Mahāsāṃghika and Related Topics

An illustration in a manuscript of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra from Nalanda, depicting the bodhisattva Maitreya, an important figure in Mahāyāna.

Mahayana

25 links

Term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices.

The Five Tathāgatas in Shishoin Temple (Tokyo). A unique feature of Mahāyāna is the belief that there are multiple Buddhas which are currently teaching the Dharma.

Mahāyāna Buddhist triad, including Bodhisattva Maitreya, the Buddha, and Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. 2nd–3rd century CE, Gandhāra

Seated Avalokiteshvara bodhisattva. Gandharan, from Loriyan Tangai. Kushan period, 1st – 3rd century CE. Indian Museum, Calcutta.

Cave complex associated with the Mahāsāṃghika sect. Karla Caves, Mahārāṣtra, India

Ruins of the Nalanda Mahavihara (Great Monastery) in Bihar, a major center for the study of Mahāyāna Buddhism from the fifth century CE to c. 1200 CE.

Buddhist expansion in Asia, from Buddhist heartland in northern India (dark orange) starting 5th century BCE, to Buddhist majority realm (orange), and historical extent of Buddhism influences (yellow). Mahāyāna (red arrow), Theravāda (green arrow), and Tantric-Vajrayāna (blue arrow). The overland and maritime "Silk Roads" were interlinked and complementary, forming what scholars have called the "great circle of Buddhism".

The use of mandalas was one new feature of Tantric Buddhism, which also adopted new deities such as Chakrasamvara (pictured).

A Ming bronze of the Buddha Mahāvairocana which depicts his body as being composed of numerous other Buddhas.

Tibetan depiction of Buddha Amitāyus in his Pure Land of Sukhavati.

Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. Ajaṇṭā Caves, Maharashtra, India.

Illustrated Korean manuscript of the Lotus Sutra, Goryeo Dynasty, c. 1340. The three carts at the top which are symbolic of the three vehicles.

Guanyin (Avalokiteśvara) with multiple arms symbolizing upaya and great compassion, Leshan, China.

The Lotus, especially the puṇḍarīka (white lotus), is used in Mahāyāna to symbolize the nature of bodhisattvas. The lotus is rooted in the earthly mud and yet flowers above the water in the open air. Similarly, the bodhisattva lives in the world but remains unstained by it.

A statue of the Mahāyāna philosopher Nagarjuna, founder of the Madhyamaka school. Considered by some to be an Arya (noble) bodhisattva or even the "second Buddha".

A Kamakura period reliquary topped with a cintamani (wish fulfilling jewel). Buddha nature texts often use the metaphor of a jewel (i.e. buddha-nature) which all beings have but are unaware of.

The Japanese monk Kūya reciting the nembutsu, depicted as six small Amida Buddha figures.

Zen master Bodhidharma meditating, Ukiyo-e woodblock print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 1887.

An 18th century Mongolian miniature which depicts a monk generating a tantric visualization.

Astasahasrika Prajñaparamita Manuscript. Prajñaparamita and Scenes from the Buddha's Life (top), Maitreya and Scenes from the Buddha's Life (bottom), c. 1075

Frontispiece of the Chinese Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, the oldest known dated printed book in the world.

Map showing the three major Buddhist divisions.

The 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso with Desmond Tutu in 2004. Due to his charisma, the Dalai Lama has become the international face of contemporary Tibetan Buddhism.

The Mahāsāṃghika origin theory, which argues that Mahāyāna developed within the Mahāsāṃghika tradition.

Map of the major geographical centers of major Buddhist schools in South Asia, at around the time of Xuanzang's visit in the seventh century. * Red: non-Pudgalavāda Sarvāstivāda school * Orange: non-Dharmaguptaka Vibhajyavāda schools * Yellow: Mahāsāṃghika * Green: Pudgalavāda (Green) * Gray: Dharmaguptaka Note the red and grey schools already gave some original ideas of Mahayana Buddhism and the Sri Lankan section (see Tamrashatiya) of the orange school is the origin of modern Theravada Buddhism.

Early Buddhist schools

14 links

The early Buddhist schools are those schools into which the Buddhist monastic saṅgha split early in the history of Buddhism.

The original saṅgha split into the first early schools (generally believed to be the Sthavira nikāya and the Mahāsāṃghika) a significant number of years after the death of Gautama Buddha.

Bodhisattva

14 links

Person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood.

Probable early image of a bodhisattva (Bimaran casket, 50 CE).

Gandharan relief depicting the bodhisattva (future Gautama Buddha) taking a vow at the foot of Dipankara Buddha, Art Institute of Chicago.

Modern depiction of the bodhisattva resolution (praṇidhāna) in front of Dipankara.

