Essay name: Theravada Buddhist studies in Japan
Author:
Keiko Soda
Affiliation: University of Calcutta / Department of Pali
This essay studies the acceptance of Buddhism in Japanese culture and nature, in light of the concept of 鈥淚mpermanence鈥�. The history of Japanese Buddhism traces its origins from its introduction through Korea, evolving significantly over various periods.
Chapter 3 - Theravada and Mahayana (comparison and contrast)
13 (of 34)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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s奴tras spread over Nepal and some manuscripts and some
fragments are found in Kashmir, Central Asia and
Afghanistan.
Generally, the history of the Mah膩y膩na s奴tras is
divided into three periods. The first one is from the
beginning of the Christian era to the time of N膩g膩rjuna;
the second one is from Nagarjuna to the time of Asanga
and Vasubandhu, and the third one was after Vasubandhu.
The Kushan period in northern India and S膩tav膩hana in
South India cover the first period. During this period
many sutras were produced. The second period falls in
the Gupta period and many sutras were composed. The
third period was after Vasubandhu and very few s奴tras,
except the Secret Teachings of Mantray膩na were written.
B. THE EARLIEST MAH膧Y膧NA S弄TRAS
Concerning about the history of the development
of Mah膩y膩na s奴tras, many scholars have given their
opinions. Here a general statement will be considered
with the help of Shoki-Daij艒-ky艒ten-no-Seiritsukatel
(The Process of the Early Mah膩y膩na Sutras, Ky艒to,
Hyyakaen, 1974) by Shizutani Masao. In this book, he
distinguished the earliest Mah膩y膩na s奴tras from the
earlier Mah膩y膩na s奴tras. The reason was that the
earliest sutras did not use the word Mah膩y膩na, did not
preach the thought of emptiness (S奴nya, s奴nyat膩), did
