A Historical Study of the Terms Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna, and the Origin of Mahāyāna Buddhism

The book opens with an introductory note distinguishing geographical and doctrinal classifications of Buddhism, especially “Northern and Southern Buddhism” versus “Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna.” It then examines the historical significance of these terms, their interrelation, and the subject matter they indicate. The first part studies the doctrinal background of the terms through several comparative axes: phenomenological and ontological perception, exoteric and esoteric teachings, original and developed forms of Buddhism, and the relation between Mahāsāṅghika thought and Mahāyāna sūtras. It also discusses why the Mahāsāṅghika school may have used or coined the terms Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna, and it analyzes related designations such as Ekayāna, Buddhayāna, and Bodhisattvayāna. The second part studies the different applications of Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna during the formation of Mahāyāna Buddhism and among later Mahāyāna teachers, including Aśvaghoṣa, Nāgārjuna, Āryadeva, Sthiramati, Maitreyanātha, Asaṅga, Vasubandhu, and figures associated with Nālandā University. Through these discussions, the work presents the terminology of Buddhist “vehicles” as a historical, doctrinal, and polemical development rather than a simple sectarian label.