Hinayana/Article Sandbox
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hīnayāna (Chinese: 小乘 Xiǎoshèng; Japanese: Shōjō; Vietnamese: Tiểu thừa; rendered as hinayana in English) is a Sanskrit term literally meaning "the inferior vehicle", where "vehicle" (yāna) refers to "a means of going to awakening". Hīnayāna was coined by Mahāyāna Buddhists as a disparaging term[1][2][3] for doctrines, practices, and texts of other Buddhists who reject the provenance of the Mahayana sutras, and which (according to Mahayana canon and commentary) are concerned only with an individual's path to the cessastion of suffering (Nirvana), as distinguished from a self-sacrificing path toward the ultimate attainment of Buddhahood. However, Tibetan Buddhists profess to use the term in a nonpejorative manner, for example to refer to their courses of study[4] in epistemology and monastic discipline. Hinayana has evolved to have a number of alternative meanings, nearly all of which remain the subject of controversy.
[edit] Hīnayāna as a term for non-Mahayana Buddhist Sects
In western-language books, articles, and sermons, probably the most common usage of hīnayāna is as a term for one of two or three major existing denominations of Buddhism, along with Mahayana and sometimes Vajrayana. Such usage is common in popular, reference, and scholarly works[5][6][7][8][9]. In this type of usage, hīnayāna refers to non-Mahayana Buddhist persons, practices, texts, and doctrines, such as those of the existing Theravada and Risshu denominations, and of a number of extinct early Buddhist schools. However, such usage contravenes the recommendation of the World Fellowship of Buddhists, which in 1950 declared that Hīnayāna is an inappropriate[10] term for Theravada, the dominant non-Mahayana Buddhist sect still in existence. Nevertheless, usage continues in the way declared inappropriate by the Fellowship. Apparently, few if any persons have ever referred to themselves as a member of a hinayana sect; thus such usage undoubtedly reflects a Mahayana POV that some non-Buddhists have adopted, knowingly or not. Significantly, some scholars and popular sources continue to express a POV that stipulates the pejorative origin of the term yet continues to identify hīnayāna with both rejection of the Mahayana texts and aspiration to inferior attainments[11][12][13].
[edit] Hinayana as a term for extinct Buddhist sects
Some authors affiliated with Theravada Buddhism occasionally use the term hīnayāna to refer to a number of early Buddhist sects that are said to be no longer in existence, excluding[14][15][16] contemporary Theravada. During the centuries following the death of the historical Buddha, schisms caused a number of sects to emerge. Sri Lankan historical records indicate that Theravada arose after a representative (see Mahinda) of one such sect (see Vibhajjavāda) served as a missionary to Sri Lanka during the 3rd century BCE. Thus, it's conceptually possible to justify a claim that Theravada is not identical with any of the extinct schools. Nevertheless, use of hīnayāna as a term that refers only to extinct sects is rare, and normally qualified by cautionary statements and/or placement within single-quote marks, e.g. `hīnayāna'.
[edit] Hinayana as a nonsectarian term for lesser attainments
[edit] Hinayana as a term of abuse
[edit] Use of hinayana as an indicator of Mahayana point of view
[edit] Etymology
[edit] Origins in Mahayana canonical literature
[edit] Usage in classical Mahayana commentary
[edit] Examples of contemporary usage
[edit] Notes
- ^ "...Hinayana, inferior or lesser vehicle: pejorative for those Buddhists who did not accept the new Mahayana teaching..." from the glossary of The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines & its Verse Summary, translated by Edward Conze, 1973, Four Seasons Foundation, San Francisco, p324.
- ^ "...the undoubted antagonism found in some Mahayana sutras toward those who fail to heed the message of the text. These people persistently continue to follow what the Mahayana sutras themselves term—using an intentionally polemical and abusive expression—an ˈInferior Wayˈ, a Hinayana...In some cases, perhaps increasing as time passed, this Great Way is contrasted with an Inferior Way (Hinayana) and sometimes this contrast is marked by the use of rather immoderate language. Followers of the Inferior Way are, as one Mahayana text puts it, ˈlike jackalsˈ...", Paul Williams, Buddhist Thought, 2000, Routledge, p96
- ^ "...originally a derogatory designation used by representatives of the Mahāyāna (“Great Vehicle”) for early Buddhism", A Glossary of Buddhist Terminology, adapted from The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen, Michael S. Diener, Franz-Karl Erhard, Ingrid Fischer-Schreiber, Translated by Michael H. Kohn, Shambhala Publications, 1991
- ^ See Reflections on Reality (subtitle) The Three Natures and Non-Natures in the Mind-Only School, Jeffrey Hopkins, 2002, University of California Press, p34-35: footnote h
- ^ e.g. "Hinayana Buddhism. A good introduction to the traditional Hinayana Buddhism is What the Buddha Taught, Walpola Rahula ... From a present point of view and written by two Westerners trained in the Theravada tradition, is ... Seeking the Heart of Wisdom, by Joseph Goldstein & Jack Kornfield ...", from the Bibliography of Buddha for Beginners, Jane Hope, 1995, quoted in "The Myth of Hinayana", Kare A. Lie, 2000, http://www.lienet.no/hinayan1.htm
