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Mandarin Chinese information.
Old Wade-Giles romanization used only in Taiwan.
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Buddhist definition. Note: May not apply to all sects.
 Definition may be different outside of Buddhism.

There are 26 total results for your 小乘 search.

Characters Pronunciation
Romanization
Simple Dictionary Definition

小乘

see styles
xiǎo shèng
    xiao3 sheng4
hsiao sheng
 shōjō
Hinayana, the Lesser Vehicle; Buddhism in India before the Mayahana sutras; also pr. [Xiao3 cheng2]
Hīnayāna 希那衍. The small, or inferior wain, or vehicle; the form of Buddhism which developed after Śākyamuni's death to about the beginning of the Christian era, when Mahāyāna doctrines were introduced. It is the orthodox school and more in direct line with the Buddhist succession than Mahāyānism which developed on lines fundamentally different. The Buddha was a spiritual doctor, less interested in philosophy than in the remedy for human misery and perpetual transmigration. He "turned aside from idle metaphysical speculations; if he held views on such topics, he deemed them valueless for the purposes of salvation, which was his goal" (Keith). Metaphysical speculations arose after his death, and naturally developed into a variety of Hīnayāna schools before and after the separation of a distinct school of Mahāyāna. Hīnayāna remains the form in Ceylon, Burma, and Siam, hence is known as Southern Buddhism in contrast with Northern Buddhism or Mahāyāna, the form chiefly prevalent from Nepal to Japan. Another rough division is that of Pali and Sanskrit, Pali being the general literary language of the surviving form of Hīnayāna, Sanskrit of Mahāyāna. The term Hīnayāna is of Mahāyānist origination to emphasize the universalism and altruism of Mahāyāna over the narrower personal salvation of its rival. According to Mahāyāna teaching its own aim is universal Buddhahood, which means the utmost development of wisdom and the perfect transformation of all the living in the future state; it declares that Hīnayāna, aiming at arhatship and pratyekabuddhahood, seeks the destruction of body and mind and extinction in nirvāṇa. For arhatship the 四諦Four Noble Truths are the foundation teaching, for pratyekabuddhahood the 十二因緣 twelve-nidānas, and these two are therefore sometimes styled the two vehicles 二乘. Tiantai sometimes calls them the (Hīnayāna) Tripiṭaka school. Three of the eighteen Hīnayāna schools were transported to China: 倶舍 (Abhidharma) Kośa; 成實 Satya-siddhi; and the school of Harivarman, the律 Vinaya school. These are described by Mahāyānists as the Buddha's adaptable way of meeting the questions and capacity of his hearers, though his own mind is spoken of as always being in the absolute Mahāyāna all-embracing realm. Such is the Mahāyāna view of Hīnayāna, and if the Vaipulya sūtras and special scriptures of their school, which are repudiated by Hīnayāna, are apocryphal, of which there seems no doubt, then Mahāyāna in condemning Hīnayāna must find other support for its claim to orthodoxy. The sūtras on which it chiefly relies, as regards the Buddha, have no authenticity; while those of Hīnayāna cannot be accepted as his veritable teaching in the absence of fundamental research. Hīnayāna is said to have first been divided into minority and majority sections immediately after the death of Śākyamuni, when the sthāvira, or older disciples, remained in what is spoken of as "the cave", some place at Rājagṛha, to settle the future of the order, and the general body of disciples remained outside; these two are the first 上坐部 and 大衆部 q. v. The first doctrinal division is reported to have taken place under the leadership of the monk 大天 Mahādeva (q.v.) a hundred years after the Buddha's nirvāṇa and during the reign of Aśoka; his reign, however, has been placed later than this by historians. Mahādeva's sect became the Mahāsāṅghikā, the other the Sthāvira. In time the two are said to have divided into eighteen, which with the two originals are the so-called "twenty sects" of Hīnayāna. Another division of four sects, referred to by Yijing, is that of the 大衆部 (Arya) Mahāsaṅghanikāya, 上座部 Āryasthavirāḥ, 根本說一切有部 Mūlasarvāstivādaḥ, and 正量部 Saṃmatīyāḥ. There is still another division of five sects, 五部律. For the eighteen Hīnayāna sects see 小乘十八部.

小乘人

see styles
xiǎo shèng rén
    xiao3 sheng4 ren2
hsiao sheng jen
 shōjō nin
adherents of the lesser vehicle

小乘寺

see styles
xiǎo shèng sì
    xiao3 sheng4 si4
hsiao sheng ssu
 shōjō ji
a monastery that is the site of lesser vehicle practices

小乘心

see styles
xiǎo shèng xīn
    xiao3 sheng4 xin1
hsiao sheng hsin
 shōjō shin
attitude of adherents of the lesser vehicle

小乘戒

see styles
xiǎo shèng jiè
    xiao3 sheng4 jie4
hsiao sheng chieh
 shōjō kai
The commandments of the Hīnayāna, also recognized by the Mahāyāna: the five, eight, and ten commandments, the 250 for the monks, and the 348 for the nuns.

