The Origin of Mahayana Buddhism

Buddhism spread also to countries to the north and northeast of its homeland. But there it developed into a separate form quite different from that practised in the south. To get an idea of it, let us turn back to India. the country of its origin.

The division of Buddhism can be traced back to the time of the Second Council, a century after the Buddha, when the Sangha began to split into two groups of monks. One came to be called Theravadins and the other, Mahasanghikas. By the time of King Asoka in the third century B.E. there had arisen out of the two eighteen different sects : eleven out of the Theravada and seven out of the Mahasanghikas. None of these sects, however, survived long except the two major sects which, about two or three centuries later, were found advancing along different courses of development, quite apart from each other.

The form of Buddhism which flourished under King Asoka was the Theravada. As this form spread to the south, it is also called the Southern School of Buddhism. The other, the Mahasanghikas, later developed into the Mahayana, the term the later Mahasanghikas call themselves. The Mahayana prevails in northern countries: Nepal, Tibet, China, Korea, Mongolia and Japan, and is, therefore, known also as the Northern School. The Mahayanists call the Theravada the Hinayana, meaning the lesser vehicle of salvation in contrast to their own Mahayana, which means the greater vehicle. But the Southern School prefers to be known as the Theravada, the "Teaching of the Elders," which is a more accurate and nonprejudicial term.

Generally speaking, the fundamental principles of the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, the Dependent Origination, the Law of Karma, Nirvana and the like remain the focal points of both schools. The spirit of non-violence, tolerance, liberality and friendliness are also retained. But their difference is in the emphasis and interpretation. While the Theravada keeps faithfully to the original teachings as preserved in the Pali Canon and holds together in a single unified tradition, the Mahayana has made free and varied interpretations of the Doctrine and the Discipline under differing circumstances, turned the original scriptures into Sanskrit incorporating in them later texts by later teachers, and continued to divide into many new sects and subsects.

While the Theravada is an intellectual religion that requires personal self-effort, the Mahayana believes in salvation through faith and devotion. In the Theravada the Buddha is a discoverer who points out the Path, but in the Mahayana he becomes a saviour by whose grace beings can hope to be redeemed. The emphasis of the Theravada is on wisdom and practical insight as the key virtue on the path of self-reliance towards the ideal state of being an Arahant. The Mahayana stress is on compassion, the key virtue of the Bodhisattvas, the ideal persons who vow to save all beings and work for the good of suffering beings. Moreover, the Mahayana takes much interest in philosophical speculation and ritualism, while the original doctrine of the Theravada regards these as useless.

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