Buddhism exam 2

Hinayana

a.) “small vehicle” or “lesser vehicle”

b.) an insult used by mahayana schools towards Theravada practices or non-mahayana schools, describing them as small or lesser. The conflict arises due to the fact that mahyana has had to justify itself as a legitimate school of buddhism.

arhat

a.) attains awakening in one lifetime, awakens for his/herself, does not continue on to teach.

b.) the concept of an arhat displays how mahayana raises the level and expands the goals established by traditional buddhism. compared to being a buddha, an arhat is not as respectable/admirable. Being a buddha for others is the greatest honor.

jataka takes

a.) stories of the Buddha, throughout his many different reincarnation before even becoming the buddha.

b.) these stories display how achieving buddhahood takes eons and eons, and how being a buddha for the sake of others is the greatest honor

bodhisattva

a.) a buddha to-be, buddha in the making

b.) figure this out

boddhisattva vow

a.) a vow to become a Buddha at some point

bodhisaattva path

a.) the establishment of the existence of many buddhas

b.) mahayana, meaning “large vehicle” expanded on almost every facet of traditional buddhism, including the concept of multiple buddhas. the establishment of many buddhas stretch the goals of practicing mahayana buddhism, now encouraging students to start on the boddhisattva path for the sake of becoming a buddha and teaching others rather than just achieving nirvana for his/herselves.

bodhichitta

a.) a mind set on awakening

b.) means by which one becomes a buddha, it takes multiple lifetimes and extreme dedication for everything to carry over between lives. a true altruistic intention to awake for the sake of others. expanding the goal of traditional buddhism

upaya

a.) teaching according to the needs of the students

b.) ways in which the buddha taught according to mahayana. the buddha needed to introduce mahayana when the students were ready, so he did it using expedient means to prepare them. saving them from some suffering before introducing the bigger, better vehicle. mahayana schools used this to portray mahayana as something the buddha had always intended.

parable of the prodigal son

a.) a parable within the lotus sutra. a father and son are separated; the father is a very wealthy king and the son is poor. the father is upset he cannot share his wealth but one day realizes his son is the poor man looking at his castle. he cannot tell his son right away that he is the heir to all this wealth, so using expidient means he keeps him around and promises a job of cleaning feces. he kept his son around for years, while simultaneously testing his good nature. once the king was sick, the son finally learned the truth and yada yada yada

b.) a parable used to authenticate the existence of mahayana buddhism. the king represents buddha and the son represents everyone else. the buddha knew that these riches (mahayana buddhism) would be hard to accept, so using expedient means, he eased his disciples into this knowledge without directly telling them right off the bat. this story has significance because of mahayanas long standing goal of justoifying its existence as a real form of buddhism, specifically a form of buddhism that the buddha intended to teach all along.

parable of the burning house

a.) a parable within the lotus sutra. a father lives with many sons in a large house, the house sets ablaze, and the father uses promises of toys to get the kids out. once the kids are out of the house the father reveals that the toys are far more grand (oxcarts and stuff) than initially advertised.

b.) a parable used to authenticate the existence of mahayana buddhism. the father is meant to represent the buddha, and the sons as everyone else. the buddha could not introduce mahayana buddhism until he saved everyone from some suffering. he had always intended to share mahayana with everyone, but using expedient means, he realized he had to save everyone first before he did it.

six perfections

a.) the six skills of a bodhisattva; giving, morality, patience, endurance, meditation, wisdom

b.)

three bodies

a.) the buddha has three forms of existence: -transformation/historical -karmic bliss -dharma

b.)

maitreya/tushita heaven

a.) Buddha of the distant future in Tushita (divine heaven of the gods), will re establish Buddhism when it can’t be accessed anymore

b.)

guanyin

a.) a buddha of compassion, He Who Observes the Sounds of the World. known to save those who call out to them.

b.) one of many buddhas introduced in mahayana buddhism. this intoduction of guanyin is a clear example of how large-scale mahayana is compared to traditional buddhism, every facet is made larger. there is no longer a single buddha, but now multiple.represents eternal and universil compassion, important buddha characteristics.

