The University of Nalanda c10.37

c10.37

Sthiramati in his Mahāyānābhidharmasaṃyukta-saṅgīti-śāstra thus speaks of Mahāyāna, "In the Mahāyāna, there are four secrets which include all kinds of truths that Buddha has preached." In another place, in the same work, we find him upholding the Mahāyāna which he calls Bodhisattva-piṭaka and running down the Hīnayāna (Śrāvakayāna). Says he, "The question is; if the Śrāvaka-piṭaka and Bodhisattva-piṭaka, etc., are equally derived from the Dharmakāya, then, why the people offering Bodhisattva-piṭaka with fragrances and wigs, produce great, limitless fortune and why it is otherwise in the case of Śrāvakayāna? Answer: because, the Bodhisattva-piṭaka is the foundation of the divine favour and is the source of pleasure for all people."¹