Ultimate Reality of Mahayana Buddhism - Research Paper Example

"Emptiness" the Ultimate reality of Mahayana Buddhism Introduction Mahayana is one of the major branches of Buddhism which classifies the Buddhist practice and philosophies. Its origin can be traced in India where the practices were initially developed and later spread to other Asian countries such as Japan, Vietnam, Korea, Tibet among others. Mahayana is one of the two most common traditions of the Buddhism which exists today. Mahayan spread from India to other parts through the interactions among the people. Emptiness is one of the major concepts in the Mahayana Buddhism philosophy and ontology. In the Buddhism philosophy, it is argued that form is emptiness; and emptiness is form (Raison 5). This is one of the major philosophies in Buddhism. This expression was developed from Prajna Paramita Hridaya Sutra. Emptiness can also be viewed as that quality which is attached to the physical, doctrinal or mental concept. According to the teachings of the doctrine of emptiness, there is no substantial ultimate reality that exists in the world (Valea 10). In other words, the world should be seen as a network of various phenomena which does not have any base. There are very many different entities which are very diverse and interdependent. Each entity depends on each other in one way or another. Mahayana held different positions on the people. According to the traditional views, Mahayana was viewed as the originator of the four noble truths and also as the first person to reach nirvana or freedom. It is believed that the ability to reach these truths was the major factor which helped Mahayana to reach nirvana. Otherwise, without truth, it would be difficult to get nirvana. Mahayana is also viewed as the only one among the Buddhas who significantly assists the human beings to reach liberation. In Buddhism, there is a common teaching known as Shuunyataa. Shuunyataa was closely related with the works of Nagarjuna. This word implies emptiness or being void or even being open (Randrup and Bagchi 15). In other words, Shuunyataa is the situation of having no concepts. It can also be used to imply lack of borders or being infinite. This concept is of great significance for generation of knowledge. Patterns of the Ultimate reality in Buddhism Buddhism is one of the dominant religions in the Eastern religion which extends to most parts of India. The founder of Buddhism was Siddhartha who lived in the Sixth century BC (Valea 6). In the contemporary world, there are two branches of Buddhism. There is the conservative branch on one hand and the liberal branch on the other. The conservative branch is represented by the Thevada School which spreads in South east of Asia and Sri-Lanka. On the other hand, the liberal branch involves Mahayana which spread in China, Korea, Tibet and Japan. The emergence of the Mahayana Buddhism took place between the first century BC and the first century AD. After the death of their masters, the Mahayana sutras were just revealed long time after. This is because they were not understood by the majority of the people. Their teachings were too complex to the people and therefore attracted little attention. However, people began to understand their teachings with time which cultivated their interests on the teachings. On realizing the benefits of the teachings, more people became interested and the teachings were received by a greater number of people. According to Theravada school, in Ultimate Reality, none of the personal god, material or spiritual substance exists by itself (Valea 8). This school further argues that the world’s origin is not as Brahman rather or primordial being. According to this school, things which are manifested are the transitory factors of existence. These factors are not independent, they depend on each other. Therefore, when one factor experiences some problems, the entire system is affected. Buddha commented that, “The world exists because of causal actions, all things are produced by causal actions and all beings are governed and bound by causal actions. They are fixed like the rolling wheel of a cart, fixed by the pin of its axle shaft.” (Valea 9). In other words, causal actions are significant for the continued coexistence in the world. Causal actions are also responsible for the continued existence of human beings in the world. Human beings are connected through the causal actions. Causal actions bring human beings together. Otherwise, there can’t be any bond among them. According to Theravada school, gods are temporary beings who have attained the heaven through similar ways just like any other common human disciple. It is also observed that gods are neither worshiped neither do they present the basis of morality. Furthermore, it is denied that gods give happiness. In other words, the school opposed the idea that gods gave happiness to the people who worshipped them. They were just worshipped for the sake of spiritual satisfaction. This is contrary to what many people had thought about the god’s impact on the people’s morality. It was proposed that the Ultimate Reality is the truth which defines the world rather than the truth which is defined by the world and this truth provides direction to the human beings and the universe in general (Valea 9). In Buddhism, emptiness is described as Shuunyataa. This implies the form of being void or having nothing. However, Shuunyataa is not only viewed in this one direction. It is also viewed as fullness. In other words, Shuunyataa is seen to embrace both fullness and emptiness. When viewed in terms of fullness, Shuunyataa its freedom from concepts and particulars. Randrup and Bagchi commented that, “Its fullness is wondrous Being and also what is, free from concepts and particulars., the totality of things as they really are, and the potentiality to give rise to all phenomena as subject and object arise interdependently.” (15). By embracing on ideas of emptiness and fullness at the same