History of the Mahāyāna
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How the Mahāyāna arose in ancient India and how it changed as it spread to the rest of Asia.
Caution! Under Construction
Please be aware that this tag is still under construction and as such is missing information and may be changed or removed at any time. Please pardon our dust as you peruse this incomplete bibliography.
Table of Contents
Books (5)
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Canonical Works (3)
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A famous formulation of phenomenology from Indian Buddhism, which became influential in the Mahayana Tradition.
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Readings (28)
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Deep contemplative experiences and the philosophical conclusions which they yield are beyond history. Or are they?…
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… wealth and power did not seem to ease disruptive conflict
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Three sūtras in the SA which deal with emptiness especially attracted the attention of the author of the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa
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How the śikṣādattaka observance gradually mixed with emerging Mahāyāna repentance ceremonies to produce a ritual for the atonement of Pārājika offenses in medieval China.
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… 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.
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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.
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Did Indian Buddhists believe in astrology, and, if so, how did they incorporate it into their religious framework?
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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.
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… 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
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Audio/Video (4)
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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.
59 min
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