What You Should Know: 

About Mahayana Buddhism

A century before the beginning of the common era, a new movement arose within Buddhism called Mahayana. Mahayana means "Great Vehicle," so named to contrast with the hinayana, which means "small vehicle." "Hinayana Buddhism" is what Mahayana Buddhists call those who practice the four noble truths or who contemplate dependent origination but ignore the message of perfect wisdom and universal compassion expressed in the Mahayana teachings. Hinayana is like a small raft only for those disciplined enough to make the crossing from the shore of birth and death to the other shore of nirvana by themselves. Conversely, Mahayana is like a large passenger liner that can carry all beings over to the other shore of Buddhahood together.

Prior to the Lotus Sutra, the Mahayana teachings criticized the two vehicles, which are subsets of the small vehicle of hinayana Buddhism. The first vehicle was for the voice-hearers, who were monastic followers of the Buddha. They had renounced the home life to hear the teaching of the four noble truths so that they could attain freedom from suffering. The second vehicle was for the privately-awakened ones who attained liberation on their own by contemplating dependent origination. The originators of the Mahayana felt that the goal of the hinayana practitioner was too narrow and selfish because it tended to be concerned only with individual liberation and did not offer a way for ordinary people to achieve awakening.

In contrast to the voice-hearers and the privately-awakened ones, Mahayana offered the third vehicle of the bodhisattva, meaning "awakening being." Later, we shall see that the Lotus Sutra teaches that these three vehicles are actually all a part of the One Vehicle of Buddhahood. In the Mahayana, compassion for others is considered just as important as attaining wisdom. In fact, wisdom and compassion are considered to be inseparable aspects of the Buddha's awakening, like two sides of the same coin.

Mahayana Buddhism insists that the Buddha's true intention is for us to follow the way of the bodhisattva, who voluntarily postpones his or her nirvana to help all sentient beings achieve awakening. Mahayana Buddhism emphasizes the "six perfections" of the bochisattva instead of focusing solely on the eightfold noble path. The six perfections are generosity, morality, patience, energy, meditative absorption, and wisdom. Mahayana also explains the doctrine of emptiness to deepen our understanding of dependent origination so we can break free of our false ideas and harmful obsessions. Finally, Mahayana Buddhism teaches that the Buddha has three bodies: a historical body; an ideal body, which can only be seen by bodhisattvas; and a transcendent universal body, which is ultimate reality itself. In its highest form, Mahayana teaches that we all have buddha-nature and that we should all strive to become buddhas ourselves.

The Three Seals of the Dharma

Before looking at the Mahayana teachings in more detail, it is important to understand that the Mahayana sutras are not meant to be literal records of actual sermons by the historical Shakyamuni Buddha. Nevertheless, they are recognized by Mahayana Buddhists as the "word" of the Buddha. This is because they conform to the "three seals of the Dharma." The three seals of the Dharma refer to impermanence, selflessness, and the perfect peace of nirvana. Traditionally, these three seals summarize the core insight of Shakyamuni Buddha; any teaching that is consistent with them can be considered an authentic teaching of the Buddha.

The first two seals, with the addition of "unsatisfactoriness," are known as the "three marks," which the Buddha used to describe the real nature of all things. He described things in this way so that his followers could free themselves from attachments that cannot bring real happiness. The logic behind the marks of impermanence, selflessness, and unsatisfactoriness is as follows: All things, that appear and disappear in accordance with the law of cause and effect are impermanent. If all the things that make up our life are impermanent and depend upon causes and conditions, then none of them should be clung to as the basis of a secure self. In other words, we cannot find eternal life and happiness by depending upon anything that is impermanent - and therefore undependable - including our own body and mind. If everything, including our body and mind, is impermanent and unable to provide the basis for an unchanging and independent self, then nothing can be called a truly satisfactory source of happiness or of eternal life. All things are therefore unsatisfactory.

It should be noted that the Buddha did not mean that people never experience moments of happiness and joy. He only pointed out that such moments are not permanent and that they cannot grant us eternal life. In this sense, the mark of unsatisfactoriness is not as universal as the seals of impermanence and selflessness. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that even those things which provide satisfaction are touched by the seals of impermanence and selflessness, rather than to claim that everything is unsatisfactory. For this reason, the mark of unsatisfactoriness is not usually included as one of the seals because it is already implied by the seals of impermanence and selflessness. When it is included, there are four seals of the Dharma: impermanence, selflessness, unsatisfactoriness, and the peace of nirvana.