小乘教

see styles
xiǎo shèng jiào
    xiao3 sheng4 jiao4
hsiao sheng chiao
 shōjō kyō
teaching of the lesser vehicle

小乘禪


小乘禅

see styles
xiǎo shèng chán
    xiao3 sheng4 chan2
hsiao sheng ch`an
    hsiao sheng chan
 shōjō zen
lesser vehicle meditation

小乘經


小乘经

see styles
xiǎo shèng jīng
    xiao3 sheng4 jing1
hsiao sheng ching
 shōjō kyō
The Hīnayāna sūtras, the four sections of the Āgamas 阿含經 v. 小乘九部.

小乘論


小乘论

see styles
xiǎo shèng lùn
    xiao3 sheng4 lun4
hsiao sheng lun
 shōjō ron
The Hīnayāna śāstras or Abhidharma.

大小乘

see styles
dà xiǎo shèng
    da4 xiao3 sheng4
ta hsiao sheng
 daishō jō
greater vehicle Buddhism and lesser vehicle Buddhism

小乘三印

see styles
xiǎo shèng sān yìn
    xiao3 sheng4 san1 yin4
hsiao sheng san yin
 shōjō san'in
The three characteristic marks of all Hīnayāna sūtras: the impermanence of phenomena, the unreality of the ego, and nirvāṇa.

小乘三藏

see styles
xiǎo shèng sān zàng
    xiao3 sheng4 san1 zang4
hsiao sheng san tsang
 shōjō sanzō
Tripiṭaka of the Lesser Vehicle

小乘九部

see styles
xiǎo shèng jiǔ bù
    xiao3 sheng4 jiu3 bu4
hsiao sheng chiu pu
 shōjō kubu
The nine classes of works belonging to the Hīnayāna, i.e. the whole of the twelve discourses; the Vaipulya, or broader teaching; and the Vyākaraṇa, or prophesies.

小乘二部

see styles
xiǎo shèng èr bù
    xiao3 sheng4 er4 bu4
hsiao sheng erh pu
 shōjō nibu
The 上座部 Sthaviravādin, School of Presbyters, and 大衆部 Sarvāstivādin, q.v.

小乘佛教

see styles
xiǎo chéng fó jiào
    xiao3 cheng2 fo2 jiao4
hsiao ch`eng fo chiao
    hsiao cheng fo chiao
 shōjō bukkyō
lesser vehicle Buddhism

小乘四門


小乘四门

see styles
xiǎo shèng sì mén
    xiao3 sheng4 si4 men2
hsiao sheng ssu men
 shōjō shimon
Tiantai's division of Hīnayāna into four schools or doctrines: (1) 有門 Of reality, the existence of all phenomena, the doctrine of being (cf. 發智六足論, etc.); (2) 空門 of unreality, or non-existence (cf. 成實論); (3) 亦有亦空門 of both, or relativity of existence and non-existence (cf. 毘勒論); (4) 非有非空 of neither, or transcending existence and non-existence (cf. 迦旃延經).

小乘外道

see styles
xiǎo shèng wài dào
    xiao3 sheng4 wai4 dao4
hsiao sheng wai tao
 shōjō gedō
Hīnayāna and the heretical sects; also, Hīnayāna is a heretical sect.

五百小乘

see styles
wǔ bǎi xiǎo shèng
    wu3 bai3 xiao3 sheng4
wu pai hsiao sheng
 gohyaku shōjō
five hundred lesser vehicle (schools)

小乘二十部

see styles
xiǎo shèng èr shí bù
    xiao3 sheng4 er4 shi2 bu4
hsiao sheng erh shih pu
 shōjō nijūbu
twenty schools of lesser vehicle Buddhism

小乘偏漸戒


小乘偏渐戒

see styles
xiǎo shèng piān jiàn jiè
    xiao3 sheng4 pian1 jian4 jie4
hsiao sheng p`ien chien chieh
    hsiao sheng pien chien chieh
 shōjō henzen kai
The Hīnayāna partial and gradual method of obeying laws and commandments, as compared with the full and immediate salvation of Mahāyāna.