6th century painting of Maitreya, Kizil Caves, Cave 224

Gilded bronze statue of Tara, Sri Lanka, 8th century CE.

Bronze statue of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. Sri Lanka, c. 750 CE.

An altar depicting Burmese Buddhist weizzas. In this esoteric tradition, weizzas consider themselves to be bodhisattvas.

Greco-Buddhist standing Maitreya (3rd century), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Greco-Buddhist Vajrapāni (the protector of the Buddha) resembling Heracles, second-century.

Bengali Sculpture of Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom, 11th century

Wood carving of Avalokiteśvara. Liao China, 907–1125

Twenty-five Bodhisattvas Descending from Heaven. Japanese painting, c. undefined1300

Bodhisattva Prajñaparamita, a female personification of the perfection of wisdom, Singhasari period, East Java, Indonesia, 13th century

Mural of bodhisattva Padmapani in Ajanta Caves. India, 5th century

Green Tara attended by White Tara and Bhrikuti, India, Madhya Pradesh, Sirpur, c. 8th century.

Tibetan painting of Vajrapani, 19th-century

Japanese statue of Kannon (Guanyin, a popular female form of Avalokiteshvara in East Asia)

Mural painting of Manjushri in tantric union with his consort, the bodhisattva Sarasvati (also considered to be a form of Tara).

Green Tara and her devotees, Folio from a Bengali manuscript of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā (Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines), MET.

Maitreya, 13th century, Kamakura period, Tokyo National Museum, Important Cultural Property of Japan.

Statue of Ksitigarbha, the background art depicts his pure land and attendant bodhisattvas. From a Buddhist temple in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Statue of Guanyin's 'thousand arms' form, the arms symbolize all the skillful means employed by Guanyin to help sentient beings.

Statue of Samantabhadra bodhisattva at Mount Emei

Standing bodhisattva. Gandhāra, 2nd–3rd century.

Bodhisattva Vajrapani. Mendut near Borobudur, Central Java, Indonesia. Sailendran art c. 8th century.

The golden Srivijayan Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, Muarabulian, Jambi, Indonesia c. 11th century.

Thousand-armed Bodhisattva, Sanjūsangen-dō, Japan. 13th century.

A rock carving of Avalokiteshvara, Weligama, Sri Lanka

Silver Manjushri, Sailendra, early 9th century Central Java, National Museum.

Bodhisattva Manjushri as Tikshna-Manjushri (Minjie Wenshu), China

Wooden gilded statue of Avalokiteśvara, Song Dynasty (960-1279)

Bodhisattva painting at Dun Huang in the "1000 Buddha cave" (cave 17).

Padmapani Lokeshvara, Nepal, 11th century

Standing Bodhisattva, probably Maitreya, Gandhara

Samantabhadra, Yulin Cave 3, Western Xia

White Avalokiteshvara (Amoghapasha Lokeshvara), 14th century, Nepal.

Padmapani, India, Gandharan period, 200s AD, schist

Gandharan sculpture, head of a bodhisattva

Maitreya, Bihar, Gaya District, 11th century

By the time that the Buddhist tradition had developed into various competing sects, the idea of the bodhisattva vehicle (Sanskrit: bodhisattvayana) as a distinct (and superior) path from that of the arhat and solitary buddha was widespread among all the major non-Mahayana Buddhist traditions or Nikaya schools, including Theravāda, Sarvāstivāda and Mahāsāṃghika.

Lokottaravāda

10 links

Bodhisattva statue from a Buddhist monastery in Afghanistan, a region where the Lokottaravāda were known to be prominent

Tibetan painting of Amitābha in his pure land, Sukhāvatī

The Lokottaravāda (Sanskrit, लोकोत्तरवाद; ) was one of the early Buddhist schools according to Mahayana doxological sources compiled by Bhāviveka, Vinitadeva and others, and was a subgroup which emerged from the Mahāsāṃghika.

Abhidharma

12 links

Abhidharma (Sanskrit: 𑀅𑀪𑀺𑀥𑀭𑁆𑀫 ) or Abhidhamma (Sinhala: අභිධම්ම) are ancient (3rd century BCE and later) Buddhist texts which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the Buddhist sutras.

The Buddha preaching the Abhidharma in Trāyastriṃśa heaven.

Depiction of the First Council at Rajgir, a painting at the Nava Jetavana, Shravasti.

Buddhaghosa (c. 5th century), the most important Abhidhamma scholar of Theravāda, presenting three copies of the Visuddhimagga.

Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakośabhāsya is a major source in Tibetan and East Asian Buddhism.

Statue of Xuanzang, the Chinese monk who brought and translated many Yogācāra Abhidharma texts to China.

These various Abhidharma works were not accepted by all Indian Buddhist schools as canonical, for example, the Mahasanghika school seems not to have accepted them as part of the canon.

