106 research outputs found
Is Amitabha a Sambhogakaya?
Some scholars following the ancient Chinese masters believe that Amitābha is a sa bhogakāya.
However, after an analysis, Amitābha should be considered as a nirmāakāya, not as a sabhogakāya, on three grounds. First, as Śākyamuni did, Amitābha also made vows to liberate beings in his land, and he created a land and attained Buddhahood there. Śākyamuni is considered a nirmāakāya, so is Amitābha. Second, only the nirmāakāya, not the sabhogakāya, makes a display of parinirvā a, but Amitābha attains parinirvāa. Third, the sabhogakāya brings only bodhisattvas to maturity, but the nirmāakāya brings to maturity the śrāvakas as well as bodhisattvas in their initial stage.published_or_final_versio
The Problem of the Buddha’s Short Lifespan
The Buddha's lifespan is discussed in many Mahāyāna sūtras and śāstras. An analysis of these texts shows that it became a problem when the Mahāyānists emphasized more and more the merit of the Buddha as a result of Bodhisattva practice. The authors of these texts tried to solve the problem by saying that the lifespan of the true Buddha in fact is infinite. The historical Buddha is only a manifestation for the sake
of sentient beings through skilful means. These discussions finally contributed to the formulation of the sa bhogakāya, the reward body of the Buddha.published_or_final_versio
The Concept of the Buddha in Early Buddhism
Some scholars of Buddhist studies consider the Buddha as a mythological figure. This is especially true at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries. Later on, rational Buddhist scholars argue that the Buddha is a historical personage and the miraculous stories are actually later additions. In this paper, the author has reexamined the identity of the Buddha by using the earliest Buddhist scripture, namely the Pāli Nikāyas and the Chinese Āgamas. An analysis of the descriptions of the Buddha in these early scriptures reveals two aspects of the concept: a human identity and a superhuman character. These two identities may have co-existed from the inception of Buddhism.published_or_final_versio
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