Etymology

Mahayana

M3A1H4A1Y4A1N1A1

Today it means: 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. Full definition →

Sanskrit महायान
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The story

  1. Sanskrit · borrowed fromमहायान
  2. English todayMahayana

Borrowed from Sanskrit महायान (mahāyāna, literally “great vehicle”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.