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)
33 (of 34)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
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The Saddharma-Pundarika points out difference
between Hinayana and Mahayana as regards the comprehen-
sion of Truths. According to the Hinay膩nists, a being,
comprehending the Aryasatvas and the Prat墨tyas amutpada,
attains Nirv膩na, i.e. passes from samsara to nirv膩峁嘺,
from a laukika to lokottara state. But according to
the Mah膩y膩nists, a being, by comprehending the fact
that there is no difference between samsara and
nirv膩峁嘺, that the world has only a relative existence
(prat墨tyas amutpanna) and that it is unreal but appears
real to a deluded mind, realises the true Nirvana,
which is nothing but the Sunyat膩 or Tathat膩.
Accord-
ing to the Mah膩y膩nists, the Aryasatyas and the
Pratity as amutp膩da are unreal, but these are also
necessary for the deluded beings to comprehend the
Pudgala艣奴nyat膩 through them. "In consonance with
their conception of the Reality, the Mah膩yanists held
that Buddha had two forms of teaching, conventional
(= sa峁僾rti) and transcendental (= paramartha), and
that whatever he said about the Aryasatyas or
Prat墨tyasamutp膩da were conventional, his real teaching
being Sunyat膩 or Tathat膩, which could not be imparted
by one to another and could be realised only within
one's own self."
