Essay on the religious schools of Buddhism: Hinayana and Mahayana

In respect of religion Buddhism is divided, as we know, into the tw-o great schools, the Hinayana and the Mahayana. Represenung faithfully the earlier form of Buddhism the Hinayana, like Jainism, stands as an example of a religion without God.

The place of God is taken in it by the universal moral law of karma or dharma which governs the universe in such a way that no fruit of action is lost and every individual gets the mind, the body and the place in life that he deserves by his past deeds.

The life and teachings of Buddha furnish the ideal as well as the promise or the possibility of every fettered individual’s attaining liberation.

The organised church (sangha) of his faithful followers adds strength to spiritual aspirations. So an aspirant is advised to take the threefold solemn vow (tisarana): ‘I take refuge in Buddha, I take refuge in Dhamma, and I take refuge in the Sangha.’

But with an unshaken confidence in his own power of achievement and a faith in the moral law that guarantees the preservation of every bit of progress made, the HInayanist hopes to obtain liberation in this or any other future life by following Buddha’s noble path.

His goal is Arhatship or Nibbana, the state that extinguishes all his misery. Hinayana is, therefore, a religion of self-help. It sticks fast to Buddha’s saying: Be a light unto you.’ Everyone can and should achieve the highest goal for and by him.’

It is inspired by the last words that Buddha said before he passed away: ‘Decay is inherent in all things composed parts. Work out your salvadon with diligence.’ This path is meant only for the strong, which are all too few in this world.

The fold of Buddhism widened in course of time, it came to include not only the few select persons fit to follow this “cult ideal, but also multitudes of half-convinced nominal.’ Converts who neither understood the Path nor had the necessary moral strength to follow it.

With the support of royal patrons like Asoka, Buddhism gained in number but lost its original quality The bulk of people who accepted Buddism, on grounds other than moral, brought it down to their own level.

They came with their own habits, beliefs and traditions which soon became a part of the new faith they accepted. The teachers had to choose between upholding the ideal at the cost of number and upholding the number at the cost of the ideal.

A few sturdy ones preferred the first. But the majority could not resist the temptation of the second.

They came thus to build what they were pleased to call the Great Vehicle, Mahayana, contrasting it with the orthodox faith of the former, which they nicknamed the Lesser Vehicle, Hlnayana.

By the criterion of number Mahayana surely deserved the name, for it was designed to be a religious omnibus, with room enough to hold and suit persons of all tastes and cultures.

Its accommodadng spirit and missionary zeal made it possible for Mahayana to penetrate into the Himalayas and move across to China, Korea and Japan and absorb peoples of diverse cultures.

As it progressed, it assumed newer and newer forms, assimilating the beliefs of the people it admitted. Modern Mahayanist writers are reasonably proud of their faith and love to call it a living, progressive religion whose adaptability is the sign of its vitality.

The accommodating spirit of Mahayanism can be traced back to the catholic concern which Buddha himself had for the salvation of all beings. Mahayanism emphasises this aspect of the founder’s life and teachings.

Mahayanists point out that the long life of Buddha, after enlightenment, dedicated to the service of the suffering beings sets an example and ideal, namely, that enlightenment should be sought not for one’s own salvation but for being able to minister to the moral needs of others.

In fact, in course of time, Mahayanism came to look upon the HInayanist saint’s anxiety to liberate him self, as a lower ideal which had yet an element of selfishness in it, however subtle or sublime this

Ifishness might be. The ideal of the salvation of all sentient beings thus came to be regarded as the higher aspect of Buddha’s teachings. The greatness of their faith, Mahayanists contend, onsists in this ideal and the inferiority of the Hlnayanists in the

The new elements which Mahayanism came to acquire or develop in its different branches were many and somedmes conflicting. We shall mendon here only a few of the more important ones.