The seal of nirvana describes the state of true happiness that comes to those who have extinguished the flames of greed, hatred, and delusion. Once we stop clinging to those things that are unable to provide us with true happiness, we will finally be free to experience the true peace of nirvana. This peace transcends anything we have ever known or even imagined since such things are characterized by impermanence, selflessness, and unsatisfactoriness. Though the earlier teachings of the Buddha stressed that nirvana is the state in which we no longer selfishly cling to anything in this world, Mahayana Buddhism stresses that nirvana also means that we should not cling to inactivity or indifference. In either case, nirvana means to be free of clinging. Mahayana Buddhism, however, points out that nirvana also means that one is thus free to help all beings through boundless compassion and wisdom not limited by self-centered craving or ignorance. In Mahayana teachings, nirvana is also characterized as "pure" because it is free of the defilements of greed, hatred, delusion, pride, and self-doubt; as "blissful" because it is free of suffering; as "eternal" because it is free of impermanence; and as the "true self' because it is free of the false idea of a self. Essentially, the seal of nirvana is the seal of non-clinging and freedom from all attachments, limitations, and false, self-serving views. It is not a thing that we can create through our own efforts, receive from others, or have in the way we might possess an object or have an experience. It is the true nature of reality that we awaken to through taking faith in the Buddha's teachings and upholding them in our lives.

The Mahayana sutras may not be the literal words of Shakyamuni Buddha, but they are in complete harmony with the three seals of the Dharma. Therefore, they are recognized as the Buddha's own teaching. Through their use of myth and poetry to convey the true spirit of the Buddha's teachings that lie within the words, the Mahayana sutras may be better guides to the true intention of the historical Buddha than those sutras which only attempt to record actual events and discourses. For this reason, we can trust that the Mahayana sutras, and the Lotus Sutra in particular, are authentic expressions of Shakyamuni Buddha's vision.

The Bodhisattva

In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha states that he teaches only bodhisattvas. This means that even the voice-hearers who follow the four noble truths or those who contemplate dependent origination are not authentic followers of the Buddha unless they have the compassionate heart of a bodhisattva. Thus, it is not enough to simply follow the eightfold noble path—one must also follow it with the spirit of compassionate concern for others. The bodhisattvas do not practice only for their own benefit; they practice for the sake of all beings. This is because they are deeply aware of the interdependent nature of all things. That is, they realize that no one is disconnected from the whole. Therefore, the notion of self-liberation apart from others is another symptom of the delusion of a separate self. The bodhisattvas, on the other hand, are as concerned about relieving the suffering of others as they are about relieving their own. One might even say they know we are all in the same boat, the Great Vehicle of the Mahayana, which takes all people to the other shore of perfect and complete awakening. Thus, the advancement of the individual is impossible without the advancement of all.

This emphasis on compassionate concern for others is the key to understanding the difference between the Mahayana path of the bodhisattva and the hinayana path of the voice-hearers and privately-awakened ones. An illustration might make this clearer.

Let's say that a fire breaks out in a crowded movie theater. The manager of the theater naturally calls the fire department and then rushes in to make sure that everyone makes it out of the exit. In the ensuing panic and confusion, some people immediately follow the manager's direction to the exit. Others, however, may try for the exit on their own, especially if they are already close to it. Finally, some people may stay behind to assist the manager in getting the others out of the building. In this story, the burning theater represents the world which is full of suffering, the exit is nirvana, the manager represents the Buddha, the people who follow the manager's directions are like the voice-hearers, the people who find the exit on their own are like the privately-awakened ones, and the people who stay behind to assist the others are like the bodhisattvas.

The Four Bodhisattva Vows

A bodhisattva is a person who has reached a high level of spiritual maturity and has realized that his or her awakening depends upon the awakening of others. Seeing the suffering of others, a bodhisattva works to assist them to free themselves from suffering and then attain awakening. This intention is expressed in the "four bodhisattva vows." These vows are a part of Nichiren Shu's daily practice.

