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44-634: Western scholars used the term Hīnayāna to describe the early teachings of Buddhism, as the Mahāyāna teachings were generally given later. Modern Buddhist scholarship has deprecated the term as pejorative, and instead uses the term Nikaya Buddhism to refer to early Buddhist schools . Hinayana has also been inappropriately used as a synonym for Theravada , which is the main tradition of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia . In Sanskrit , "Hīnayāna" ( / ˌ h iː n ə ˈ j ɑː n ə / , हीनयान )

88-840: A certain set of ideals, and later doctrines, for bodhisattvas. Paul Williams has similarly noted that the Mahāyāna never had nor ever attempted to have a separate vinaya or ordination lineage from the Indian nikāyas, and therefore each bhikṣu or bhikṣuṇī adhering to the Mahāyāna formally belonged to one of these nikāyas. This continues today with the Dharmaguptaka nikāya in East Asia, and the Mūlasarvāstivāda nikāya in Tibetan Buddhism . Many commenters on Buddhism have used

132-539: A semantic field that includes "poor, miserable; vile, base, abject, contemptible", and "despicable". The term was translated by Kumārajīva and others into Classical Chinese as "small vehicle" (小 meaning "small", 乘 meaning "vehicle"), although earlier and more accurate translations of the term also exist. In Mongolian ( Baga Holgon ) the term for hinayana also means "small" or "lesser" vehicle or better called path, while in Tibetan there are at least two words to designate

176-399: A separate formal school of Buddhism but rather as a certain set of ideals, and later doctrines. Paul Williams has also noted that the Mahāyāna never had nor ever attempted to have a separate vinaya or ordination lineage from the early Buddhist schools, and therefore bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs adhering to the Mahāyāna formally adheres to the vinaya of an early school. This continues today with

220-413: A variety of interpretations as to whom or to what the term Hinayana referred. Kalu Rinpoche stated the "lesser" or "greater" designation "did not refer to economic or social status, but concerned the spiritual capacities of the practitioner". Rinpoche states: The Small Vehicle is based on becoming aware of the fact that all we experience in samsara is marked by suffering. Being aware of this engenders

264-541: Is a term literally meaning the "small/deficient vehicle" or "small path." Adherents of non-Mahayana traditions were said to be obliged to adhere to only the Five precepts . The word hīnayāna is formed of hīna : "little", "poor", "inferior", "abandoned", "deficient", "defective"; and yāna (यान): "vehicle", where "vehicle" or "path" what means "a way of going to enlightenment". The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary (1921–25) defines hīna in even stronger terms, with

308-553: Is also sometimes used for the same purpose. Other terms that have been used in similar senses include sectarian Buddhism or conservative Buddhism. Note that nikāya is also a term used in Theravāda Buddhism to refer to a subschool or subsect within Theravada. Like the term Hinayana Buddhism, the term Nikāya Buddhism focuses on the presumed commonality between the schools, and not on the actual schools themselves. This commonality

352-539: Is demonstrated in the definition of Hīnayāna given by Yijing is that the term referred to individuals based on doctrinal differences. Scholar Isabelle Onians asserts that although "the Mahāyāna ... very occasionally referred to earlier Buddhism as the Hinayāna, the Inferior Way, [...] the preponderance of this name in the secondary literature is far out of proportion to occurrences in the Indian texts." She notes that

396-562: Is thought to be found in a certain attitude. The term "Nikāya Buddhism" tries to shift the attention to the more neutral issue of attitude concerning the authenticity of scriptures. A concise analysis by the Tibetan Buddhist , Reginald Ray , summarises the mistaken and confusing use of the term "Hīnayāna" to refer to any contemporary extant schools: "Hīnayāna" refers to a critical but strictly limited set of views, practices, and results. The pre-Mahāyāna historical traditions such as

440-600: Is used in reference to certain views and practices that had become found within the Mahayana tradition itself. Theravada, as well as Mahayana schools stress the urgency of one's own awakening in order to end suffering. Some contemporary Theravadin figures have thus indicated a sympathetic stance toward the Mahayana philosophy found in the Heart Sutra and the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā . The Mahayanists were bothered by

484-570: The Kathavatthu . Some western scholars still regard the Theravada school to be one of the Hinayana schools referred to in Mahayana literature, or regard Hinayana as a synonym for Theravada. These scholars understand the term to refer to schools of Buddhism that did not accept the teachings of the Mahāyāna sūtras as authentic teachings of the Buddha. At the same time, scholars have objected to

