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Concept
Mahāsāṃghika
Summary
The Mahāsāṃghika (Brahmi: 𑀫𑀳𑀸𑀲𑀸𑀁𑀖𑀺𑀓, "of the Great Sangha", ) was a major division (nikāya) of the early Buddhist schools in India. They were one of the two original communities that emerged from the first schism of the original pre-sectarian Buddhist tradition (the other being the Sthavira nikaya). This schism is traditionally held to have occurred after the Second Buddhist council, which occurred at some point during or after the reign of Ashoka. The Mahāsāṃghika nikāya developed into numerous sects which spread throughout ancient India.
Some scholars think that the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya (monastic rule) represents the oldest Buddhist monastic source. While the Mahāsāṃghika tradition is no longer in existence, many scholars look to the Mahāsāṃghika tradition as an early source for some ideas that were later adopted by Mahāyāna Buddhism. Some of these ideas include the view that the Buddha was a fully transcendent being (term "lokottaravada", "transcendentalism"), the idea that there are many contemporaneous Buddhas and bodhisattvas throughout the universe, the doctrine of the inherent purity and luminosity of the mind (Skt: prakṛtiś cittasya prabhāsvarā), the doctrine of reflexive awareness (svasamvedana) and the doctrine of prajñapti-matra (absolute nominalism or pure conceptualism).
Most sources place the origin of the Mahāsāṃghikas to the Second Buddhist council. Traditions regarding the Second Council are confusing and ambiguous, but it is agreed that the overall result was the first schism in the Sangha between the Sthavira nikāya and the Mahāsāṃghika nikāya, although it is not agreed upon by all what the cause of this split was.
According to Jan Nattier and Charles S. Prebish, the best date for the first schism and the creation of the Mahāsāṃghika as a separate community is 116 years after the Buddha's nirvana.
Some Buddhist historical sources mention that the cause for schism was a dispute over vinaya (monastic rule), mainly the desire of certain Sthaviras (elders) to add extra rules to make the vinaya more rigorous.
Official source
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