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Bodhisattvayāna

A Dictionary of Buddhism | 2004 | 684 words | Copyright

Bodhisattvayāna (Skt.). The ‘Vehicle of the Bodhisattvas’. An alternative designation for the Mahāyāna or ‘Great Vehicle’, it is the way, means, or method by which Bodhisattvas pursue their religious career. It distinguishes itself from the two methods employed by the Hīnayāna or ‘Small Vehicle’, namely the ‘Vehicle of the Hearers’ (Śrāvakayāna), and the goal of personal enlightenment (bodhi) in seclusion of the Pratyekabuddha (Pratyekabuddha-yāna). Both of these earlier ‘vehicles’ are thought to be deficient by virtue of their lesser concern for others.

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