Vibhajjavādin

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Vibhajjavādin (Pāli, ‘Distinctionist’). A school of early Buddhism belonging to the Elder (Sthavira) tradition which at the Buddhist Council of Pāṭaliputra in 250 BCE was adjudged to embody the orthodox teachings of the Buddha. The appellation thus seems to be an alternative designation for the Theravāda school, and may be derived from the Buddha's basic methodological practice of making a ‘distinction’ between extreme views of all kinds in his teachings.