Original Sanskrit
According to Jan Nattier, the term Mahāyāna ("Great Vehicle") was originally an honorary synonym for Bodhisattvayāna ("Bodhisattva Vehicle"), the vehicle of a bodhisattva seeking

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Origin
The origins of Mahāyāna are still not completely understood and there are numerous competing theories. The earliest Western views of Mahāyāna assumed that it existed as a separate school in competition with

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Few things can be said with certainty about Mahāyāna Buddhism in general other than that the Buddhism practiced in China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Korea, Tibet, Mongolia and Japanis Mahāyāna Buddhism. Mahāyāna can be described as a loosely bound collection

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Mahāyāna Buddhist practice is quite varied. A common set of virtues and practices which is shared by all Mahāyāna traditions are the six

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The main contemporary traditions of Mahāyāna in Asia are:
• The East Asian Mahāyāna traditions of China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam, also known as "Eastern Buddhism". Peter Harveyestimates that there are about 360 million Eastern Buddhists

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Role of the Bodhisattva
In the early Buddhist texts, and as taught by the modern Theravadaschool, the goal of becoming a teaching Buddha in a future life is viewed as the aim of

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Mahāyāna Buddhism takes the basic teachings of the Buddha as recorded in early scriptures as the starting point of its teachings, such as those concerning karma and rebirth, anātman, emptiness, dependent origination, and the Four Noble Truths.

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