Questions tagged [mahayana]
One of the two major vehicles of Buddhism.
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What is the story of Mañjuśrī inspiring Śākyamuni?
नमो भगवते बुद्धाय
I'm reading Candrakīrti's madhyamakavatāra. I came across this passage -
"That they are the particular circumstance means that that which acts
as the cause for the circumstance ...
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What is the meaning of this Mañjuśrī teaching?
I read the following in the internet:
Sheng-yen renders the following teaching of Mañjuśrī, for entering
samādhi naturally through transcendent wisdom:
Contemplate the five skandhas as originally ...
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Progressive rebirth from one heaven to a higher heaven
Can devas in heavenly realms do good deeds and get a rebirth in other higher heavens and progress successively from one higher heaven to other?
Preferably, from Mahayana Buddhist or Theravada Buddhist ...
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Brahmcharyavas : starting, ending
Last question:-
"Bramchariyavas has started" -> "ब्रह्मचर्यवास शुरू हुआ"।
Did this "occur" to anyone in past and the same has been mentioned in books? What are the ...
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What comes first: effort or motivation?
Master Shi Heng Yi referred to Laozi (Chinese Taoist Teacher) as saying that
It's better to remain clam and do nothing while achieving nothing than doing a lot and investing a lot of effort and ...
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The Sangha extinguished, the Dhamma sold out: what now?
It's hard to imagine that there is any valid and not actually defeat group of monks out their, Dhamma has been sold out, reformed, reproduced and shared by blind. AI will soon be, or is already, your ...
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Do all Dhamma teachings aim us at release?
I read the statement recently that all Dhamma teachings aim to produce disenchantment, for the purpose of release / unbinding.
Any thoughts on this subject are welcome, but my question is: Which ...
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I don't understand bodhicitta
I have difficulty with the notion of bodhicitta and the concept of Boddhisattva, and the difference with the concept of Buddha. If I understand correctly, the idea is to have an altruistic intention ...
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what is the main difference between Yogachara and Madhyamaka? [closed]
According to Wikipedia, there are two main schools in Mahayana, Yogachara and Madhyamaka.
Could you tell me the main difference in doctrine between these two?
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Did any East Asian scholars do any work on Buddhist logic and epistemology?
Did any Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese Buddhists write about Buddhist logic in the tradition of Vasubandhu, Dignaga, and Dharmakirti? What were their contributions to logic and epistemology?
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What is the source of this information about "underground serpents"?
I've seen this glossary entry in a couple of places:
Hīnayāna: “Inferior Vehicle,” a pejorative term, coined by a group who called themselves followers of the Mahāyāna, the “Great Vehicle,” to denote ...
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How to fix a broken vow?
I recently broke my vow (do not harm).
I purchased a pack of cigarettes for a homeless guy.
What should I do to fix this? is there a ritual to do or can i make an offering?
Thanks in Advance...
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Do Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana teach any form of solipsism? [duplicate]
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/other-minds/#AnotHist
Buddhism is sometimes compared to solipsism.
Discussions on this topic can be found on the Internet. I do not understand why Buddhism is ...
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Looking for the source of a story about the Buddha and a lady who looked the other way
I'm searching for a Sutra (or possibly a commentary) but it has escaped me. My recollection is hazy, but it is about one of the Buddha's monks (most likely Ven. Ananda or Ven. Sariputta) asking the ...
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How to pursuade someone not believing in fortune telling
How to persuade someone not to be too superstitious or too much into fortune telling? Cause based on the answers below, it's not appropriate.
Did the Lord Buddha say anything about magic and fortune ...
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Unwholesome Sankharas Emerging From Dhamma Practice
What unwholesome sankharas can be created from too much focus on dhamma concepts, reading and intellectual pursuits, and practice?
What kind of results do those sankharas produce?
What blockades are ...
user17652
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Why and how is Theravada and Mahayana Abhidha(r)(m)ma different?
I know this could potentially be a huge question: if abhidhamma/abhidharma differs in Theravada and Mahayana, how does is it differ and why?
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Why is continuity like "the light of a lamp"?
