Lokottaravāda

The Lokottaravāda (Sanskrit, लोकोत्तरवाद; ) was one of the early Buddhist schools according to Mahayana doxological sources compiled by Bhāviveka, Vinitadeva and others, and was a subgroup which emerged from the Mahāsāṃghika. The name Lokottaravāda means those who follow the supramundane (Skt. lokottara), or transcendent, teachings. Despite bearing this name, all sub-sects of the Mahāsāṃghikas seem to have accepted forms of supramundane or transcendent teachings. The Śāriputraparipṛcchā and the Samayabhedoparacanacakra both suggest that the Lokottaravāda had their origins with the Ekavyāvahārikas and the Kukkuṭikas. While the Mahāsāṃghikas initially flourished in the region around Magadha, the Lokottaravādins are known to have flourished in the Northwest. The 6th century CE Indian monk Paramārtha wrote that 200 years after the of the Buddha, much of the school moved north of Rājagṛha, and were divided over whether the Mahayana teachings should be incorporated formally into their Tripiṭaka. According to this account, they split into three groups based upon the relative manner and degree to which they accepted the authority of these Mahayana texts. According to Paramārtha, the Lokottaravādins accepted the Mahāyāna sūtras as the words of the Buddha (buddhavacana). Lokottaravādin views are known from the Mahāvastu, which is a rare surviving Mahāsāṃghika text in Sanskrit. The Mahāvastu is a biography of the Buddha which attributes itself to the Lokottaravādins, and appears to have been an extended section of their vinaya recension. The Sanskrit text of the Mahāvastu was preserved in the libraries of the Mahayana Buddhists of Nepal. Some scholars believe that the Mahayana Infinite Life Sutra was compiled in the era of the Kushan Empire, the first and second centuries CE, by an order of Mahīśāsaka monastics that flourished in Gandhara. However, it is likely that the longer Infinite Life Sutra owes greatly to the Lokottaravādins as well for its compilation: in this sūtra, there are many elements in common with the Mahāvastu.