Question asked by Aditya
Dear Dharma masters,
What does mahayana mention about the pali suttas,do mahayana monasteries study them ? Shakyamuni is said to have originally transmitted teachings in Pali/magadhi languages,then at what point of time did buddhists shift to sanskrit ? Hinayanists seem to be rejecting all Mahayana texts as being unauthentic,why did this rivalry arise ?
My humble thanks.
Dear Aditya,
There is no rivalry between the two main vehicles of Buddhism. It is said in the Lamrim (Stages of the Path to Enlightenment) that all the scriptures of the Buddha are without contradiction. This means that all the teachings of the Bhagavan Buddha are harmonious. The Mahayana and the Theravada seem to contradict each other but they are all nothing but the main practice to take us to enlightenment or a branch of its attainment. The foundation studies are similar in both traditions. The Mahayana monasteries also include the study of the Tripitaka (vinaya, sutras and the abhidharma). People practise according to their level of spiritual development. The Lamrim, which contains the 84000 teachings of the Buddha, explains the three scopes of spiritual application: (1) small scope: application based on the wish to gain higher rebirth, (2) medium scope: personal liberation from samsara, and (3) great scope: liberation possessed of omniscience as a means to benefit all sentient beings. When a person is at the level of the small and medium scopes, the Theravada teachings are suitable. When this person has made some progress and is at the level of the great scope, he/she can receive the Mahayana teachings. And when he/she becomes a suitable vessel for the tantras, then the Vajrayana can be taught to him/her. Thus, a person can follow the teachings and progress from the small scope to the great scope. All these practices are harmonious for a person to follow in order to be enlightened.
The original Pali scriptures were rendered into Sanskrit by the Mahasanghikas who broke away during the Second Council. King Kanishka, a follower of the Mahayana in the 1st century AD convened the Mahayana Council and a Sanskritized version of the Dharma was finalised and many commentaries were written after that.
In general, Theravada Buddhists do not subscribe to the Mahayana belief that one must strive to attain Buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings. For them this belief has no ground because the Buddha never mentioned that he wanted to save all living beings. In addition, many of the Buddhas practised in the Mahayana school are not historical Buddhas and are therefore not given much attention by Theravada practitioners.
As practitioners, we must respect all traditions and remember that everyone practises at his/her own level. Whatever tradition we belong to, whether Theravada or Mahayana, as long as we do our practice well, we will achieve the goal.