time, Shuunyataa present a dilemma situation to the western philosophers. The western logic proposed that it should be either one of the two. According to the western logic, something can either be one side or the other. By representing both the negative and the positive sides, Shuunyataa opposes the western logic. In mathematics, Shuunya implies zero or nothing. In astronomy, Shuunya can be viewed as the infinite space in which anything can come into beings, entities as well as the interconnection among the various things. Mysticism Mysticism is the basic concept in the religion. According to Nelson, Mystical insights can only be attained through divine means but can never be realized through a logic and reason (Nelson 2). In other words, reason and logic are excluded from the process. Buddhism recognizes two types of the knowledge. The first category is known as vidyas or lower knowledge. This type of knowledge can only be attained through intellect. The second type of knowledge is known as higher knowledge. This is the type of knowledge that is acquired through intuition. According to the Mahayana Buddhists, this is a unique ability to foresee and to be penetrative in the nature of existence (Nelson 4). Nelson continued to argue that Mysticism is anti-reason, when applied by Christians, Buddhists or any other category (10). It is also important to note that mystics can lead to different truths. In some cases, contradictions rise from different mystics. Over the past, mystic leading to different truths has led to various problems arising from conflicts from the opposing sides. These conflicts have been attributed to mystics that lead to diverse views. Buddhism recognizes the importance of sensory validation in attaining the knowledge. In other words, one must have the ability to see the world around them to be able to understand it. Seeing the nature of the world around facilitates the process of making sense out of the world. However, the importance of intuition is recognized in enabling people to see. What we know can significantly help us in making sense of what we see (Nelson 16). Otherwise, one may be able to see around the world but be unable to make sense from it. Yogacara Yogacara can be viewed as the language of meditation (Huntington and Wangchen 60). This is one of the oldest names which were used to define this school and represented one of the most comprehensive definitions. Other terms which were used to define similar processes were the doctrine of consciousness, mind alone, and representation alone. Yogacara school of thought is related with the works of Asanga and Vasubandhu in the fourth century C.E. Maitreya, who was Asanga’s teacher also made significant contribution to this school of thought. Asanga has been widely known for succeeding in converting his brother to Yogacara and Mahayana (King 6). Later, Asanga with his brother and Maitreya were considered as the father founders of the Yoga school of thought. Yogacara teachings proposed that external objects are not real and that which is considered as objects is a mare construction of the mind (King 7). In other words, Yogacara teachings propose that the grouping objects is empty. However, it propose the idea that mind it self is real and that it is the only reality which exists (King 7). The presence of a large number of Buddhas in Mahayana Buddhism facilitated the development of a devotional trend which was integrated with the doctrine of emptiness. This resulted in the formation of three branches which were referred to as Trikaya, which means three. These branches were formed by the famous Yogachara School. This school proposes three levels of understanding. The first level of understanding was known as Dharmakaya. This is one of the most important components of the Buddha. According to Valea, this body represented the emptiness itself (par 13). It can also be seen as the ultimate truth through which the earth is governed. The other levels represent the compassion for the beings controlled by the illusion (Valea, par 14). According to this school, these two bodies arise as a result of ignorance. The manifestation of these two bodies facilitates the growth of wisdom hence their enlightenment. The third body of Buddha was known as Nirmanakaya. This is an image which manifested in the world for the good of those who don’t have knowledge and hence too weak to attain the Pure Land. Yogacara and Madhyamika teachings differ to some extent. While Madhyamika disregards the metaphysical views, Yogacara embraces them. This is the main area where the two differ. Madhyamika As already noted, Yogacara and Madhyamika school of thought have been found to differ significantly. The two opposes each other. This is based on their teachings which differed from each other. King observed that Madhyamika is characterized by the relentless dialectic of Nagarjuna which destroys metaphysical views (6). According to Madhyamika, all entities are empty of own-being due to the dependence and mutual relativity of things in the world (King 7). This means that things in the world are characterized by a high level of dependence. There is nothing which can be considered independent because they don’t have the ability to own their own being. Therefore, all entities rely on others for their continued existence. In other words, they are what they are because of other things but not because of themselves. Consequently, different entities do not have any characteristics or identity which can be considered as unique, but rather dependent on other entities. Therefore, from the above premises, it can be concluded that all entities are empty of their own being (King 7). This teaching is very similar to the early teachings of the Buddhist which emphasized on the interdependence of the different entities on the earth. It emphasized on interdependence among different beings in the world. According to Nagarjuna, emptiness cannot be regarded as truth; it should rather be regarded as a salvation tool (King 