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528-516: The Dharmaguptaka ordination lineage in East Asia and the Mūlasarvāstivāda ordination lineage in Tibetan Buddhism . Mahāyāna was never a separate sect of the early schools. From Chinese monks visiting India, we now know that both Mahāyāna and non-Mahāyāna monks in India often lived in the same monasteries side by side. The seventh-century Chinese Buddhist monk and pilgrim Yijing wrote about

572-842: The Mahāvihara and the Abhayagiri vihāra in Sri Lanka. He refers to the monks of the Mahāvihara as the "Hīnayāna Sthaviras" and the monks of Abhayagiri vihāra as the "Mahāyāna Sthaviras". Xuanzang further writes, "The Mahāvihāravāsins reject the Mahāyāna and practice the Hīnayāna, while the Abhayagirivihāravāsins study both Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna teachings and propagate the Tripiṭaka ." Mahayanists were primarily in philosophical dialectic with

616-451: The Vaibhāṣika school of Sarvāstivāda , which had by far the most "comprehensive edifice of doctrinal systematics" of the nikāya schools. With this in mind it is sometimes argued that the Theravada would not have been considered a "Hinayana" school by Mahayanists because, unlike the now-extinct Sarvastivada school, the primary object of Mahayana criticism, the Theravada school does not claim

660-479: The 7th century, Yijing writes that the Mūlasarvāstivāda were prominent throughout the kingdom of Śrīvijaya (modern day Sumatra, Indonesia ). Yijing stayed in Śrīvijaya for six to seven years, during which time he studied Sanskrit and translated Sanskrit texts into Chinese. Yijing states that the Mūlasarvāstivāda vinaya was almost universally adopted in this area. He writes that the subjects studied, as well as

704-648: The Bodhisattvayāna and the practice of the Six pāramitās are commonly found in Sarvāstivāda works as well. The Theravada sect from Sri Lanka generally accepts the three vehicles, but categorizes these as three different types of bodhi , or enlightenment. The Theravada nikaya only uses the Pāli Canon, which has three piṭakas, and does not contain separate literature for bodhisattvas. Walpola Rahula writes of this, "At

748-498: The Lesser Vehicle by the [Mahāyāna] is not supported by our texts." Williams states that while evidence of conflict is present in some cases, there is also substantial evidence demonstrating peaceful coexistence between the two traditions. Although the 18–20 early Buddhist schools are sometimes loosely classified as Hīnayāna in modern times, this is not necessarily accurate. There is no evidence that Mahāyāna ever referred to

792-995: The Mahāsāṃghikas, the bodhisattva ideal and buddhahood was advocated over the ideal of becoming an arhat. Avalokitavrata wrote of the Mahāsāṃghikas as using a "Great Āgama Piṭaka", which is then associated with Mahāyāna sūtras such as the Prajñāparamitā and the Ten Stages Sutra . In the Caitika group of nikāyas, the Pūrvaśailas and the Aparaśailas each were known to have the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra in Prakrit . Bhāvaviveka also wrote of

836-685: The Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya was a late Kaśmīr compilation made to complete the Sarvāstivādin Vinaya. Warder suggests that the Mūlasarvāstivādins were a later development of the Sarvāstivāda, whose main innovations were literary, the compilation of the large Vinaya and the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna Sūtra , which kept the early doctrines but brought the style up to date with contemporary literary developments. Enomoto pulls

880-499: The Mūlasarvāstivāda developed during the 2nd century AD and went into decline in India by the 7th century. The Mūlasarvāstivāda were prevalent at times throughout Central Asia due to missionary activities performed in the region. A number of scholars identify three distinct major phases of missionary activities seen in the history of Buddhism in Central Asia , which are associated with the following sects chronologically: In

924-462: The Mūlasarvāstivāda to the Sarvāstivāda school is a matter of dispute; modern scholars lean towards classifying them as independent. Yijing claimed that they derived their name from being an offshoot of Sarvāstivāda, but Buton Rinchen Drub stated that the name was a homage to Sarvāstivāda as the "root" ( mūla ) of all Buddhist schools. A number of theories have been posited by academics as to how

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968-687: The Siddhārthikas using a Vidyādhāra Piṭaka, and the Pūrvaśailas and Aparaśailas both using a Bodhisattva Piṭaka, implying organized collections of Mahāyāna texts within these Mahāsāṃghika nikāyas. In the Sthavira nikāya , the Sarvāstivādins were a major nikāya. The Sarvāstivādin Mahāvibhāṣā Śāstra is known to employ the outlook of Buddhist practice as consisting of three vehicles: Śrāvakayāna , Pratyekabuddhayāna , and Bodhisattvayāna . References to

