Zen Buddhism

Zen is a form of Mahayana Buddhism that places great importance on moment-by-moment awareness and 'seeing deeply into the nature of things' by direct experience.

Enlightened wisdom

According to Mahayana, traditional Buddhism tends to focus on an ascetic, individual approach to the attainment of nirvana: suppression of desire, removal from the world, solitude. Its followers are śrāvakas  and pratyekabuddhas .

The primary focus of Mahayana is bodhicitta , the vow to strive for buddhahood or awakened mind (bodhicitta) both for oneself and for the benefit of all other sentient beings. Being a high-level bodhisattva involves possessing a mind of great compassion conjoined with insight into reality , realizing emptiness (shunyata, 空), and/or the tathagatagarbha (buddhic essence of all things,  With this mind the practitioner will realize the final goal of full enlightenment, or buddhahood: an omniscient, blissful mind completely free from suffering and its causes, that is able to work tirelessly for the benefit of all living beings. Six virtues or perfections (paramitas) are listed for the bodhisattva: generosity, patience, meditation, morality, energy and wisdom.



 Compassion

Compassion, or Karuna , is the other key concept of Mahayana, and is a necessity to enlightened wisdom. Compassion is important in all schools of Buddhism, but is particularly emphasized in Mahayana. It relies on the idea that excess acquired merit can be transmitted to others.

The bodhisattvas are the main actors of compassion, Avalokitesvara (known in East Asia as Kuan Yin,  being foremost among them. Although having reached enlightenment, bodhisattvas usually make a vow to postpone entering into nirvana until all other beings have also been saved. They devote themselves to helping others reach enlightenment.

The Mahayana idea also that salvation is universal (see below) allowed for one to focus less on the release of personal sufferring and more on humanity's salvation, and is consequently described to be more compassionate and caring for the welfare of others than other traditions of Buddhism.

A comparison between Hinayana (earlier Buddhist traditions) and Mahayana made by the 10th century Tibetan author Jé Gampopa in The Jewel Ornament of Liberation follows:

‘Clinging to the well-being of mere peace' signifies the lower capacity [Hinayana] attitude wherein the longing to transcend suffering is focused on oneself alone. This precludes the cherishing of others and hence there is little development of altruism. [...] When loving kindness and compassion become part of one, there is so much care for other conscious beings that one could not bear to liberate oneself alone. [...] Master Manjushriikiirti has said: ‘A Mahayana follower should not be without loving kindness and compassion for even a single moment', and ‘It is not anger and hatred but loving kindness and compassion that vouchsafe the welfare of others'.


Salvation

“Devotional” Mahayana developed a rich cosmography, with various supernatural buddhas and bodhisattvas residing in paradisiacal realms. The concept of trinity, or trikaya (, supports these constructions, making the Buddha himself into a transcendental god-like figure.

Under various conditions, these realms could be attained by devotees after their death so that when reborn they could strive towards buddhahood in the best possible conditions. Depending on the sect, this salvation to “paradise” can be obtained by faith, imaging, or sometimes even by the simple invocation of the Buddha’s name. This approach to salvation is at the origin of the mass appeal of devotional Buddhism, especially represented by the Pure Land

This rich cosmography also allowed Mahayana to be quite syncretic and accommodating of other faiths or deities. Various origins have been suggested to explain its emergence, such as “popular Hindu devotional cults (bhakti), and Persian and Greco-Roman theologies, which filtered into India from the northwest” (Tom Lowenstein, “The vision of the Buddha”).

 

Characteristics of a Buddha

Mahayana Buddhism Origins

Tenets of Buddha-nature Doctrine 

Buddha Nature

Gautama Buddha

Siddhartha life and marriage

Siddhartha Great Enlightenment 

Siddhartha Passing