Sentient beings are infinite, I vow to liberate them all.

Our defilements are innumerable, I vow to resolve them all.

Dharma gates are inexhaustible, I vow to know them all.

The Way of the Buddha is unsurpassed, I vow to become it.

The first vow states our intention to work for the welfare of others and to practice the Buddha's teachings no matter what the consequences. We will not rest until all are free from suffering. No one can be left behind. Even though the task of saving all beings may seem to go on without end, we understand that this work is the liberation that is sought. The path becomes the goal when we are working for the awakening of all beings.

The second vow states our intention to continue our practice. In this vow, we recognize that we cannot help others attain awakening without cultivating practice and resolving our defilements. This is a continuous process of self-examination and self-reformation that we undergo to free ourselves from suffering. By doing this, we become stronger, more confident in ourselves, and more capable of truly helping others through the good example that we set.

The third vow affirms our need to continually study all the Buddha's teachings so that we will know the right teaching and the right method to apply in every situation. This process requires great skill and flexibility because every situation that we meet in life is unique and demands a different response. Sometimes we must show patience, sometimes we must be firm and uncompromising, at times we must know how to listen, and at other times we should share our feelings and perspectives. As we deepen our understanding of our Buddhist practice, we are better prepared to face whatever occurs in our lives.

The fourth vow states that there is no higher, more worthwhile goal than to attain awakening. With this vow, we strive to embody the very qualities of the Buddha's wisdom and compassion to become buddhas ourselves. In making this vow we recognize that to become buddhas we must be buddhas. The only way to accomplish this is through a Buddhist practice that enables us to directly receive the merits and virtues of the Buddha in our lives. In other words, we must practice so that there is no separation between our practice, which is the intention to attain awakening, and the goal, which is the actual attainment of awakening.

The Six Perfections

The awakened qualities that we develop through our practice are known as the six perfections (in Sanskrit, paramitas). The six perfections enable us to do the work of a bodhisattva. They are generosity, morality, patience, energy, meditative absorption, and wisdom. These six perfections are a restatement of the eightfold noble path. Morality refers to right speech, right action, and right livelihood; energy refers to right effort; meditative absorption refers to right mindfulness and right concentration; and wisdom refers to right view and right intention. The real difference between the six perfections and the eightfold noble path is the addition of generosity and patience, although these are implied by right intention. By including these two perfections as separate items, it makes explicit the fact that we are not following the eightfold noble path unless we are generous and patient with others. In this way, the six perfections underscore the compassionate dimension integral to Mahayana Buddhism.

The perfection of generosity refers to the development of an open-hearted attitude toward others. This can take the form of donating money or time for the welfare of others. We can volunteer our time at a soup kitchen or donate blankets and clothing to a shelter or money to a charity. A very important form of generosity is to give the Dharma, the Buddhist teachings, to others. In our personal lives, wherever we are and no matter what we are doing, we show by word and deed what it means to live a life centered on the Buddha Dharma. We freely share our understanding of the Buddha's teaching with others when it is appropriate to do so. This also means that we gather with other members of our Sangha whenever we can, so we can share our experiences while encouraging and inspiring each other. Finally, the perfection of generosity indicates that we should be willing to stand up for our values and beliefs. We should not let ourselves be stopped by misunderstanding or even persecution in our efforts to spread the Buddha Dharma. It should also be remembered that one cannot practice generosity with a condescending or self-congratulatory attitude. Our work for the sake of others must be from the heart and as natural as breathing; we should not reflect on how much merit we are gaining through our efforts.

The perfection of morality means to live in accord with the precepts. As we have seen, the five precepts are: to not kill, to not steal, to not be involved in sexual misconduct, to not speak falsely, and to not use intoxicants that cloud the mind. Buddhism recognizes that until we are awakened it is very difficult to live in full accord with the precepts. It is difficult because the precepts are a description of awakened conduct. So, as our practice enables us to receive the merits of the Buddha's awakening, it also enables us to become loving, generous, faithful, truthful, and mindful. Until we are fully awakened, however, the precepts act as guidelines that keep our practice honest and point out how to avoid harming ourselves and others. They are tools for self-reflection and can show us how to maintain our integrity and bring about benefit for ourselves and others.

