Is Indian Buddhism all gradualist or it was just Kamalashila? Reason I ask is, some Songs of the Mahasiddhas seem to be advocating for causeless enlightenment in Mahamudra tradition.
There were subitist trends in Indian Buddhism, but those were largely overshadowed by a gradualist consensus. The subitist trends flourished outside India in China and Japan in Chan/Zen and in Tibet as Dzogchen and later, Mahamudra.
Interesting. In India other sudden awakening tradition (like advaita etc) are pretty popular. I would have assumed sudden awekening in Buddhism would have been similarly popular.
Is Indian Buddhism all gradualist or it was just Kamalashila? Reason I ask is, some Songs of the Mahasiddhas seem to be advocating for causeless enlightenment in Mahamudra tradition.
There were subitist trends in Indian Buddhism, but those were largely overshadowed by a gradualist consensus. The subitist trends flourished outside India in China and Japan in Chan/Zen and in Tibet as Dzogchen and later, Mahamudra.
Interesting. In India other sudden awakening tradition (like advaita etc) are pretty popular. I would have assumed sudden awekening in Buddhism would have been similarly popular.
Thanks for the info Acharya.
I wouldn’t characterize classical advaita as subitist.
Certain trends of Mahamudra in India were subitist, but mainly Mahamudra was regarded as the result of the two stages of creation and completion.