[Buddha-l] Anomalous doctrines

[Richard P. Hayes]

On Thu, 2005-03-24 at 01:55 +0000, Stephen Hodge wrote:

> This is interesting because it contradicts the standard theory that
> Mahayana originated as a lay movement. 

For whom is this theory standard? Most of what I have read on the
subject suggests that Mahayana (insofar as there ever was such a thing
in reality) was a sort of supererogatory practice for monks. The
bodhisattva, it has always seemed to me, was a kind of supermonk, or, as
we might say in this country, a monastic with attitude. This is the
impression one gets from the Prajñā‐pāramitā literature.

-- 
Richard Hayes
Department of Philosophy
University of New Mexico