The perfection of patience refers to the ability to maintain one's concern and compassion for others even in the face of persecution. We cannot give in to bitterness, hatred, or ideas of retaliation, even when we experience ridicule or persecution at the hands of others. This may be the most difficult of all the perfections. We have to develop deep insight into the pain and confusion of others so that we can understand and forgive those who lash out violently or act callously toward others. Patience also implies patience with oneself. Some may even find this more difficult than being patient with others or with events in their lives. Patience toward ourselves includes not becoming frustrated when we do not progress as quickly as we might like, being willing to try again when we fall short of our expectations for ourselves, taking the time to nurture ourselves, and not fooling ourselves into believing that we have attained that which we have not. Finally, patience also applies to our attitude towards the Buddha's teachings. The teaching that all things are empty and selfless, for instance, can sound quite confusing and intimidating; but if we are patient and persist in our practice we will come to a deeper understanding that will lead to our liberation from suffering and ultimately to Buddhahood.

The perfection of energy involves enthusiasm and unflagging dedication to the practice of Buddhism. We use our energy to make continuous efforts to weed out bad habits, avoid starting any new bad habits, cultivate good habits, and develop new good habits.

The perfection of meditative absorption indicates that we should cultivate full awareness of all of our thoughts, words, and deeds in all places and at all times. Meditation enables us to focus our minds to engage in self-reflection and direct our minds to the highest teaching of the Buddha. The practice of meditation ultimately allows us to abide in a state of clear and spacious awareness in which we directly perceive the true nature of life for ourselves.

The perfection of wisdom is accomplished when our views are in accord with the reality of the world as it truly is. That is, we have insight into the dynamic and interdependent nature of all things. The perfection of wisdom is expressed through our faith in the Wonderful Dharma, which enables us to have confidence and trust in our buddha-nature - our capacity to view life with the insight and wisdom of the Buddha.

Emptiness

"Emptiness" is a central concept in Mahayana Buddhism, often associated with the perfection of wisdom. However, emptiness is really just another way of talking about dependent origination. Whereas dependent origination focuses on the coming together of many causes and conditions to bring about a temporary thing or being, emptiness focuses on the absence of a self-contained or permanent person, place, or thing. In other words, nothing exists forever, and nothing can exist on its own. Everything that we can point to or name exists only for as long as other things come together in a certain way to support its existence. A table, for instance, is only a temporary meeting of an uncountable number of atoms working together for a certain time. Another example is the human body, which is a changing process that requires a constant supply of new material in the form of air, food, and water to sustain itself, and which is constantly expelling waste material. Even consciousness is not a static thing but a perpetually changing stream of thoughts and impressions, which also depends upon the constant input of new material in the form of ideas and sensations.

Emptiness is a way of pointing to the ungraspable nature of reality. It is not a denial of existence or being but a way of seeing things in accord with the middle way, as discussed before. Awareness of emptiness is awareness of the constantly changing nature of life. To understand emptiness is to understand that there is nothing that we can hold on to forever and to see that we must not cling to things like money, power, sexual pleasure, fame, the company of loved ones, or even our own lives. All of these things are temporary and do not possess a fixed or eternal nature. On the other hand, through emptiness, we can learn to appreciate things and people as the dynamic and changing things that they are. When we do not cling to the good things in life, we are finally free to appreciate them for what they are for as long as they grace our lives, but without being burdened by the fear of their eventual dissolution.

There is a deeper meaning to emptiness than simply recognizing the impermanent nature of reality. Emptiness also means that things are without boundaries in terms of both time and space. Again, everything arises and ceases depending upon the coming together of many other elements or factors. But at what point can one say that something has begun or come to an end?

For instance, do our lives begin at birth, or conception, or at the time of our parent's conception? At what point in the process that we call our lives can we definitely say that the process has begun? The same is true of our deaths. If our lives are carried on through our children or the impact of our actions on the lives of others, at what point does our life really come to an end? In addition, the Buddha taught that some portion of our existence (composed of our intentions, habits, and to some extent an unconscious storehouse of memories) moves on from one life to another. So it is never entirely correct to say that someone has been born or has died. The reality of our lives defies such a simple description.

