Aspects of Mahayana Buddhism and its Relation to Hinayana c5.s3.t4.1

c5.s3.t4.1

The first two centuries of the Christian era witnessed the conflict between Hinayāna and Mahāyāna as well as the systematisation of the Mahāyāna doctrines. The works which depict (in one-sided fashion, it must be admitted) this struggle, viz., the Prajñāpāramitās, Saddharmapuṇḍarīka, Laṅkāvatara, Daśabhūmikasūtra, and Gaṇḍavyūha, were very probably the products of this period, but evidences are still lacking as to the exact dates of composition of these works. The only clue is supplied by the dates of their Chinese translations, but these are to be regarded as the latest limits of the time of their composition.² In the absence of any definite data about the earliest limit, we can take into consideration