Aspects of Mahayana Buddhism and its Relation to Hinayana c8.2

c8.2

The difference between Hinayāna and Mahāyāna, as we have already seen, centres round the conception of the highest truth, which, according to the Hinayānists, is Pudgalaśūnyatā only, while, according to the Mahāyānists, it is both Pudgala- and Dharma-śūnyatā. This difference is also evident in the various stages of progress chalked out by the two schools. The Hinayānists recognize four stages called Sotāpatti, Sakadāgāmi, Anāgāmi, and Arahatta, and mention specifically the attainments of an adept as he passes from one stage to another, obtaining in the last stage complete knowledge, which, according to them, is the same as that attained by Buddhas.¹ The Mahāyānists likewise recognize ten (according to the Bodhisattvabhūmi twelve) stages of progress, through which a Bodhisattva passes in order to have complete emancipation and become a Buddha.