Early Monastic Buddhism v2.c33.1

v2.c33.1

The first two groups in our scheme included the Mahāsanghikas with all their sub-sects. Scanning the various traditions about the appearance of the sub-sects, we notice that Vasumitra and Bhavya¹ agreed with the *Kathāvatthu* as far as the first three sub-divisions² were concerned, if Cetiya be taken as an alternative name of Lokottaravāda. In the *Mahāvastu*, which is an avowed text of the Lokottaravāda branch of the Mahāsanghikas, worship of caityas is given special prominence, hence it will not be out of the way to say that the Lokottaravādins, on account of their devotion to caityas, were also called Caityakas.