The University of Nalanda c12.2

c12.2

Theology, we said in Chapter IV, was compulsory for the student. Its study, however, did not consist in a mere theoretical knowledge of the subject. The student was required to perform the religious rites and worship of images which he had read in books. Of course, these rites and ceremonies were mainly those taught by the later Mahāyāna Buddhism. Only such rites as *Chaityavandana* (which is described below) belonged to the early Buddhism. The worship of images was a distinct feature of the Mahāyāna.