1012-722: The Theravāda are far richer, more complex, and more profound than the definition of "Hīnayāna" would allow. ... The term "Hīnayāna" is thus a stereotype that is useful in talking about a particular stage on the Tibetan Buddhist path, but it is really not appropriate to assume that the Tibetan definition of Hīnayāna identifies a venerable living tradition as the Theravāda or any other historical school[.] Mulasarvastivada The Mūlasarvāstivāda ( Sanskrit : 𑀫𑀽𑀮𑀲𑀭𑁆𑀯𑀸𑀲𑁆𑀢𑀺𑀯𑀸𑀤 ; traditional Chinese : 根本說一切有部 ; ; pinyin : Gēnběn Shuō Yīqièyǒu Bù )

1056-419: The actual count varied over time. The doctrinal orientation of each school differed somewhat, as did the number of piṭakas in their canon. An example of this is the Dharmaguptaka , which included a Bodhisattva Piṭaka and a Dhāraṇī Piṭaka. The Mahāsāṃghika nikāyas generally advocated the transcendental and supramundane nature of the buddhas and bodhisattvas , and the fallibility of arhats . Therefore, for

1100-533: The early Buddhist schools. Some scholars exclude pre-sectarian Buddhism when using the term. The term Theravada refers to Buddhist practices based on these early teachings, as preserved in the Pāli Canon . Nikāya is a Pali word meaning "group" or "assemblage", referring to the collection of early Buddhist schools or non-Mahayana schools. Early Buddhism in India is generally divided into various monastic fraternities, or nikāyas . Conventionally numbering eighteen,

1144-507: The end of a religious ceremony or an act of piety, the bhikkhu who gives benedictions, usually admonishes the congregation to make a resolution to attain Nirvana by realising one of the three Bodhis - Sravakabodhi, Pratyekabodhi or Samyaksambodhi - as they wish according to their capacity." Jan Nattier writes that there is also no evidence that Mahāyāna ever referred to a separate formal school or sect of Buddhism, but rather that it existed as

1188-410: The existence of independent dharmas ; in this it maintains the attitude of early Buddhism . Additionally, the concept of the bodhisattva as one who puts off enlightenment rather than reaching awakening as soon as possible, has no roots in Theravada textual or cultural contexts, current or historical. Aside from the Theravada schools being geographically distant from the Mahayana, the Hinayana distinction

1232-460: The four schools should be grouped with the Mahāyāna or with the Hīnayāna is not determined." That is to say, there was no simple correspondence between a Buddhist school and whether its members learn "Hīnayāna" or "Mahāyāna" teachings. To identify entire schools as "Hīnayāna" that contained not only śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas but also Mahāyāna bodhisattvas would be attacking the schools of their fellow Mahāyānists as well as their own. Instead, what

1276-534: The hinayana which literally means "lesser vehicle" is in no way inferior to the mahayana." According to the World Fellowship of Buddhists , the term Hīnayāna should not be used to refer to any extant form of Buddhism. According to Jan Nattier , it is most likely that the term Hīnayāna postdates the term Mahāyāna and was only added at a later date due to antagonism and conflict between the bodhisattva and śrāvaka ideals. The sequence of terms then began with

1320-508: The pejorative connotation of the term Hinayana and some scholars do not use it for any school. Robert Thurman writes, "'Nikaya Buddhism' is a coinage of Professor Masatoshi Nagatomi of Harvard University , who suggested it to me as a usage for the eighteen schools of Indian Buddhism to avoid the term 'Hinayana Buddhism,' which is found offensive by some members of the Theravada tradition." Within Mahayana Buddhism, there were

1364-493: The political influence of Kaṇiṣka . In later years the Sautrantikas became known as Mūlasarvāstivādins and regained the ascendancy. I have elsewhere given my reasons for disagreeing with the theories of Enomoto and Willemen et al. Neither Warder nor Lamotte give sufficient evidence to back up their theories. We are left with Frauwallner's theory, which in this respect has stood the test of time. According to Gregory Schopen,

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1408-550: The relationship between the various "vehicles" and the early Buddhist schools in India. He wrote, "There exist in the West numerous subdivisions of the schools which have different origins, but there are only four principal schools of continuous tradition." These schools are the Mahāsāṃghika Nikāya, Sthavira nikāya , Mūlasarvāstivāda Nikāya, and Saṃmitīya Nikāya. Explaining their doctrinal affiliations, he then writes, "Which of

1452-646: The rug out from all these theories by asserting that Sarvāstivādin and Mūlasarvāstivādin are really the same. Meanwhile, Willemen, Dessein, and Cox have developed the theory that the Sautrantikas , a branch or tendency within the Sarvāstivādin group of schools, emerged in Gandhāra and Bactria around 200 CE. Although they were the earlier group, they temporarily lost ground to the Kaśmīr Vaibhāśika school due to

