tibet, China and India, the book shows that what was at stake in the Mahāyāna championing of the doctrine of emptiness was the articulation and dissemination of court authority across the rural landscapes of Asia. In a work that contributes both to a general theory of religion and power for religious studies as well as to the problem of the origin of a Buddhist movement, Walser argues that that it is the neglect of political and social power in the scholarly imagination of the history of Buddhism that has made the origins of Mahāyāna an intractable problem. This volume offers a solution to a problem that some have called the holy grail of Buddhist studies: the problem of the “origins” of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Genealogies of Mahayana Buddhism by Joseph G. It may also be thought to include the Vajrayāna traditions of Tiantai, Tendai, Shingon Buddhism, and Tibetan Buddhism, which add esoteric teachings to the Mahāyāna tradition.* Major traditions of Mahāyāna Buddhism today include Chan Buddhism, Korean Seon, Japanese Zen, Pure Land Buddhism, Nichiren Buddhism and Vietnamese Buddhism. Large Mahāyāna scholastic centers such as Nalanda thrived during the latter period of Buddhism in India, between the 7th and 12th centuries. It also spread to Afghanistan, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, the Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Burma, Iran and other Central Asian countries before being supplanted by Theravāda Buddhism, Islam, or other religions. In the course of its history, Mahāyāna Buddhism spread from India to various other South, East and Southeast Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Taiwan, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The Mahāyāna tradition is the largest major tradition of Buddhism existing today, with 53% of practitioners, compared to 36% for Theravāda and 6% for Vajrayāna in 2010. Mahāyāna Buddhists teach that enlightenment can be attained in a single lifetime, and this can be accomplished even by a layperson. A samyaksaṃbuddha can establish the Dharma and lead disciples to enlightenment. The term Mahāyāna also refers to the path of the Bodhisattva seeking complete enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings, also called Bodhisattvayāna, or the "Bodhisattva Vehicle." A bodhisattva who has accomplished this goal is called a samyaksaṃbuddha or "fully enlightened Buddha". The Buddhist tradition of Vajrayana is sometimes classified as a part of Mahāyāna Buddhism, but some scholars consider it to be a different branch altogether. This movement added a further set of discourses to the original canon, and although it was initially small in India, it had long-term historical significance. Mahayana (Sanskrit: "Great Vehicle") is one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism (the others being Theravāda and Vajrayāna) and a term of classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice. ![]() Visual & Material Culture: Southeast Asia & Sri Lanka. ![]() Visual & Material Culture: Central Asia.Visual & Material Culture Toggle Dropdown.Tibet: Contemporary Masters & Teachings. ![]()
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