Aspects of Mahayana Buddhism and its Relation to Hinayana c8.s2.t1.1

c8.s2.t1.1

The most difficult task of an adept both in Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna is the fulfilment of the conditions laid down for passing from the state of a pṛthagjana (ordinary man of the world) to that of an Ārya (a man capable of attaining the highest knowledge). The Mahāyānists demand that one must develop Bodhicitta before he can be entitled to commence the practices of bhūmis,¹ while the Hīnayānists hold that one must understand the Four Truths and have faith in the teachings of Buddha, or in other words, he must complete the fifteen kṣaṇas of the Darśanamārga to be able to drift himself along the stream (sota) of sanctification—the eightfold path.¹