Characteristics of Mahayana Buddhism

1. Life of Buddha

a)Birth
b)Enlightenment
c) First Sermon
d)Death

2. Enlightenment of Others than yourself
- emptying oneself and directing his attention to others
- He waited for others to see his way of attaining elightement, which is a sign of compassion
- concewpt of Wow = one can not be enlightend is not all the other are enlightend

3. Bodhisattva Concept vs Tathagata Concept
- Bodhisattva = Buddha's life before he was elingthed and Tathagata = Buddha after enlightement
- Dustness = see the world as it is = to see the 5 skandas, to see the causal-origination, to see the world as it is or as it is not, to see the world empty

4. Sunyata Samsara =Nirvana
- when samsara becomes empty then samsara becomes nirvana, they merge one over another like an eclipse.

5. Karuna Compassion
- selflessness is the jey of loving everybody, nondiscrimination
-plurarity is an image caused by selfishness

6. Upaya Convenient means
-convenient means, buddha used illustrations to teach, convenient could be even lies.
-illustrations, mythology, language - all were necessary to persuade the people.

7. Tantric Esoteric vs Exoteric

a) Mantra - short owrds to cure sickenss, to get magical effects or to expell all devil effects
b) Mudra - hand and body motion of mediation and prayer
c) Mandala - show pictures as aid to meditate, might help to concentrate

8. Mythological - Avolokiteshvara Tara Maha Kari
- Imagination is neccessary to believe in the mythological ides.
-Avolokiteshvara is the goddess of mercy and compassion, she is the female Bodhisattwa
- Kari in India is the goddess of love and war

9. Buddha Nature
- Everybody and everything has Buddha Nature, there is no discrimation batween animals and humans.
- Lotus Sutra - they start to accept even femals into the temple
- godhead idea = buddha nature
- the concept of universe = buddha nature

Mahayana Buddhism (Sanskrit for "Greater Vehicle"), along with Theravada Buddhism, one of the two principal branches of Buddhist belief. Mahayana originated in India and subsequently spread throughout China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Central Asia, Vietnam, and Taiwan. Followers of Mahayana have traditionally regarded their doctrine as the full revelation of the nature and teachings of the Buddha, in opposition to the earlier Theravada tradition, which they characterize as the Lesser Vehicle (Hinayana).

In contrast to the relative conservatism of earlier Buddhist schools, which adhered closely to the recognized teachings of the historical Buddha, Mahayana embraces a wider variety of practices, has a more mythological view of what a Buddha is, and addresses broader philosophical issues. Two major Mahayana schools arose in India: Madhyamika (Middle Path) and Vijñanavada (Consciousness Only; also known as Yogachara). With the spread of Mahayana Buddhism beyond India, other indigenous schools appeared, such as Pure Land Buddhism and Zen.