DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.45392#0298
PART IV : THE MAHAYANA
I. BEGINNINGS OF THE MAHA YANA
FIRST Buddhist council was summoned in the
reign of Asoka—about 240 b.c.—with a view to
the settlement of sectarian disputes. It is clear
that heresies had already arisen, for certain of Asoka’s
edicts are concerned with the unfrocking of schismatics;
and, indeed, we know that heresies were promulgated
even during the life of the Buddha himself. In course of
time we find that a large number of sects developed, all
equally claiming to be followers of the true doctrine, just
as has been the case with Christianity and every other
great faith. The Buddhist sects are divided into two
main groups: those of the Hlnayana (‘ The Little Raft ’)
and the Mahayana (‘The Great Raft’). The former,
whose scriptures are preserved in Pali, claim to represent
the pure original teaching of Gautama, and do in the
main preserve its rationalistic, monastic and puritanical
features to a marked extent: the latter, whose scriptures
are in Sanskrit, interpret the doctrine in another way,
with a development that is mystical, theological and
devotional. The Hlnayana has maintained its supremacy
mainly in the South, particularly in Ceylon and Burma;
the Mahayana mainly in the North, in Nepal and China.
But it is misleading to speak of the two schools as
definitely Northern and Southern.
Let us recall that according to the orthodox Hlnayana,
Gautama was originally a man like other men, and
differed from others only in his intuitive penetration of
the secret of life and sorrow, in his perception of things
as they really are, as an eternal Becoming; with that
knowledge he attained Nibbana, and for him the causes
222
I. BEGINNINGS OF THE MAHA YANA
FIRST Buddhist council was summoned in the
reign of Asoka—about 240 b.c.—with a view to
the settlement of sectarian disputes. It is clear
that heresies had already arisen, for certain of Asoka’s
edicts are concerned with the unfrocking of schismatics;
and, indeed, we know that heresies were promulgated
even during the life of the Buddha himself. In course of
time we find that a large number of sects developed, all
equally claiming to be followers of the true doctrine, just
as has been the case with Christianity and every other
great faith. The Buddhist sects are divided into two
main groups: those of the Hlnayana (‘ The Little Raft ’)
and the Mahayana (‘The Great Raft’). The former,
whose scriptures are preserved in Pali, claim to represent
the pure original teaching of Gautama, and do in the
main preserve its rationalistic, monastic and puritanical
features to a marked extent: the latter, whose scriptures
are in Sanskrit, interpret the doctrine in another way,
with a development that is mystical, theological and
devotional. The Hlnayana has maintained its supremacy
mainly in the South, particularly in Ceylon and Burma;
the Mahayana mainly in the North, in Nepal and China.
But it is misleading to speak of the two schools as
definitely Northern and Southern.
Let us recall that according to the orthodox Hlnayana,
Gautama was originally a man like other men, and
differed from others only in his intuitive penetration of
the secret of life and sorrow, in his perception of things
as they really are, as an eternal Becoming; with that
knowledge he attained Nibbana, and for him the causes
222