God Seekers in Asia - The Wise World Traveler: Becoming a Part of All that You Meet - page 226

MAHAYANA
Another story of the Buddha's last days inspires the majority of Buddhists: the Mahayana
(riders on the “greater vehicle”). In that story, disciples who press him for further know-
ledge watch as the Enlightened One pulls a branch from a tree. Thus speaks the Buddha:
“Just as this tree has many branches, and just as this branch has many leaves, so it is that
this leaf has many veins.” With this inspiration, those who will call themselves Mahayana
use this parable to comfort themselves on their journeys through the cycle of existence.
Comfort and help come from two sources. One is the belief that the Buddha was more than
a man. He was a divine being come to earth in the form of a man “because he loved hu-
mankind” and wished to assist in the journey to salvation. [190]
The second fountain of comfort is the Bodhisattva, an enlightened being who inter-
rupts his or her own salvation to assist others in reaching their salvation. For many Ma-
hayana, Buddha and Bodhisattva may be prayed to, sometimes for intercession in the diffi-
culties of daily living and other times for guidance on the path to salvation and to remove
whatever pitfalls may lie on the path. In many temples, a statue of the Buddha is surroun-
ded by dozens of Bodhisattva, usually standing in stiff attendance.
BUDDHISM EXPANDS
Sometime around 250 BCE, the most powerful ruler in India, the Emperor Ashoka, under-
went spiritual transformation. He became a fervent Buddhist, sending missionaries across
Southeast Asia. He mediated between Theravada and Mahayana, especially with respect to
what Westerners would call ontological disputes, with the Theravada insisting that “only
present events were real,” while Mahayana insisted that “past, present, and future events
are all equally real.” [191]
For today's wise traveler, one visible remnant of Ashoka's missionaries is their travel
northward into territory subdued by Alexander the Great, who crossed into India around
326 BCE. There, Hellenic civilization took root. And statues of the Buddha were carved
and molded in the Gandahara style: naturalistic stance, flowing drapery, and realistic facial
expression.
Missionaries carried Buddhism into Sri Lanka, China, Korea, Tibet, and Japan. And
two of Buddhism's strands wove themselves tightly into Japanese culture.
Amitabha, also called Amida, is a Bodhisattva who uses his powers to save men
and women by his grace. He brings them at death to Paradise, seen as the Pure Land of
the West. A branch of Mahayana, Amida are permitted to eat meat, marry, and live like
laypeople. Communicants gather in meeting halls and seek entry into Paradise by calling
out to Amida, intoning his name numerous times day and night.
In contrast to Amida Buddhism, Zen is a contemplative, introspective religion. For its
adherents, one cannot look to other persons or institutions for salvation, nor can reason