- ^ e.g. of a world total of 325,275,000 "Buddhists. 56% Mahayana, 38% Theravada (Hinayana), 6% Tantrayana (Lamaism).", The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1998, K-111 Reference Corp., Mahwah, NJ, p654, source for figures given as (Encyclopedia) Britannica Book of the Year 1997, quoted at [1]
- ^ "…Hinayana, or Theravada, Buddhism, the form predominant in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and Southeast Asia, and Mahayana Buddhism, the tradition predominant in East Asia." Encyclopedia Britannica online entry for Satyasiddhi-sastra, [2]
- ^ "Hinayana, 'Small Vehicle'; originally a derogatory designation used by representatives of the Mahayana ('Great Vehicle') for early Buddhism. The followers of Hinayana themselves usually refer to their teachings as the Theravada (Teachings of the Elders), in spite of the fact that strictly speaking, Theravada was one of the schools within Hinayana; it is, however, the only one still existing today. Hinayana is also referred to as Southern Buddhism, since it is prevalent chiefly in countries of southern Asia (Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Kampuchea, Laos).", The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy & Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen, Ingrid Fischer-Schreiber et al, Shambhala, Boston (English: published 1994; original German: 1986), p129. quoted at [3]
- ^ e.g. "Hinayana... Southern School of Buddhism emphasizing salvation by objective attainment. Prevailing in Burma, Cambodia, Ceylon, Laos, and Thailand, its only surviving sect is Theravada.", Zehavi, A.M. (editor) Handbook of the World's Religions. New York: Franklin Watts (1973); pg. 126., quoted at http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_305.html#1872
- ^ "…in 1950 the World Fellowship of Buddhists inaugurated in Colombo unanimously decided that the term Hinayana should be dropped when referring to Buddhism existing today in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, etc.", Walpola Rahula, "Theravada-Mahayana Buddhism", from Gems of Buddhist Wisdom, Buddhist Missionary Society, Kuala Lampur, 1996, quoted at [4]
- ^ e.g. Theravada or canonical Buddhism is essentially a discipline for personal salvation by the individual for himself.", Buddhism in China (subtitle) A Historical Survey, Kenneth K. S. Ch'en, Princeton University Press, 1964 (paperback 1972), p11; cf p12: "When the term "Hinayana" was first used, it embraced all these chools of early Buddhism, but in current usage it refers primarily to the Theravada school, which is the only one active at present."
- ^ e.g. "A Sanskrit word meaning “Lesser Vehicle” (because it is concerned with the individual's salvation), it was first applied pejoratively to the established Buddhist schools by followers of the more liberal Mahayana (“Greater Vehicle,” because it is concerned with universal salvation) tradition. The ancient Hinayana schools continued to prosper after the rise of the Mahayana in the 1st century AD, but Theravada Buddhism was the only Hinayana school that maintained a strong position after the collapse of Indian Buddhism in the 13th century.", Britannica Concise, available at[5]
- ^ "…the distinction of Mahayana and Hiinayaana Buddhism is preferable to all the rest, as far as our present knowledge of the development of Buddhism is concerned. Of course, this distinction recalls an historical odium, which it is best for modern scholars to avoid. Neglecting this latter objection, the term Mahayana is comprehensive and definite enough to include all those schools of Buddhism, in which the ideal of Bodhisattvahood is upheld in preference to the attainment of Arhatship, and whose geographical distribution covers not only the Northern parts of India but extends eastward.", The Awakening of Zen, D.T. Suzuki, Shambhala Publications, 1980, p2 (diacritical marks omitted); reprint of article written for the Buddhist Review, 1909; on p1 the editor of the reprint notes "Dr. Suzuki refers to the 'historical odium'" (of the term Hinayana) "...but retains it for convenience. I have done the same throughout and the article appears as first published."
- ^ e.g. "Hinayana sects developed in India and had an existence independent from the form of Buddhism existing in Sri Lanka.", "Theravada-Mahayana Buddhism", reprinted from Gems of Buddhist Wisdom, Walpola Rahula, Buddhist Missionary Society, Kuala Lampur, 1996, available at http://www.watthai.net/bluws/ebud/ebdha125.htm and http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma3/theramaya.html
- ^ "...the Mādhyamika system with its ruthless attack on concepts in its dialectical ebullience. Thus much of the significant service rendered by that system of thought in exposing the futility of the preoccupation with concepts in `hīnayāna' circles, was ultimately offset by its own extravagances.", Concept and Reality (subtitle) in Early Buddhist Thought, Bhikkhu Ñānananda, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, 1971, p98; cf p103-4
- ^ "Kathavatthu ("Points of Controversy"). Another odd inclusion in the Abhidhamma, this book contains questions and answers that were compiled by Moggaliputta Tissa in the 3rd century BCE, in order to help clarify points of controversy that existed between the various "Hinayana" schools of Buddhism at the time.", "Abhidhamma Pitaka" (subtitle) "The Basket of Abhidhamma", apparently by John T. Bullitt (signed jtb), 2005 revised 2006, available at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/abhi/index.html
