A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s6.8.1

v2.c19.s6.8.1

To the earlier Buddhist schools, whose main doctrines coincide with those of the Theravāda as it has come down in the Pāli Canon, individual liberation, Nirvāṇa, was the most complete salvation; and the state of the Arhat, who even during his mortal life is accorded a foretaste of Nirvāṇa, was the goal of all striving, a goal attainable only to the few, by the aid of certain spiritual experiences which can only be acquired in the monastic life. This doctrine is not rejected by the adherents of the Mahāyāna; but, though it is acknowledged to have originated with Buddha,¹ it is described as the Hīnayāna, *i.e.*, the lesser (hīna), the inadequate "vessel" (yāna), which does not suffice to steer all beings to the end of suffering. What they teach, is the Mahāyāna, the "great vessel," which is fit to conduct a larger number of beings, indeed the whole of the teeming mass of humanity, safely over the suffering of the world. This new doctrine which, according to the claims of its adherents, is based upon a profounder interpretation of the old texts, or upon the profounder teachings of Gotama Buddha, which he imparted only to the elect among his disciples, sets up the ideal of the Bodhisattva in the stead of that of the Arhat. Not only the monk, but every human being, can make it his aim to be reborn as a Bodhisattva, a "being destined for enlightenment," *i.e.*, a candidate for enlightenment, in order to bring salvation to all men.