7). On his analysis on Madhyamika, Nagarjuma commented that emptiness is empty on itself (King 7). However, the teaching of emptiness promotes liberation and is related to other teachings which emphasizes on the depenfdency nature of all things in the world. “Emptiness” the consciousness and experience of the Nirvana Nirvana refers to the situation of being free or having freedom. It can also be seen as the condition of the mind where the mind is not oppressed by anger, craving or any other thing. It is also seen as an aspect of seeing the empty nature of the phenomena. That is, the emptiness of things in the world where nothing possesses a significant identity. The identification of the emptiness in the things on the world is of great significance in developing and generating knowledge as well as peace. Soccio describes nirvana as the state of bliss since there is only “pure consciousness” without aspects of separateness, intellectualization or individuality (43). If a person does not have the ultimate truth nor experience emptiness, he or she can rarely attain nirvana or freedom (Bracken 100). In other words, it is important to have an ultimate truth in order to reach the freedom. Having the truth acts as a bridge through which an individual reaches the freedom. Otherwise it will be impossible to get nirvana. Through the Madhyamika perspective, nirvana can be seen as the emptiness. In other words, it is a temporally cease of the mind from its creations or activity. Nirvana can be viewed as ineffable ultimate where somebody has gained disinterested compassion and wisdom. In Mahayana, Nirvana can be viewed as the emphasizing of the bounded nature of the world, soul and the body. In other words, nirvana can be seen as that compatibility or coexistence of the soul, world and the mind. The three are related to each other and therefore they co-exist. Manifestation of the Infinite in and Through the Finite In his speech, Schleiermacher commented that quantity of knowledge is not the quantity of piety and that piety can be displayed as original on the people to whom it may not be original (Schleiermacher and Oman 35). According to these teaching, a pious person need to be wise and even when looked down upon, he never attempt to oppose as far as he knows that his view about his knowledge is very different from what he is accused of. Schleiermacher continued to argue that if pious persons were to base God as the base of their science, then they can give praise and honor (Schleiermacher and Oman 35). However, this won’t be their way of knowing or having God. Schleiermacher commented that, “But this contemplation is not turned, as your knowledge of nature is, to the existence of a finite thing, combined with and opposed to another finite thing.” (Schleiermacher and Oman 36). Through his statement, Schleiermacher emphasized on the importance of the man’s spiritual encounters above other ideas. The religious teachings emanates from man’s reflection on such teachings. According to these teachings, people who were genuine followers of the religion were not lonely supposed to get the truth through the doctrines, but also to experience this truth. In other words, Schleiermacher wanted to emphasize on the practical importance of getting the doctrines internalized by the recipients rather that just learning about them from the surface. In fact, there are some people who have the religion but do not conform to the sacred writing. Schleiermacher defines religion as critical observation of those who closely follows the religion on the religious issues. In other words, it is a contemplation of the people which represents the existence of the finite things through the infinite. For instance, a pious person realizes that he is a finite person but existing in a universe which is infinite. In other words, universe is too complex and difficult to integrate. However, a pious person is finite as he can understand and integrate himself easily. This is because he has a dialectical feeling in him that he is himself finite. In many occasion, Schleiermacher drew boundaries between religion on one side and science and morality on the other side. He inclined the religion more to contemplation and feeling Conclusion In conclusion, this discussion has clearly brought out the idea of emptiness in Mahayana Buddhism. The Mahayan Buddhism came into existence in the first century CE. Its development was a great achievement in Buddhism as it was viewed as the Greater Vehicle. In fact, it was viewed as a path which could then be used by different people from various places. As already noted, the different concepts involved in Mahayana was of great significance as it helped in explanation of certain things encountered in day to day interactions. It also helped in enlightenment. For instance, it helped in explaining some processes just in a more logical way. This significantly helped in the development of knowledge. Works Cited Bracken, Joseph. The Divine Matrix: Creativity as Link between East and West. U.S.A.: Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1997. Huntington, C. and Wangchen, Geshe. The Emptiness of Emptiness: An Introduction to Early Indian Mādhyamika. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 2007. King, Sallie. Buddha nature. New York: SUNY Press, 1991. Nelson, Jack. “Buddhism and Mysticism.” Purifymind, 15 Apr 2011. Raison. “Emptiness.” The Big View, 2011. 15 Apr 2011. Randrup, Axel. and Bagchi, Tista. “Emptiness is Fullness: Comparative Religion: Correspondences between Jewish Mysticism and Indian Religion-Philosophy.” Spiritandflesh, 15 Apr 2011. Schleiermacher, Friedrich and Oman, John. On religion: speeches to its cultured despisers. London: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994. Soccio, Douglas. Archetypes of Wisdom: An Introduction to Philosophy. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning, 2009. Valea, Ernest. “The Ultimate Reality in world religions.” Comparative religion, 2011. 15 Apr 2011. Read More