What was mahāyana Buddhism?
Keywords:
Mahāyāna, Origins of the Mahāyāna, Buddhist Philosophy, bodhisattva.
Abstract
In the beginning of the Common Era, in the context of the Buddhist monastic community takes place a new genre of literature, considered itself as Buddhavacana (the «Word of the Buddha»). It arises in different places in the Buddhist community and very spread around the geography of India, and it is considered itself as Mahāyāna. This new genre stresses the figure of the bodhisattva as the supreme ideal. After the work of Buddhist philosopher Nāgārjuna, in the second or third century of the Common Era, the concept of nirvana is no more the centre of the Buddhist cult and speculation, yielding a new ideal: the discernment of emptiness and the compassion to those who suffer. These two become the axis around spins the life of the bodhisattva.Downloads
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How to Cite
Arnau J. (2011). What was mahāyana Buddhism?. ’Ilu. Revista de Ciencias de las Religiones, 16, 33-46. https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_ILUR.2011.v16.2
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