小乘
Chinese edit
small; tiny; few small; tiny; few; young |
ride; mount; make use of ride; mount; make use of; take advantage of; multiply; to avail of; to ride | ||
---|---|---|---|
trad. (小乘) | 小 | 乘 | |
simp. #(小乘) | 小 | 乘 | |
Literally: “small vehicle”. |
Etymology edit
Calque of Sanskrit हीनयान (hīnayāna, “lesser vehicle”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
小乘
- (Buddhism, originally derogatory, now usually neutral) Hinayana (early Buddhism; Theravada Buddhism)
Usage notes edit
- This term is applied by some Mahayana Buddhists, but is not accepted as proper by Theravada Buddhists.
- In 1950 the World Fellowship of Buddhists declared that this term should not be used when referring to any form of Buddhism existing today.
Synonyms edit
Coordinate terms edit
- 大乘 (Dàchéng, “Mahayana”)
Derived terms edit
- 小乘佛教 (Xiǎochéngfójiào)
Descendants edit
See also edit
References edit
- Ding, Fubao (丁福保) (1922), “小乘” in 佛學大辭典 [A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms].
Further reading edit
- 小乘佛教 on the Chinese Wikipedia.Wikipedia zh
- Hinayana on Wikipedia.Wikipedia