Mahayana Buddhism: sutras

Most Buddhists from China, Japan, Tibet and Korea would refer to themselves as Mahayana Buddhists. Mahayana means 'the Greater Vehicle'. Mahayana Buddhism is a collection of Buddhist traditions, such as Zen, Pure Land and Tibetan Buddhism

The Mahayana umbrella

• Mahayana is a useful label to describe a variety of Buddhist traditions, which have in common their acceptance of one or more sutras not found in the canon of the Theravadins
• Mahayana Buddhists also share new, but differing, ideas about the goal of Buddhism, such as the Buddha(s) being called bodhisattvas and the analysis of the…