Mahayana

//ˌmɑːhəˈjɑːnə// name

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Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    one of two great schools of Buddhist doctrine emphasizing a common search for universal salvation especially through faith alone; the dominant religion of China and Tibet and Japan wordnet
  2. 2
    a major school of Buddhism teaching social concern and universal salvation; practised in China, Japan, Tibet, Nepal, Korea, Mongolia wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    One of the two primary branches of Buddhism that emerged around the 1st century BCE, which accepts non-Pali canon scriptures, and emphasizes the path of bodhisattva.

Synonyms

All synonyms
great vehiclemahayana buddhism

Example

More examples

"In the Sailendra dynasty, which arose in the eighth century in central Java, Mahayana Buddhism blossomed, and Buddhist temples like Borobudur were built."

Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit महायान (mahāyāna, literally “Great Vehicle”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.