MahaYana Buddhism ― When used in reference to a MetaPhysical Orientation as to Tradition, Culture or Preferred Flavour, is primarily defined, usually selfdefined by its members and/or adherents as such, and holding the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama Buddha, and/or interpolations thereon as a primary or critical parameter of their Spiritual Paradigm. (also see: the complete entry on Buddhism.) In the second century of the common era, there arose in India a new movement that came to be called Mahayana, which means "Great Vehicle." In contrast to the older Theravada schools, the Mahayana placed less emphasis on the accepted texts of the Buddha; inspired adepts from that time, such as Nagarjuna, imbued the Buddha's teachings with new interpretations. The Mahayana schools relaxed the stringent adhesion to the rules and regulations that had been laid out in the monastic code developed by the Buddha some 700 years earlier; the focus instead became the Buddha's teachings on the nature of emptiness and the relationship between form and emptiness. The Mahayana placed great importance on the inherent embodiment of buddha nature-or enlightened mind-by all human beings, and encouraged individual experience to be the basis of insight and attainment in the process of realizing one's own Buddha nature. Mahayana stresses an ethics of compassion for all living things. Some postulate that there is no monolithic Buddhism as such, but that there are Buddhisms such as Sinhala Buddhism or more precisely Sinhala Theravada Buddhism, Siam or Thai Buddhism, Myanmar or Amarapura Buddhism and so forth. In China, Mahayana Buddhism flourished and took on many forms. The Pure Land Schools advocated surrender to a bodhisattva as a means to be reborn in the Pure Land, a realm free from suffering, from where it is easier to achieve liberation. Ch'an (which means meditation) taught its followers that the path of the bodhisattva leads to liberation in this very lifetime; and it emphasized discovering the nondual reality of one's Buddha nature through meditation. Ch'an moved to Japan in the 13th century and is now known in the West as Zen. Japanese Zen was the first form of Buddhism to capture the imagination of the West.

Return to the "M" index for the Garden of Life Definitions, Premisses and Info

Definitions, Premisses, and Info Index by Letter

Capital A with ring aboveÅ   Capital A with macronĀ   Capital A with breveĂ   Capital A with diaeresisÄ   Capital A with circumflex   Capital A with dot aboveȦ   Capital A with inverted breveȂ   Capital A with tildeà   Capital A with ogonekĄ   Capital AE ligatureÆ   Capital AE ligature with tildeÆ̃   Capital Glottal Stop⦾   Capital Palatoalveolar Click⊛   Regular English AA   Script Capital Lℒ   Capital L with macron aboveL̅   Capital L with dot belowḶ   Capital L with stroke, Dark L Ł   Regular English LL   Capital WHω   Capital W with macron aboveW̅   Capital W with dot belowẈ   Regular English WW   Capital Slide H with reverse solidusℋ⃥   Capital H with macron aboveH̅   Capital H with dot belowḤ   Aspirate^○   Slight Pause⚫   Very Slight Pause⚬   Regular English HH   Capital S with macron aboveS̅   Capital S with dot aboveṠ   Capital SH sign∫   Capital SKΣ   Regular English SS   Hard and Deep Capital DД   High and Light Capital D∇   Regular English DD   Capital O with ring aboveO̊   Capital O with macronŌ   Capital O with breveŎ   Capital O with diaeresisÖ   Capital O with solidusØ   Capital OE ligatureŒ   Capital O with Cyrillic Round OmegaѺ   Capital OIꙔ   Capital O with ogonekǪ   Capital O with double oo topტ   Regular English OO   Capital EZJHʑ   Capital Z with macron belowẔ   Capital Z with dot aboveŻ   Regular English ZZ   Capital K with macron aboveК̅   Capital K with dot below К̣   Capital Hard KHχ   Capital KHƙ   Regular English KK   Capital V with macron aboveV̅   Capital V with dot belowṾ   Regular English VV   Capital G with macronḠ   Capital G with dot aboveĠ   Capital GNΓ   Capital GRЖ   Capital GW   Capital Uvular Voiced ImplosiveϘ   Regular English GG   Capital rolled R with macronЯ̅   Capital rolled R with dot aboveЯ̇   Capital R with macron aboveR̅   Capital R with dot above Ṙ   Capital R with ogonek R̨   Regular English RR   Capital C with cedillaÇ   Capital CHЧ   Regular English CC   Capital N with macron aboveN̅   Capital N with dot belowṆ   Capital N with tildeÑ   Capital NGŋ   Capital NG with macron aboveŋ̅   Regular English NN   Capital Y with macron above Ȳ   Capital Y with dot aboveẎ   Capital Y with yaw aboveЎ   Regular English YY   Capital J with macron aboveЈ̅   Capital J with dot belowЈ̣   Regular English JJ   Capital U with a ring aboveŮ   Capital U with macronŪ   Capital U with breveŬ   Capital U with circumflex aboveÛ   Capital U with diaeresisÜ   Regular English UU   Capital F with macron aboveF̅   Capital F with dot aboveḞ   Regular English FF   Capital Q with macron aboveQ̅   Capital Q with dot aboveQ̇   Regular English QQ   Capital B with macronB̅   Capital B with dot belowḄ   Trilled B   Regular English BB   Capital M with macronM̅   Capital M with dot belowṂ   Capital M with tilde M̃   Capital MB   Capital MGⱮ   Regular English MM   Capital X with macron aboveX̅   Capital X with dot aboveẊ   Regular English XX   Capital I with macronĪ   Capital I with breveĬ   Regular English II   Capital T with macron aboveT̅   Capital T with dot belowṬ   Capital TH voicedΘ   Capital TH voicelessÞ   Capital TSЦ   Capital TSCHЩ   Regular English TT   Capital E with macronĒ   Capital E with breveĔ   Capital E with circumflexÊ   Capital schwa Ə   Regular English EE   Capital P with macron aboveP̅   Capital P with dot aboveṖ   Capital pT   Regular English PP

Greek Words   Ægyptian Words   Sumerian Words   Sanskrit Words

Return to the "Who We Are" Index

Go to the Garden of Life Formalization/Founding Document Index

Go to Garden of Life "Who We Are" area

Garden of Life Ṇ't̄ā and Foci Information

Garden of Life Table of Correspondences Project

Go to TransPagan Consensus Survey Intro Page

Return to the Garden of Life Temple Main Page

Return to the Garden of Life Portal