Mahāyāna Buddhism: Reasons for Diversity in the Buddha’s Teachings

Abstract

        Buddhism in the period of Śākyamuni Buddha, had a core idea of achieving Dharma for liberation from saṃsāra, which is “Eliminating craving as means to attain Dharma requires self-training.” On the other hand, Mahāyāna Buddhism,  especially Early Mahāyāna Buddhism, took an idea in opposition that, “The key to achieving Dharma is not by one’s own abilities but by external powers.” It is interesting how Mahāyāna Buddhism has a strikingly different concept of liberation to the teachings of Śākyamuni Buddha.
        When we look back at historical events before the emergence of Mahāyāna Buddhism, one factor that can be claimed to be essential for giving rise to Mahāyāna Buddhism is the “diversity” of Buddhism in the King Aśoka’s period. Diversity affords opportunities for changes in thinking and practice. Many different teachings were able to be created without denying each other, and they were also able to coexist under the same umbrella term “Buddhism” since we can see that various Buddhist schools flourished during the reign of King Aśoka.