1496-522: The rules and ceremonies, were essentially the same in this region as they were in India. Yijing described these islands as generally " Hīnayāna " in orientation, but writes that the Melayu Kingdom included Mahāyāna teachings such as Asaṅga 's Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra . The Mūlasarvāstivāda vinaya is one of three surviving vinaya lineages, along with the Dharmaguptaka and Theravāda . The Tibetan Emperor Ralpacan restricted Buddhist ordination to

1540-661: The same Vinaya , and they have in common the prohibitions of the five offenses , and also the practice of the Four Noble Truths . Those who venerate (regard with great respect) the bodhisattvas and read the Mahāyāna sūtras are called the Mahāyānists, while those who do not perform these are called the Hīnayānists. In the 7th century, the Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang describes the concurrent existence of

1584-426: The substantialist thought of the Sarvāstivādins and Sautrāntikins , and in emphasizing the doctrine of śūnyatā , David Kalupahana holds that they endeavored to preserve the early teaching. The Theravadins too refuted the Sarvāstivādins and Sautrāntikins (and followers of other schools) on the grounds that their theories were in conflict with the non-substantialism of the canon. The Theravada arguments are preserved in

1628-416: The term Bodhisattvayāna "bodhisattva-vehicle", which was given the epithet Mahāyāna "Great Vehicle". It was only later, after attitudes toward the bodhisattva teachings had become more critical, that the term Hīnayāna was created as a back-formation, contrasting with the already established term Mahāyāna. The earliest Mahāyāna texts often use the term Mahāyāna as an epithet and synonym for Bodhisattvayāna, but

1672-502: The term Hīnayāna to refer to Nikāya Buddhism. However, that term is now generally seen as flawed: According to Robert Thurman, the term "Nikāya Buddhism" was coined by Masatoshi Nagatomi of Harvard University, as a way to avoid the usage of the term Hinayana. "Nikaya Buddhism" is thus an attempt to find a more neutral way of referring to Buddhists who follow one of the early Buddhist schools , and their practice. The term Śrāvakayāna (literally, "hearer vehicle" or "disciples' vehicle")

1716-424: The term Śrāvakayāna was "the more politically correct and much more usual" term used by Mahāyānists. Jonathan Silk has argued that the term "Hinayana" was used to refer to whomever one wanted to criticize on any given occasion, and did not refer to any definite grouping of Buddhists. The Chinese monk Yijing , who visited India in the 7th century, distinguished Mahāyāna from Hīnayāna as follows: Both adopt one and

1760-406: The term Hīnayāna is comparatively rare in early texts, and is usually not found at all in the earliest translations. Therefore, the often-perceived symmetry between Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna can be deceptive, as the terms were not actually coined in relation to one another in the same era. According to Paul Williams , "the deep-rooted misconception concerning an unfailing, ubiquitous fierce criticism of

1804-453: The term, theg chung meaning "small vehicle" and theg dman meaning "inferior vehicle" or "inferior spiritual approach". Thrangu Rinpoche has emphasized that hinayana is in no way implying "inferior". In his translation and commentary of Asanga 's Distinguishing Dharma from Dharmata , he writes, "all three traditions of hinayana, mahayana, and vajrayana were practiced in Tibet and that

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1848-567: The two are related, which Bhikkhu Sujato summaries as follows: The uncertainty around this school has led to a number of hypotheses. Frauwallner’s theory holds that the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya is the disciplinary code of an early Buddhist community based in Mathura , which was quite independent in its establishment as a monastic community from the Sarvāstivādins of Kaśmir (although of course this does not mean that they were different in terms of doctrine). Lamotte, opposing Frauwallner, asserts that

1892-447: The will to rid ourselves of this suffering, to liberate ourselves on an individual level, and to attain happiness. We are moved by our own interest. Renunciation and perseverance allow us to attain our goal. Nikaya Buddhism The term Nikāya Buddhism was coined by Masatoshi Nagatomifake as a non-derogatory substitute for Hinayana , meaning the early Buddhist schools . Examples of these groups are pre-sectarian Buddhism and

1936-778: Was one of the early Buddhist schools of India . The origins of the Mūlasarvāstivāda school and their relationship to the Sarvāstivāda remain largely unknown, although various theories exist. The continuity of the Mūlasarvāstivāda monastic order remains in Tibetan Buddhism , although until recently, only Mūlasarvāstivādin bhikṣus (monks) existed. The Tibetan Buddhist tradition of bhikṣuṇī (nuns) officially commenced in Bhutan on 23 June 2022, when 144 women were ordained. Previously, bhiksuni ordinations were only administered in Taiwan , and later in Bodh Gaya , India . The relationship of

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