MahayanaMahāyāna (महायान, ˌmɑːhəˈjɑːnə ; Great Vehicle) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in ancient India (1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism, the other being Theravāda and Vajrayāna. Mahāyāna accepts the main scriptures and teachings of early Buddhism but also recognizes various doctrines and texts that are not accepted by Theravada Buddhism as original.
Kasaya (clothing)Kāṣāya are the robes of fully ordained Buddhist monks and nuns, named after a brown or saffron dye. In Sanskrit and Pali, these robes are also given the more general term cīvara, which references the robes without regard to color. Buddhist kāṣāya are said to have originated in ancient India as a set of robes for the devotees of Gautama Buddha. A notable variant has a pattern reminiscent of an Asian rice field. Original kāṣāya were constructed of discarded fabric.
Yijing (monk)Yijing (635–713 CE), formerly romanized as I-ching or I-tsing, born Zhang Wenming, was a Tang-era Chinese Buddhist monk famed as a traveller and translator. His account of his travels is an important source for the history of the medieval kingdoms along the sea route between China and India, especially Srivijaya in Indonesia. He also gave accounts of the Gupta Period. A student of the Buddhist university at Nālandā (now in Bihar, India), he was also responsible for the translation of many Buddhist texts from Sanskrit and Pali into Chinese.
VinayaThe Vinaya texts (Pali & Sanskrit: विनय) are texts of the Buddhist canon (Tripitaka) that also contain the rules and precepts for fully ordained monks and nuns of Buddhist Sanghas (community of like-minded sramanas). The precepts were initially developed thirteen years after the Buddha's enlightenment. Three parallel Vinaya school traditions remain in use by modern ordained sanghas: the Theravada (Sri Lanka & Southeast Asia), Mulasarvastivada (Tibetan Buddhism and the Himalayan region) and Dharmaguptaka (Taiwan and East Asian Buddhism).
BhikkhunīA bhikkhunī (𑀪𑀺𑀓𑁆𑀔𑀼𑀦𑀻) or bhikṣuṇī (भिक्षुणी) is a fully ordained female in Buddhist monasticism. Bhikkhunis live by the Vinaya, a set of either 311 Theravada, 348 Dharmaguptaka, or 364 Mulasarvastivada school rules. Until recently, the lineages of female monastics only remained in Mahayana Buddhism and thus were prevalent in countries such as China, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam, while a few women have taken the full monastic vows in the Theravada and Vajrayana schools.
SautrāntikaThe Sautrāntika or Sutravadin (सौत्रान्तिक, Suttavāda in Pali; ; Kyou Ryou Bu) were an early Buddhist school generally believed to be descended from the Sthavira nikāya by way of their immediate parent school, the Sarvāstivādins. While they are identified as a unique doctrinal tendency, they were part of the Sarvāstivāda Vinaya lineage of monastic ordination. Their name means literally "the conclusions of the sutras" where sūtra is lengthened into the vṛddhi derivative sautra, and combined with the word anta, meaning end or conclusion, with a final nominal marker ika (compare with the term vedānta), meaning their philosophy is derived from the sūtras.
Buddhism in Central AsiaBuddhism in Central Asia refers to the forms of Buddhism (mainly Mahayana) that existed in Central Asia, which were historically especially prevalent along the Silk Road. The history of Buddhism in Central Asia is closely related to the Silk Road transmission of Buddhism during the first millennium of the common era. A number of Early Buddhist schools were historically prevalent throughout Central Asia.
TripiṭakaTipiṭaka (tɪˈpɪʈɐkɐ) or Tripiṭaka (trɪˈpɪʈɐkɐ) , meaning "Triple Basket", is the traditional term for ancient collections of Buddhist sacred scriptures. The Pāli Canon maintained by the Theravāda tradition in Southeast Asia, the Chinese Buddhist Canon maintained by the East Asian Buddhist tradition, and the Tibetan Buddhist Canon maintained by the Tibetan Buddhist tradition are some of the most important Tripiṭaka in contemporary Buddhist world.
Hinayana"Hīnayāna" is a Sanskrit term that was at one time applied collectively to the Śrāvakayāna and Pratyekabuddhayāna paths of Buddhism. This term appeared around the first or second century. Hīnayāna was often contrasted with Mahāyāna, which means the "great vehicle". Early Western scholars fell into using the term Hīnayāna to describing the early doctrine of Buddhism (with Mahāyāna following later). Modern Buddhist scholarship has deprecated the pejorative term, and instead uses the term Nikaya Buddhism to refer to early Buddhist schools.
SarvastivadaThe Sarvāstivāda (𑀲𑀩𑁆𑀩𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀺𑀯𑀸𑀤, श्र्वास्तिवाद; ) was one of the early Buddhist schools established around the reign of Ashoka (third century BCE). It was particularly known as an Abhidharma tradition, with a unique set of seven Abhidharma works. The Sarvāstivādins were one of the most influential Buddhist monastic groups, flourishing throughout North India (especially Kashmir) and Central Asia until the seventh century.
