While it is difficult to determine the exact date of the emergence of Mahāyāna Buddhism, it seems to have been some centuries after the death of the Buddha.

The Buddha is believed to have died around 400 BCE, and the early texts based on the direct teachings of the Buddha, known as the Pāli Canon, are the texts upon which Theravāda Buddhism to this day has its foundations.

It is believed that the Mahayana tradition developed out of this early form of Theravāda Buddhism sometime between the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE.

What were the differences and why did Mahāyāna Buddhism emerge?

Mahāyāna Buddhism was a response to what was perceived as the elitism of the Theravāda tradition.

Particularly, the Theravāda’s monastic tradition which focused most on intense meditation and ascetic practices.

Mahāyāna Buddhism sought to make the teachings of the Buddha more accessible to ordinary people, not just to monks and nuns.

It is best understood as a school of Buddhism that teaches that all people have the capacity to become awakened and realise the nature of reality.

Mahāyāna Buddhism also emphasises compassion on the path to enlightenment.

This is best illustrated by the Mahāyāna ideal of the bodhisattva, or the enlightened being who postpones their enlightenment for the salvation of all beings - not just humans, but animals as well!

Important too is that while Theravāda Buddhism recognises only the Pāli Canon as being the true teachings of the Buddha, Mahāyāna Buddhism includes texts called sutras as also the true teachings of the Buddha.

Many of these sutras are known to have come into existence long after the lifetime of the Buddha but are still considered to be the recorded words of the Buddha.

#mahayana #buddhism #zen #tibetanbuddhism

Script: Matt Mackane

Voiceover: Andrea Giordani

Edit: Medo

Score: Motion Array x Epidemic Music x Original Score

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