The Tree of Enlightenment

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
e rigins of the ahayana radition
I t must be said at the outset that, given the vastness of the
Mahayana tradition, we cannot hope to do more than introduce
its major trends in the space of a few short chapters.
However, regardless of our personal inclinations toward or commitments
to any one of the Buddhist traditions, we must recognize
the fact that the Mahayana has contributed a great deal to
Buddhist thought and culture. It has produced a vast literature,
many works of art, and many different techniques for personal
development. Many countries throughout Asia have been influenced
by the Mahayana, and although it was neglected by modern
scholars in comparison to the eravada, there is now a tremendous
interest in Mahayana literature and philosophy and in
the path of the Bodhisattva. It is therefore appropriate that we
should devote eight chapters to looking at the origins and development
of the Mahayana tradition.
I have chosen to begin by considering the origins of the
Mahayana because I believe that if we do not understand and
appreciate the reasons why this tradition arose – its seeds, so to
speak, in the primeval soil of the Buddhist tradition – it will be
difficult for us to see the Mahayana from an objective perspective.
I would like to look first at the very earliest period in the
establishment of the Buddhist tradition, that is, at the life of the
Buddha Shakyamuni himself.
e Buddha Shakyamuni taught for forty-five years at many
places in north east central India. He is universally believed
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