Gautama Buddha

13 links

Ascetic and spiritual teacher of South Asia who lived during the latter half of the first millennium BCE.

Seated Buddha from Tapa Shotor monastery in Hadda, Afghanistan, 2nd century CE

Ancient kingdoms and cities of India during the time of the Buddha (c. 500 BCE)

Inscription "The illumination of the Blessed Sakamuni" (Brahmi script: 𑀪𑀕𑀯𑀢𑁄 𑀲𑀓𑀫𑀼𑀦𑀺𑀦𑁄 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑁄, Bhagavato Sakamunino Bodho) on a relief showing the "empty" Illumination Throne of the Buddha in the early Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya. Bharhut, c. 100 BCE.

One of the earliest anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha, here surrounded by Brahma (left) and Śakra (right). Bimaran Casket, mid-1st century CE, British Museum.

Māyā miraculously giving birth to Siddhārtha. Sanskrit, palm-leaf manuscript. Nālandā, Bihar, India. Pāla period

The legendary Jataka collections depict the Buddha-to-be in a previous life prostrating before the past Buddha Dipankara, making a resolve to be a Buddha, and receiving a prediction of future Buddhahood.

Map showing Lumbini and other major Buddhist sites in India. Lumbini (present-day Nepal), is the birthplace of the Buddha, and is a holy place also for many non-Buddhists.

The Lumbini pillar contains an inscription stating that this is the Buddha's birthplace

The "Great Departure" of Siddhartha Gautama, surrounded by a halo, he is accompanied by numerous guards and devata who have come to pay homage; Gandhara, Kushan period

Prince Siddhartha shaves his hair and becomes a sramana. Borobudur, 8th century

The gilded "Emaciated Buddha statue" in Wat Suthat in Bangkok representing the stage of his asceticism

The Mahabodhi Tree at the Sri Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya

The Enlightenment Throne of the Buddha at Bodh Gaya, as recreated by Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE.

Miracle of the Buddha walking on the River Nairañjanā. The Buddha is not visible (aniconism), only represented by a path on the water, and his empty throne bottom right. Sanchi.

Dhamek Stupa in Sarnath, India, site of the first teaching of the Buddha in which he taught the Four Noble Truths to his first five disciples

The chief disciples of the Buddha, Mogallana (chief in psychic power) and Sariputta (chief in wisdom).

The remains of a section of Jetavana Monastery, just outside of ancient Savatthi, in Uttar Pradesh.

Mahāprajāpatī, the first bhikkuni and Buddha's stepmother, ordains

This East Javanese relief depicts the Buddha in his final days, and Ānanda, his chief attendant.

Mahaparinirvana, Gandhara, 3rd or 4th century CE, gray schist

Mahaparinibbana scene, from the Ajanta caves

Buddha's cremation stupa, Kushinagar (Kushinara).

Piprahwa vase with relics of the Buddha. The inscription reads: ...salilanidhane Budhasa Bhagavate... (Brahmi script: ...𑀲𑀮𑀺𑀮𑀦𑀺𑀥𑀸𑀦𑁂 𑀩𑀼𑀥𑀲 𑀪𑀕𑀯𑀢𑁂...) "Relics of the Buddha Lord".

The Bodhisattva meets with Alara Kalama, Borobudur relief.

Gandharan Buddhist birchbark scroll fragments

Buddha meets a Brahmin, at the Indian Museum, Kolkata

Schist Buddha statue with the famed Ye Dharma Hetu dhāraṇī around the head, which was used as a common summary of Dependent Origination. It states: "Of those experiences that arise from a cause, The Tathāgata has said: 'this is their cause, And this is their cessation': This is what the Great Śramaṇa teaches."

Gandharan sculpture depicting the Buddha in the full lotus seated meditation posture, 2nd-3rd century CE

Buddha Statues from Gal Vihara. The Early Buddhist texts also mention meditation practice while standing and lying down.

The Buddha on a coin of Kushan ruler Kanishka I, c. 130 CE.

Buddhist monks from Nepal. According to the earliest sources, the Buddha looked like a typical shaved man from northeast India.

A Royal Couple Visits the Buddha, from railing of the Bharhut Stupa, Shunga dynasty, early 2nd century BC.

Adoration of the Diamond Throne and the Bodhi Tree, Bharhut.

Descent of the Buddha from the Trayastrimsa Heaven, Sanchi Stupa No. 1.

The Buddha's Miracle at Kapilavastu, Sanchi Stupa 1.

Bimbisara visiting the Buddha (represented as empty throne) at the Bamboo garden in Rajagriha

The great departure with riderless horse, Amaravati, 2nd century CE.

The Assault of Mara, Amaravati, 2nd century CE.