Because the continuity of the aggregates is similar to the light of a lamp, therefore the very existence or non-existence of an end is
unreasonable.
https://www.stephenbatchelor.org/index.php/en/...
user23322
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The commonly acceptable hypotheses/theories among scholars to explain how come Prajñāpāramitā sutra have existed so early as about 75 CE?
In 2012, Harry Falk and Seishi Karashima published a damaged and partial Kharoṣṭhī manuscript of the Mahāyāna Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra. It is carbon dated to ca. 75 CE, making it one of the ...
user21001
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The Problem of Evil/Suffering modified into Buddhism
I have a question about Buddhism, which is similar to or modified from the Problem of Evil or the Problem of Suffering in western religion philosophy:
If [ by definition from ordinary intuition ] the ...
user21001
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Mahayana revealed from Naga world to 1st century CE+ - Why?
If I take these definitive positions:
Mahayana teachings did originate from the Buddha and were taught to select disciples. (Whether in full or in part) And were then passed on selectively to various ...
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Can't find much info on Tsem Rinpoche, was he a genuine lama?
Does anyone know anything about Tsem Rinpoche?
I watched a few of his talks on Youtube recently, and found him to be incredibly charismatic.
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How to understand this teaching: "Whenever others treat me badly, may I accept this defeat myself and offer the victory to others"
Below is one of the verses from the "Eight Verses for Training the Mind" by Geshe Langri Tangpa
Whenever others, because of their jealousy, treat me badly
with abuse, insult, slander, or in ...
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How to explain to someone with no knowledge about Buddhism what is meant by "extinguishing" the self?
A person I know has drawn the unwanted conclusion that the entanglement from the self is to be equated with erasing one's personality, feelings and connections in life. That to be extinguished in ...
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Most efficient practices you will quickly do to recover/re-generate Bodhicitta and/or right view of Śūnyatā if realizing losing mindfulness of?
In daily (secular) life, if you realize that you are being or have been losing (or forgetting) mindfulness of Bodhicitta and/or right view of Śūnyatā, what (most efficient practices) you will quickly ...
user21001
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Which of the seven fold reasons does this fall under?
Which of the seven fold reasons does this fall under?
The conventional self is not different to all its parts (is composed only of parts) but not the same as any part (does not depend on any part)
...
user20628
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Nirvana with residue/non-abiding nirvana
What is the difference between Nirvana with residue and non-abiding Nirvana? Both these states apply to a Buddha while still alive and come to an end when the physical life of a Buddha comes to an end....
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How can the details of the mappō age be discussed skillfully?
Mappō (a.k.a mòfǎ, mạt pháp) is a term used by the majority of Mahayana Buddhism branches in East and Southeast Asia. It was mentioned in the Mahayana Mahaparinirvaṇa Sutra, signalling the declination ...
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Does Avalokiteshvara speak through the Buddha in the Heart Sutra? Or how is it that Avalokiteshvara speaks to Shariputra?
I wanted to know how it is that Avalokiteshvara answered Shariputra in the Heart Sutra.
I thought Avalokiteshvara was a cosmic being representing the compassion of all Buddhas. As such he would not be ...
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After the Buddha's enlightenment, did he receive any teachings?
There's not much background to this question. Did the Buddha ever receive a teaching after his enlightenment; a teaching that he accepted and made use of, either his own or another - or perhaps a ...
user17652
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Did Nagarjuna want to become a Buddha?
Did Nagarjuna aspire to Buddhahood in a way that he wouldn't be a 'ariyasavaka' type of disciple who attains awakening to the truth during a Buddha's sasana?
user8527
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What is (re)born? Did the Buddha explicitly state that it is "the mental idea of the self" that is reborn?
It's been asserted by some knowledgeable individuals that the Buddha explicitly identified "the mental idea of the self" as what is (re)born in samsara and has done so in suttas spelling out ...
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How does an enlightened mind distinguish itself from all other phenomena?
How does an enlightened mind distinguish itself from all other phenomena?
There is one such person amidst a crowd of other people. Somebody shouts their name, and they say, "yes, that is I. I am ...
user17652
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What do the words of the Mahayana Buddhist mean?
