Mahayana

American  

[mah-huh-yah-nuh] / ˌmɑ həˈyɑ nə /

noun

1. the later of the two great schools of Buddhism, chiefly in China, Tibet, and Japan, characterized by eclecticism and a general belief in a common search for salvation, sometimes thought to be attainable through faith alone.

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Mahayana British  

/ ˌmɑːhəˈjɑːnə /

noun

1. 1. a liberal Buddhist school of Tibet, China, and Japan, whose adherents aim to disseminate Buddhist doctrines, seeking enlightenment not for themselves alone, but for all sentient beings

   2. ( as modifier )

      Mahayana Buddhism

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Other Word Forms

• Mahayanist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of Mahayana

1865–70; < Sanskrit, equivalent to mahā- great + yāna vehicle

Example Sentences

It is most common in East Asia’s Buddhist Mahayana traditions found in Japan, Korea and Vietnam.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 7, 2023

Mahayana, the larger branch, spread along the great trade routes of Asia into the borderlands of the Parthian Empire, eventually reaching China, Korea, and Japan, where it was gradually infused with local ideas.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

The exhibition title comes from a popular sutra in Mahayana Buddhism that is chanted by zen groups.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 21, 2019

Bhutan is the only country in the world whose state religion is Mahayana Buddhism.

From New York Times • Oct. 30, 2014

It was to the corruptions of the Mahayana rather than of the Hinayana that the decay of Buddhism in India was due.

From Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 2 by Eliot, Charles, Sir