Nagarjuna relentlessly analyzes phenomena or processes that appear to exist independently and argues that they cannot so exist, and yet, though lacking the inherent existence imputed to them either by naive common sense or by sophisticated, realistic philosophical theory, these phenomena are not nonexistent-they are, he argues, conventionally real.
]]>This paper focuses on a section of the Gandavyuha Sutra (Book 39 of the Avatamsaka Sutra), which lists and frequently explains the Buddhalakṣaṇas. The study introduces a new translation of the passage from the original Sanskrit, and compares its descriptions to other relevant Pali, Sanskrit and Tibetan sources. In most cases the Gaṇḍavyūha Sūtra offers the most convincing explanation of the relevance and/or origin of the lakṣaṇa.
]]>In some works Sadāprarudita is presented as the paragon of one who searches for prajñāpāramitā; in others he is the model for those who desire to serve their gurus. In China, moreover, during the early stage of the Pure Land tradition, Sadāprarudita was regarded as the preeminent exemplar of one practising the niànfósānmèi 念佛三昧 (recollection of the buddhas).
How one character came to represent so much to so many.
]]>These two collections include many suttas addressed to Buddhists dealing with the ethical and spiritual concerns of life within the world (as noted by Bhikkhu Bodhi), and thus involves the issues of merit (puñña). In this study I have illustrated the significant but often underestimated position of compassion with merit in early Buddhist doctrine.
]]>Beginning in the northwestern region of India, and spreading through Central Asia and the rest of Asia along the Silk Road, the making of colossal Buddha statues has been a major theme in Buddhist art. The colossal Buddha statues predominantly feature Śākyamuni (the Historical Buddha), Maitreya (the Future Buddha), and Vairocana (the Transcendant Buddha), and they were fashioned out of religious devotion and frequently in conjunction with notions of Buddhist kingship.
]]>Rather than seeking to put forward a philosophical view about the nature of reality or knowledge, Nāgārjuna uses arguments for emptiness to purge Madhyamaka Buddhists of any view, thesis, or theory whatsoever, even views about emptiness itself.
]]>… self-referential passages functioned as self-promotion strategies suited to the employment of the emerging medium of the manuscript
]]>… these devices come to be constitutive of Mahāyāna doctrine, as it is argued the Mahāyāna sutra texts themselves are constitutive of the Buddha’s true body.
Buddhism’s second step in becoming a world religion occurred during the reign of King Kaniska (r. 130?–155?, or 78?–103?) of the Kushan Empire as the religion spread into Central Asia.
]]>… a somewhat ambivalent formulation that suggests a possible relation to the notion of rebirth in the Pure Abodes
]]>Nagarjuna uses concepts to undermine the thought-constructed ways in which we understand the world
]]>… observance of the monastic rules was not intended to be only a matter of acceptance of institutional rules and lifestyles. […] educated monks understood a causal connection between the exercise of ethical behavior in a monastic lifestyle and progress on the path
Mahayana (and Tantric) Buddhism is often portrayed as antinomian or even “lay oriented” but, while certainly a strand, did not constitute the mainstream understanding, even in late India.
]]>A
]]>Literacy disrupted the continuity of the oral tradition and reoriented access to knowledge from the oral- and aural-sense world to the visual world.
How the emerging Mahāyāna movement in India capitalized on new technology (writing) to legitimate and spread their teachings, and how the new medium shaped them in turn.
]]>… the redefinition of arahantship cannot be looked upon as successful. The relaxed criteria would have enabled many monks of lesser attainment, as well as status-seeking monks, to proclaim themselves arahants. […] In its devalued form it simply could not satisfy the spiritual aspiration of those who sought the ultimate goal.
A reasonable explanation for the emergence of the Bodhisattva Ideal.
]]>… partisans of Mahāyāna did not reject the Śrāvaka scriptures, or even their philosophies. Mahāyānists practiced the Vinaya, often quite earnestly, and studied the Sūtras and the Abhidharma.
]]>… scholarship has always interpreted the resurgence of Buddhist activity at Ajanta and neighboring sites as a regional phenomenon linked to the prestige of a dominating group and to internal political strives. Yet at a closer look, it appears that much like in earlier times, the life of these rock-cut sites in the fifth century continued to be closely related to a network of commercial activities
Buddhists, and the worshippers of Avalokitesvara in particular, spread along Indian Ocean and Central Asian trade routes during the early medieval period, returning wealth and dynamism to the Buddhist communities of India.
]]>… the identification of Vairocana in these caves suggests that some form of the Tantric soteriological methodology explained in the Mahāvairocanasūtra was extant in the fifth century
]]>This small Sutta deals with the veneration in which the Buddha held the Dharma, the doctrine which he had discovered on the night of his enlightenment and which he had chosen as his teacher. This text throws some light on the nature of the Buddha and the Dharma as they were conceived by the first Buddhists.
On the five pure and impure Skandhas and on the subtle reversal of paṭicca-samuppāda in the prajñāpāramitā
]]>With skilful means and compassion, you were born in the Śākya clan…
]]>Deep contemplative experiences and the philosophical conclusions which they yield are beyond history. Or are they?…
]]>Three sūtras in the SA which deal with emptiness especially attracted the attention of the author of the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa
]]>One of the great archeological finds of the 20th century, the Gandhāran Buddhist Texts, dating from the 1st century CE, are the oldest Buddhist manuscripts ever discovered. Richard Salomon discusses his pioneering research on these fascinating manuscripts, how the then obscure Gāndhārī language was deciphered, the historical and religious context from which these texts emerged, and the Gandhāran influence on other parts of the Buddhist world.
]]>… wealth and power did not seem to ease disruptive conflict
The fascinating details of monastic life in medieval Dunhuang as told by their cave-preserved legal documents.
That Buddhism became so ritualistic, excessive, and subservient to the state even along the Silk Road demonstrates how common and impactful state intervention has been to the history of Buddhism.
]]>Did Indian Buddhists believe in astrology, and, if so, how did they incorporate it into their religious framework?
]]>This volume assumes knowledge of the first, introducing three types of writings from texts translated in China from Indian originals in medieval times.
The answer key for this textbook can be found on Google Drive, here.
]]>… simultaneously donning a tolerant posture while claiming the overriding-ness of one’s religion was in fact a distinct phenomenon from what could be called “synthesis,” and has in actuality characterized many syncretistic endeavors in Chinese history.
How Ming era Buddhist apologists adapted Chan to Yogacara doctrine.
]]>… how to interpret Buddhist Sanskrit texts in such a way as to avoid unnecessary bastardization of the English language, while still performing the scholarly task of making available the meaning of such texts to the scholarly community
]]>On the basis of Prajnavarman’s and Nagarjuna’s citations and of Vasubandhu’s and Asanga’s lists, it seems that parallels to the Pali Asankhatasamyutta were indeed transmitted by the (Mula-)Sarvastivadins and perhaps other schools, even though they have not been preserved in Chinese translation.
]]>To approach what, for the want of a better term, we call the mythic portions of the Nikayas with the attitude that such categories as “mythic symbol” and “literally true” are absolutely opposed is to adopt an attitude that is out of time and place. It seems to me that in some measure we must allow both a literal and a psychological interpretation. Both are there in the texts.
]]>I would say that the Nikāyas and Āgamas give us a “historical-realistic perspective” on the Buddha, while the Mahāyāna sūtras give us a “cosmic-metaphysical perspective.”
Bhikkhu Bodhi explores the Bodhisattva ideal from the perspective of the both the Theravada and Mahayana, with a brief summary of its history. An excellent introduction to this vital topic.
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