| Key Term |
Hīnayāna |
| In Tibetan Script |
ཐེག་དམན། |
| Wylie Tibetan Transliteration |
theg dman |
| Devanagari Sanskrit Script |
हीनयान |
| Romanized Sanskrit |
hīnayāna |
| Tibetan Phonetic Rendering |
thekmen |
| Chinese Script |
小乘 |
| Chinese Pinyin |
xiǎo chéng |
| English Standard |
Lesser Vehicle |
| Jeffrey Hopkin's English Term |
Lesser Vehicle |
| Ives Waldo's English Term |
lesser/individual vehicle |
| Alternate Spellings |
theg pa dman pa |
| Term Type |
School |
| Basic Meaning |
The mainstream teachings and the early schools of Buddhism which primarily taught individual liberation through the practice-focused renunciation and monasticism, considered lesser than the later movement of the Greater Vehicle, which professed enlightenment for all sentient beings and promoted compassion. |
| Has the Sense of |
The term was used mainly by the proponents of the Greater Vehicle, who considered the goals, understanding, practices, methods, and results of this school as being lesser in scope. |
| Related Terms |
nikāya;śravakayāna |
| Definitions |