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Mahayana Buddhism
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The amazing amount of tolerence of Mahayana Buddhism is in consonance with its metaphysical views. It is asserted that all religions are revelation of the same Dharmakaya and bring out some aspects of truth.[Footnote: Radhakrishnan, op. cit., p. 597.] Dharma is the all-pervading spiritual force, the ultimate and the supreme principle of life. It is interesting to note that there is an attempt to personify dharma in the conception of Buddha. He is considered the first cause, the eternal God, superior to all things the supreme and first of all Buddhas. He is the devatideva, the paramount God of gods. He is the creator of all bodhisattvas.
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Many scholars contend that Mahayana scriptures are rooted in the earliest teachings of Buddhism, "It is proper to say that Mahayana Buddhism is an extension or continuation of Theravada Buddhism, but without there first being Theravada, there could be no Mahayana." [14]
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Mahayana Buddhism, or "The Greater Vehicle," emerged around the first century A.D., providing an alternative for the majority of people who could not follow the monastic life demanded by the Theravada. Consequently, Mahayana Buddhists refer to the Theravada as Hinayana , or the "Lesser Vehicle." Mahayana taught that Shakyamuni was not the only Buddha, but one of many Buddhas. Followers believed that Maitreya , the Buddha of the future, awaits to appear and that Buddha is an entity that manifests itself in different forms called Buddhas. The early Buddhas rule over heavenly lands where devotees can aspire to be reborn. Mahayana ... introduced the Bodhisattvas, or beings destined for enlightenment. A Boddhisattva forestalls entrance to Nirvana to help others reach it. Compassion and love for creatures is the core of Mahayana Buddhism, and the Bodhisattva is the model of the doctrine.
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While other early sects died out or were absorbed into Mahayana Buddhism, Theravada retained its identity. Similarly, when Buddhism died out in India after the 12th century AD, Theravada kept its hold in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. In about the 10th century, a Theravada reform movement began in Sri Lanka that consolidated the kingdom as a Theravada monarchy. The reform movement spread to Burma and Thailand, where it revitalized the Theravada tradition and ensured its supremacy over other Buddhist sects. Reformers ... carried the creed into Cambodia and Laos, where the geographical limits of Theravada predominance were reached. Despite some Theravada followers in Vietnam and elsewhere, Mahayana Buddhism became the dominant tradition in the rest of the Buddhist world.
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Mahayana Buddhism is characterized by a tradition of statue representations of Buddhas. This tradition as an offshoot of the Greek statues which was carried into central Asia by Alexander the Great. Early representions of Buddhas are known as Greco-Buddhist statues and are clearly modelled after Greek statues. This tradition was later carried east from Afghanistan into India, China and Japan.
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In Mahayana Buddhism... the universe is populated with celestial buddhas and bodhisattvas who are worshipped as gods and goddesses. The historical Buddha is honored in this way, but most other Buddhist deities are adapted from the cultures Buddhism has encountered — from the pantheon of Hinduism to the indigenous religions of Tibet, China and Thailand.
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Mahayana Buddhism