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Mahayana |
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MahayanaOne of the three major Buddhist traditions. It arose in the 1st century AD and is widely followed today in China (including Tibet), Korea, and Japan. Mahayanists distinguish themselves from the more conservative Theravada Buddhists of Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. Whereas the Theravadins view the historical Buddha as a (merely) human teacher of the truth, Mahayanists see him as an earthly manifestation of a celestial Buddha. Mahayanists revere bodhisattvas, key figures in universal salvation. Compassion, the chief virtue of the bodhisattva, is valued as highly as wisdom, the virtue emphasized by the ancient Buddhists. Within Mahayana Buddhism, some branches emphasize esoteric practices (e.g., Shingon, Tibetan Buddhism). See also Kegon, Nichiren Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, Tiantai, Zen. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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The Buddhists are not interested in God being incarnated in any way; many are not theists, and while Mahayana Buddhists may speak of a pervasive "Buddha nature" this is nothing like the creator God of the Abrahamic religions. These are a congruence of Vedic, Brahmanical, Mahayana and Tantric views, but reflect an unknown earlier widespread set of shared beliefs that is poorly known or understood, and often called "Austro-Asiatic. His company is the leading supplier of headstones to the more than 80,000 Buddhist temples in Japan, particularly temples associated with the Mahayana school, which includes the majority Jodo sect, but also Jodo Shin, Rinzai, Nichiren, and others. |
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