Even within our present lifespan, our lives are not separate from the lives of others or the world around us. Our lives are constantly being changed - physically, mentally, and emotionally - through our interactions with our environment and other living beings. Our lives also have a great impact on our environment and on the lives of those around us. In many ways, our lives extend beyond our bodies and touch the far reaches of the universe. Our bodily life depends upon the very structure of that universe to maintain its existence. The universe as a whole is in many ways our own extended body because our body depends upon the gravity exerted by the stars, the warmth of the sun, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the ground we stand on, and the many people and other beings who provide us with food, shelter, and companionship. This is true of our ideas and emotions as well.

The word "emptiness" can sound very bleak and intimidating. However, the word was not chosen to be comforting. It is used in Mahayana Buddhism to challenge the fixed idea that we can grasp the nature of reality or anything within it, or that we can find any real boundaries between one thing and another. Emptiness means that all people, places, and things are empty of anything we can hold on to as unchanging or separate from everything else. Looked at in a positive way, this means that all of reality is without any real boundaries. As the Lotus Sutra says, "The nature of things is not dual. It is formless like the sky." (Lotus Sutra, p. 11) They are non-dual, which means that they have no fixed boundaries because all things are bound up with one another as part of the overall dynamic process of life. Emptiness is not a dark nothingness, it is a way of helping us to open up our minds to the true nature of reality that transcends the rigid and ultimately false categories of birth and death, of self and other.

The Three Bodies of a Buddha

Mahayana Buddhism speaks of the trikaya, or three bodies of the Buddha. These are not separate, distinct bodies; rather, they are personifications of different aspects or properties of the life of a Buddha. Nichiren Shonin described the three bodies of the Buddha as follows:

What the three bodies are: The first is the Dharma-body Tathagata. The second is the Reward-body Tathagata. The third is the Accommodative-body Tathagata. The Three Bodied Tathagata includes all buddhas and all buddhas possess three bodies. For instance, the body of the moon is like the Dharma-body, the light of the moon is like the reward-body, and the reflection of the moon is like the accommodative-body. The one moon has three aspects, and one buddha has the merit of the three bodies. (Shijo Kingo Shaka Butsu Kuyoji (ST, p. 1182-1183). Authentic copy extant. See also Writings of Nichiren Shonin Volume Six, p. 131.)

Though often listed in the order given by Nichiren, we will discuss them here in order from most concrete to most universal.

The first Buddha body is the nirmanakaya, or "accommodative-body." This is the historical aspect of a Buddha and refers to the Buddha as a person who is born, becomes awakened, teaches the Dharma, and then dies. This Buddha is an ordinary human being in every respect, except that he or she is awakened to the true nature of life.

The second Buddha body is the sambhogakaya, or "reward-body." This is the idealized aspect of the Buddha. This body is adorned with all kinds of special marks and characteristics symbolizing a buddha's transcendent nature. This is the Buddha of limitless life and light, who resides in a pure land far removed from all suffering. The enjoyment-body also expresses the inner life of the historical Buddha and is the Buddha's enjoyment of the Wonderful Dharma. Therefore it is also called the “enjoyment-body.”

The third Buddha body is the Dharmakaya, or "Dharma-body." This is the Buddha as universal truth, a personification of the true nature of reality itself. The Dharma-body is synonymous with other Buddhist terms such as emptiness, suchness, buddha-nature, or dependent origination. The Dharma-body expresses the Wonderful Dharma which is enjoyed by the reward-body and manifested physically by the accommodative-body.

In the Lotus Sutra, the unity of the three bodies in the person of Shakyamuni Buddha is a key teaching. The reason this unity is so important is that none of the three aspects of Buddhahood makes any sense without the others. They are all aspects of one buddha, of one reality. By focusing on only one aspect, we lose sight of the living reality of Buddhahood and are left with mere abstractions. For example, the Dharma-body by itself cannot be perceived through concepts or images, but only through a spiritual intuition of its universal nature. The reward-body is the embodiment of that intuition in an ideal spiritual form that can impart this awakening to others. But this awakening remains hidden from us until it is expressed in this world by the accommodative-body in the form of the historical Buddha.