A Mahayana Buddhist said:
Mahayana Buddhists agree that there other sentient beings exist, that
they have discrete mindstreams, and ingest and interpret reality in
accordance to their own karmic ...
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Studying the subject "the four Buddhist schools/systems of tenets" (Vaibhāṣika, Sautrāntika, Cittamātra, Mādhyamika) in English
I am one of the (Taiwanese) fans of the Dalai Lama for a long time. Currently I am studying the subject "the four Buddhist schools/systems of tenets (of mainly Indian Buddhism before its decline)&...
user21001
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Is it ok to watch a media that promote homosexuality?
this is my first post
I have researched what the buddhist sutra says about Homosexuality...I found Saddhama Smrty Uposttana sutra and Upasakasila sutra that said homosexuality is sexual misconduct and ...
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Chinese Buddhists consider all people to be potential Buddhas
Do the Chinese Buddhists of all Chinese schools of Buddhism regard all people as potential Buddhas or just Buddhists? Do they believe that only the minds of Buddhists can come to enlightenment? What ...
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The Account of Other Minds in Chinese Yogācāra Buddhism
https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/handle/1887/80747
"POM1: Presume that other minds can be perceived. Then, they shall be like external forms and
have no real existence.
POM2: ...
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Two Truths in Mahayana
There are Two Truths in Mahayana Buddhism Conventional and Ultimate. I can't understand how it works. For example: Two Mahayana Buddhists have realized the absolute truth: and one Buddhist tells the ...
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Is Chögyal Namkhai Norbu correct when he says our life is unreal and that Buddha taught that life is just like a dream?
In this video clip you can see renowned Tibetan master Chögyal Namkhai Norbu saying that life is unreal and that the Buddha taught it is just like a dream. Is he correct? I've transcribed below:
...
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What is The Prediction as defined by the Mahayana tradition?
Please see this section taken from the wiki page titled Boddhisattva which might help you answer the question:
...what early Mahayana sutras like the Aṣṭa do is to help individuals
determine if they ...
user17652
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Does reality exist?
Does reality exist? Carlo Rovelli (a famous theoretical physicist) doesn't think so and he cites Nagarjuna as believing the same:
Rovelli has a different idea. He says reality doesn’t exist. The
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Logic of Emptiness still unconvincing. Please help explain
I've been a practitioner of Vipassana and Mahamudra for 2 years now. One thing quite bothering me is various explanations from different teachers on emptiness logically disturbing...
Usually, it goes ...
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Is Mahayana Buddhism a form of idealism?
Do Mahayana Buddhists believe that the whole world and all objects are created by the mind? For example, my friend and I see a train. Do I and my friend see the same train?
Tell me if it is correct to ...
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How do Mahayana Buddhists perceive the world?
One Mahayana Buddhist said, "we act as if each person has his or her own consciousness, sensation, and thoughts."
Does everyone Mahayana Buddhist believe that he lives in a world in which ...
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Vajrayana, Mahayana, Theravada, "Magic", Using breath control as an anchor to meditation? Where are the boundaries of Bhuddism that merit down votes?
Let us rock the boat for a moment, in intellectual detached discourse, free of the emotions, if this is possible?
My question:
Is this a group tailored and friendly only to Theravada /Pali Canon?
Are ...
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Dwelling Upon Seeming Levels of Emptiness?
Note: the term sunyata here is being used from the Mahayana context.
Not too long ago, I asked this question about concentration and openness where I suggested that concentration was a hindrance to my ...
user17652
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Do the texts of Mahayana Buddhism or those of any other school posit that everything is to be regarded as ideation? (Idealism)
Does Mahayana Buddhism or any other school of Buddhism posit the idea that the physical world does not exist apart from an observer's frame of reference, as in everything exists only in the mind as ...
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Madhyamaka, theravada and mahayana [duplicate]
Why is Mahayana Buddhism not a form of solipsism (epistemological, methodological, metaphysical) if the first school of Mahayana Buddhism was the Madhyamaka school from which then yogachara originated,...
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Is it bad karma if you are waiting for someone to die?
I was just wondering if it’s bad karma if you were just waiting for someone to die? For example, let’s say you asked your parents for permission to become a monk but they declined so you decided to ...
user19784