narratives of guanyin miracles

a.) literature detailing how guanyin appears to those who call out to them as a savior.

b.) indisciminately compassionate

emptiness

a.) the highest form of knowledge; being is empty and knowledge is empty. everything is made from something else, language is empty. summarized in the heart sutra.

b.) this idea was revolutionary in buddhism because it was so unlike anything else that had been taught so far. emptiness holds a lot of signiicance in both mahayana buddhism and zen, as this marks the moment that zen buddhism ideologies may have begun to branch off into their own schools of thought. emptiness and the heart sutra had many schools left confused and unsure with how to hold that knowledge.

heart sutra

a.) the sutra introducing the idea of emptiness + the perfection of wisdom.

b.) a divisive piece of mahayana literature, that spoke of the concept of emptiness. as this marks the moment that zen buddhism ideologies may have begun to branch off into their own schools of thought. emptiness and the heart sutra had many schools left confused and unsure with how to hold that knowledge.

buddha nature

a.) the idea that awakening is inherent to all beings.

b.) mahayana expanded the goal post of mahayana buddhism by introducing the idea of buddha nature. the buddha nature is inherent to all beings, and if they commit to the bodhisattva vow, they have it inside themselvs. this concept is important specifically to the zen facet of buddhism, as the use of koan-gestures were seen as ways to break down the mind and achieve awakening. zen buddhism specifically had a large emphasis on buddha nature and the idea that all beings could truly be buddhas.

boddhidharma

a.) indian monk that brought zen/chan to china

b.) boddhidharma represents the long effort that the school of zen buddhism has made to legitimize itself as an actual form of buddhism. boddhidharma is thought to be a disciple from a long line of masters, the furthest one being present during the flower sermon that is also used to legitimize zen buddhism.

platform scipture of the sixth patriarch

a.) scipture containing the story of how huineng, a monk from the south, was able to become the sixth patriarch despite being illitirate (and the south being looked down upon). shenxiu was thought to be the sixth patriarch after hongren. after a poety duel, it was decided that huineng would actually be the sixth patriarch and was sent away to establish the southern school.

b.) this story establishes the validity of the southern school and explains why the northern school dissipated. this story explains where the sixth patriarch actually comes from. this story also emphasizes a major point in zen buddhism, koan gestures or the concept of sudden enlightenment/existence of buddha nature.

hongren

shenxiu

huineng

sudden awakening

a.) the instantaneous realization of reality/the ultimate truth.

b.) heavily interlinked with the idea of buddha nature. zen buddhism focuses heavily on concept of a sudden awakening. this is a revolutionary idea, as it rejects all reason or intellectual thought- and there is no slow awakening.

flower sermon

a.) a sermon given by the buddha where when asked what the essence of the dharma is, he simply replied by raising a flower. one disciple in the room understood and smiled.

b.) the justification that zen buddhism what the buddha had intended to teach all along. the existence of this sermon is not historically consistent, but it likely stemmed from the fact that zen buddhism was heavily questioned whether or not it was what the buddha intended. this sermon is a response to that questioning. the myth of the org=in of the chan tradition itself, establishing its authority, the original koan!

patriarchs

a.) founding ancestor of zen.

b.) the system of patriarchs represents the transmission of teachings in zen buddhism. this is unlike other forms of buddhism because there is a clear lineage between the first, second, third, etc. patriarchs

master linji

a.) master linji was one of the most famous chinese masters of zen buddhism.

b.) the record of master linji has an important concentration on koan-gestures and sudden awakenings. linji was suddenly awoken when he stopped asking questions and allowed for his mind to undertand buddhism.

master huangpo

a.) linji’s master, huang po teaches the same idea of sudden enlightenment as hui-neng.

koans-gestures

a.) something that will dismantle your sense of reality- a nonsensicle question to awaken your mind. these are meant to interrupt habitual thought patterns and spark self-inquity and awakening.

b.) intrinsicly tied to sudden awakening. zen buddhism makes a major leap away from traditional buddhism in the way that awakening is not meant to be a slow and trained process to attain in zen buddhism. it is sudden and meant to dismantle how you think.