In the centuries surrounding the birth of Christ, there was a radical development going on in Buddhism. A new school was born, and its adherents called it Mahayana (the "Great Vehicle"). How this school differs from earlier schools may be found in any history of Buddhism. Here we will concentrate on one of the results of this schism: the term Hinayana (the "Inferior Vehicle").
Adherents of the older schools criticized the Mahayanists, particularly for creating new "sutras" [discourses], counterfeiting the word of the historical Buddha. Mahayanists, on the other hand, reacted to this critique by accusing their opponents of not understanding the teaching of the Buddha at all and for being narrow minded egoists.
Hinayana (or more correctly hiinayaana) is a highly derogatory term. It does not simply mean "lesser" or "inferior" vehicle as one often sees stated. Whereas the second element – that is, the yaana – means vehicle, hiina very seldom has the simple meaning of "lesser" or "small."
The term Hinayana is an echo of a debate long dead, or rather a debate wherein one party is dead and the other is shouting to the winds.
Who were the opponents who were labeled "Hinayana"? Was it the Theravadans? Probably not. At the birth of Mahayana, Theravada [the "Teaching of the Elders," those "elders" being the immediate disciples of the historical Buddha] had largely emigrated to Sri Lanka, and could therefore hardly be counted among the dominating schools on the Indian mainland – which is where the Mahayana/Hinayana debate took place.
The Sarvastivada School, and the other early Buddhist sects that developed in India at that time, are long dead -- with the exception of the Theravada. But the debate and the arguments found their way into the Mahayana discourses. For instance, it is glaringly apparent in the anti-Hinayana propaganda of the Lotus Sutra – and echoes of it are found throughout the teachings of Mahayana and Vajrayana.
Today confusion remains, because Mahayanists and Vajrayanists use the pejorative term "Hinayana" in three different ways:
- In a historical sense, pre-Mahayanist schools are called Hinayana.
- Modern Theravada is frequently confused with the old Hinayana.
- It is used as an internal part of the Mahayana and Vajrayana teachings.
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