Aspects of Mahayana Buddhism and its Relation to Hinayana c9.49

c9.49

The chief reasons for the inability of the Mahāyānists to depend solely on the Hīnayāna code are the following:—
(1) The Mahāyānists kept in view the conduct not only of a bhikṣu- (or pravrajita-) bodhisattva but also that of a gṛhi-bodhisattva.
(2) The development of bodhicitta and the completion of the Pāramitās played the chief rôle in the practices of a bodhisattva.
(3) Too much stress was laid upon Karuṇā and Maitrī, which, in many cases, received approbation at the expense of the most fundamental rules of conduct⁴.