Adjacent Words

Mahayana definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a major school of Buddhism teaching social concern and universal salvation; China; Japan; Tibet; Nepal; Korea; Mongolia
2: one of two great schools of Buddhist doctrine emphasizing a common search for universal salvation especially through faith alone; the dominant religion of China and Tibet and Japan [syn: Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhism]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Sanskrit mah?y?na, literally, great vehicle Date: 1855 a liberal and theistic branch of Buddhism comprising sects chiefly in China and Japan, recognizing a large body of scripture in addition to the Pali canon, and teaching social concern and universal salvation — compare Theravada • Mahayanist noun or adjective • Mahayanistic adjective

Britannica Concise

One of the three major Buddhist traditions. It arose in the 1st cent. AD and is widely followed today in China, Korea, and Japan, and Tibet. Mahayanists distinguish themselves from the more conservative Theravada Buddhists of Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. Whereas the Theravadins view the historical Buddha as a (merely) human teacher of the truth, Mahayanists see him as an earthly manifestation of a celestial Buddha. Mahayanists revere bodhisattvas, key figures in universal salvation. Compassion, the chief virtue of the bodhisattva, is valued as highly as wisdom, the virtue emphasized by the ancient Buddhists. Within Mahayana Buddhism, some branches emphasize esoteric practices (e.g., Shingon, Tibetan Buddhism). See also Kegon, Nichiren Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, Tiantai, Zen.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. a school of Buddhism practised in China, Japan, and Tibet. Etymology: Skr. f. maha great + yana vehicle