Isapur Buddha, one of the earliest physical depictions of the Buddha, c. 15 CE.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE – 100 CE |date=2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004155374 |pages=199–206, 204 for the exact date |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA204}}</ref> Art of Mathura

The Buddha attended by Indra at Indrasala Cave, Mathura 50-100 CE.

Buddha Preaching in Tushita Heaven. Amaravati, Satavahana period, 2d century CE. Indian Museum, Calcutta.

Gandharan Buddha with Vajrapani-Herakles.

Birth of the Buddha, Kushan dynasty, late 2nd to early 3rd century CE.

The Infant Buddha Taking A Bath, Gandhara 2nd century CE.

Sarnath standing Buddha, 5th century CE.

Chinese Stele with Sakyamuni and Bodhisattvas, Wei period, 536 CE.

The Shakyamuni Daibutsu Bronze, c. 609, Nara, Japan.

Amaravati style Buddha of Srivijaya period, Palembang, Indonesia, 7th century.

Korean Seokguram Cave Buddha, c. 774 CE.

Seated Buddha Vairocana flanked by Avalokiteshvara and Vajrapani of Mendut temple, Central Java, Indonesia, early 9th century.

Buddha in the exposed stupa of Borobudur mandala, Central Java, Indonesia, c. 825.

Vairocana Buddha of Srivijaya style, Southern Thailand, 9th century.

Seated Buddha, Japan, Heian period, 9th－10th century.

Cambodian Buddha with Mucalinda Nāga, c. 1100 CE, Banteay Chhmar, Cambodia

Sakyamuni, Lao Tzu, and Confucius, c. from 1368 until 1644.

Shakyamuni Buddha with Avadana Legend Scenes, Tibetan, 19th century

Gautama statue, Shanyuan Temple, Liaoning Province, China.

Burmese style Buddha, Shwedagon pagoda, Yangon.

Large Gautama Buddha statue in Buddha Park of Ravangla.

The Mahāvastu from the Mahāsāṃghika Lokottaravāda tradition is another major biography, composed incrementally until perhaps the 4th century CE.

Statue of the Buddha at Bojjannakonda, Andhra Pradesh

Caitika

7 links

The Great stupa at Sanchi associated with the Caitikas

Ancient frieze depicting the stupa at Amaravathi village, Guntur district.

Caitika was an early Buddhist school, a sub-sect of the Mahāsāṃghika.

The Buddha, in Greco-Buddhist style, first-second century, Gandhara (now Pakistan). (Standing Buddha).

Buddhahood

10 links

Title for those who are awake, and have attained nirvana and Buddhahood through their own efforts and insight, without a teacher to point out the dharma (Sanskrit 𑀥𑀭𑁆𑀫; Pali dhamma; "right way of living").

A painting of the Adibuddha, Vajradhara, a figure of the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist tradition

Seated Buddha, from the Seokguram, Korea.

"The Seven Buddhas", at Sanchi (1st century BCE/CE). Six Buddhas of the past are represented, together with the current Buddha, Gautama Buddha, with his Bodhi Tree (at the extreme right). In the central section are three stupas alternating with four trees with thrones in front of them, adored by figures both human and divine. These represent six Buddhas of the past (namely: Vipassī Buddha, Sikhī Buddha, Vessabhū Buddha, Kakusandha Buddha, Koṇāgamana Buddha and Kassapa Buddha). Three are symbolized by their stupas, and four by the trees under which each respectively attained enlightenment. The tree on the extreme right is the pipal tree of Gautama Buddha and the one next to it is the banyan tree of Kassapa Buddha. The identification of the others is less certain.

Sumedha, the youth who would after many reincarnations become Gautama Buddha, receiving his niyatha vivarana (prediction of future Buddhahood) from Dīpankara Buddha

"Budha-sa Konākamana-sa" ("Of the Kanakamuni Buddha") inscription in the Pali Script, at Nigali Sagar, 250 BCE

The words "Bu-dhe" and "Sa-kya-mu-nī" in Pali script, on the Rummindei pillar of Ashoka.

Buddhist men at the Sule Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar, paying homage to the 29 Buddhas described in Chapter 27 of the Buddhavamsa

The Great Buddha of Kamakura, a Japanese statue of Amida, cast in the 13th century.

Painting of Vajrayoginī (Dorjé Neljorma), a female Buddha in Tibetan Buddhism.

In the early Buddhist schools, the Mahāsāṃghika branch regarded the buddhas as being characterized primarily by their supramundane nature.

Cave temple associated with the Mahāsāṃghika sect. Ajaṇṭā Caves, Mahārāṣtra, India

Ekavyāvahārika

4 links

The Ekavyāvahārika (एकव्यावहारिक; ) was one of the early Buddhist schools, and is thought to have separated from the Mahāsāṃghika sect during the reign of Aśoka.

Kukkuṭika