Mahayana, (Sanskrit: “Greater Vehicle”) movement that arose within Indian Buddhism around the beginning of the Common Era and became by the 9th century th… See more

The origins of Mahayana Buddhism remain obscure; the date and location of the tradition’s … See more

Central to Mahayana ideology is the idea of the bodhisattva, one who seeks to become a Buddha. In contrast to the dominant thinking in non-Mahayana Buddhism, which limits the d… See more

Buddhism, like most Indian systems of thought, sees the world as a realm of transmigration, or reincarnation (samsara), from which one may escape by attaining nirvana. In … See more