In Shakyamuni Buddha we can see the unity of the universal, the ideal, and the historical in an otherwise ordinary person who is no different than any of us, except for his awakening. By affirming the unity of the three bodies in Shakyamuni Buddha, we are affirming our own ability to awaken to the ultimate truth and to base our lives upon it. The Buddha is not some god-like entity. The inner life of Shakyamuni Buddha is within ourselves. The actual qualities and accomplishments of Shakyamuni Buddha flow naturally from his realization of the ultimate truth. They serve as an inspiration and a guide to what we are capable of doing when we take faith in the Buddha Dharma.

In "Conversation Between a Sage and an Unenlightened Man," Nichiren Shonin states:

Myoho Renge Kyo is the buddha-nature of all sentient beings. The buddha-nature is the Dharma-nature. The Dharma-nature is awakening. I call the buddha-nature of all sentient beings Myoho Renge Kyo. This includes Shakyamuni Buddha, Many Treasures Tathagata, the buddhas of the ten directions, Superior Practice, Limitless Practice, and so on; Universal Sage, Manjushri, Shariputra, Maudgalyayana, and so on; Maha Brahma Devaraja, Shakra Devanam Indra, the Sun and Moon, Venus, the Big Dipper, the twenty-eight constellations, the innumerable other stars, heavenly beings, earthly beings, dragon deities, the eight kinds [of non-humans], and all the human and heavenly beings of the great assembly, the Great King Yama; [and all those] above in the clouds of neither thought nor non-thought and beneath in the flames of hell. Through one universal chanting of the title [of the Lotus Sutra], the buddha-natures of all sentient beings are called and gather around and our buddha-nature appears by manifesting the three bodies of the Dharma-body, reward-body, and accommodative-body of our own body’s Dharma-nature. We call this becoming a buddha. For instance, when the caged bird sings, the birds of the sky simultaneously gather around. Seeing this, the caged bird will try to get free of the cage. (Shogu Mondu Sho, ST, p. 386. Listed in the Rokuge.)

Buddha-nature

Buddha-nature is term that appears prominently in the Nirvana Sutra and other influential Mahayana sutras and treatises that have contributed to the widespread conviction within Mahayana Buddhism that all sentient beings have the inborn nature of a buddha or potential to attain buddhahood. Another term for buddha-nature is “tathagatagarbha.” The tathagatagarbha is buddhahood in the state of potential realization. It is what the Dharma-body or reality-body of the Buddha is called when still obscured by defilements. Defilements cause us to experience life as the passing play of conditioned phenomena but when we are free of their influence we awaken to the true reality of all things. The true reality of all things is the unconditioned and therefore buddha-nature has the four virtues of eternity, bliss, self, and purity.

There are many controversies related to the notion of buddha-nature and many ambiguities as to its exact meaning. Some have argued that while all beings have buddha-nature this does not mean they will all come to realize its potential. Some have argued that it only applies to sentient beings, while others, such as the Tiantai patriarch Zhanran, have argued for the attainment of buddhahood by plants, because even insentient phenomena, like grass, trees, and rocks, have and express the buddha-nature. Zhanran also taught that it is the power of the buddha-nature in our minds that awakens us, therefore this wonderful power of the buddha-nature is our teacher and protector. (Writings of Nichiren Shonin Volume One, p. 60)

The term “buddha-nature” that does not appear in the Lotus Sutra, nor did Nichiren Shonin say much about it, preferring to emphasize other Tiantai school teachings such as the mutual possession of the ten realms. However, Zhiyi and Nichiren Shonin both regarded the Nirvana Sutra as a restatement of the Lotus Sutra. Therefore, the teachings regarding buddha-nature appearing in that sutra are used to explain the teaching of the Lotus Sutra. While Nichiren Shonin did not emphasize the concept of buddha-nature, he did expound the threefold buddha-nature taught by Zhiyi. Nichiren Shonin insisted that the Lotus Sutra alone teaches that all sentient beings are endowed with the threefold buddha-nature. (Writings of Nichiren Shonin Volume Two, pp. 16-17, 246) Three kinds of buddha-nature indicate that all sentient beings are endowed with 1) the buddha-nature of the direct cause, the inborn nature to attain buddhahood, 2) the buddha-nature of the completing cause, the wisdom to realize the inborn buddha-nature, and 3) the buddha-nature of the conditional causes, the meritorious deeds which make wisdom grow.