Mahayana facts for kids

Mahayana (Sanskrit: महायान, mahāyāna, literally the "Great Vehicle") is one of the two main branches of Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism is from India. Zen is a kind of Mahayana that is influenced by Confucianism.

Images for kids

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

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  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.

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

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

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

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  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.

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

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

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

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

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

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  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.

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  Prajñāpāramitā is often personified by a female deity in Buddhist art.

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  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".

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  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.

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

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

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

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

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  Map showing the three major Buddhist divisions.

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  Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum, Taiwan.

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  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.

See also

In Spanish: Mahāyāna para niños