小乘十八部

see styles
xiǎo shèng shí bā bù
    xiao3 sheng4 shi2 ba1 bu4
hsiao sheng shih pa pu
 shōjō jūhachi bu
A Chinese list of the "eighteen" sects of the Hīnayāna, omitting Mahāsāṅghikāḥ, Sthavira, and Sarvāstivādah as generic schools: I. 大衆部 The Mahāsāṅghikāḥ is divided into eight schools as follows: (1) 一說部 Ekavyavahārikāḥ; (2) 說出世部 Lokottaravādinaḥ; (3) 雞胤部 Kaukkuṭikāḥ (Gokulikā); (4) 多聞部 Bahuśrutīyāḥ; (5) 說假部 Prajñāptivadinaḥ; (6) 制多山部 Jetavaniyāḥ, or Caityaśailāḥ; (7) 西山住部 Aparaśailāḥ; (8) 北山住部 Uttaraśailāḥ. II. 上坐部 Āryasthavirāḥ, or Sthāviravādin, divided into eight schools: (1) 雪山部 Haimavatāḥ. The 說一切有部 Sarvāstivādaḥ gave rise to (2) 犢子部 Vātsīputrīyāḥ, which gave rise to (3) 法上部 Dharmottarīyāḥ; (4) 賢冑部 Bhadrayānīyāḥ; (5) 正量部 Saṃmatīyāḥ; and (6) 密林山 Saṇṇagarikāḥ; (7) 化地部 Mahīśāsakāḥ produced (8) 法藏部 Dharmaguptāḥ. From the Sarvāstivādins arose also (9) 飮光部 Kāśyaḥpīyā and (10) 經量部 Sautrāntikāḥ. v. 宗輪論. Cf Keith, 149-150. The division of the two schools is ascribed to Mahādeva a century after the Nirvāṇa. Under I the first five are stated as arising two centuries after the Nirvāṇa, and the remaining three a century later, dates which are unreliable. Under II, the Haimavatāḥ and the Sarvāstivādaḥ are dated some 200 years after the Nirvāṇa; from the Sarvāstivādins soon arose the Vātsīputrīyas, from whom soon sprang the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth; then from the Sarvāstivādins there arose the seventh which gave rise to the eighth, and again, nearing the 400th year, the Sarvāstivādins gave rise to the ninth and soon after the tenth. In the list of eighteen the Sarvāstivādah is not counted, as it split into all the rest.

一向小乘寺

see styles
yī xiàng xiǎo shèng sì
    yi1 xiang4 xiao3 sheng4 si4
i hsiang hsiao sheng ssu
 ikkō shōjō ji
A monastery wholly Hīnayāna.

樂著小乘法


乐着小乘法

see styles
yào zhuó xiǎo shèng fǎ
    yao4 zhuo2 xiao3 sheng4 fa3
yao cho hsiao sheng fa
 gyōjaku shōjō hō
enamored by lesser vehicle teachings

小乘阿毗達磨

see styles
xiǎo chéng ā pí dá mó
    xiao3 cheng2 a1 pi2 da2 mo2
hsiao ch`eng a p`i ta mo
    hsiao cheng a pi ta mo
The philosophical canon of the Hīnayāna, now supposed to consist of some thirty-seven works, the earliest of which is said to be the Guṇanirdeśa śāstra, tr. as 分別功德論 before A.D. 220. "The date of the Abhidharma" is "unknown to us" (Keith).

小乘阿毘達磨


小乘阿毘达磨

see styles
xiǎo shèng ā pí dá mó
    xiao3 sheng4 a1 pi2 da2 mo2
hsiao sheng a p`i ta mo
    hsiao sheng a pi ta mo
 shōjō abidatsuma
lesser-vehicle abhidharma

宋元入藏諸大小乘經


宋元入藏诸大小乘经

see styles
sòng yuán rù zàng zhū dà xiǎo shèng jīng
    song4 yuan2 ru4 zang4 zhu1 da4 xiao3 sheng4 jing1
sung yüan ju tsang chu ta hsiao sheng ching
 Sōgan nyūzō sho daishōjō kyō
Sutras of the Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna admitted into the canon during the Northern and Southern Sung (A.D. 960-1127 and 1127-1280) and Yuan (A.D. 1280-1368) dynasties. B.N., 782-1081.

Entries with 2nd row of characters: The 2nd row is Simplified Chinese.

This page contains 26 results for "小乘" in Chinese and/or Japanese.



Information about this dictionary:

Apparently, we were the first ones who were crazy enough to think that western people might want a combined Chinese, Japanese, and Buddhist dictionary.

A lot of westerners can't tell the difference between Chinese and Japanese - and there is a reason for that. Chinese characters and even whole words were borrowed by Japan from the Chinese language in the 5th century. Much of the time, if a word or character is used in both languages, it will have the same or a similar meaning. However, this is not always true. Language evolves, and meanings independently change in each language.

Example: The Chinese character 湯 for soup (hot water) has come to mean bath (hot water) in Japanese. They have the same root meaning of "hot water", but a 湯屋 sign on a bathhouse in Japan would lead a Chinese person to think it was a "soup house" or a place to get a bowl of soup. See this: Japanese Bath House

This dictionary uses the EDICT and CC-CEDICT dictionary files.
EDICT data is the property of the Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group, and is used in conformance with the Group's license.

Chinese Buddhist terms come from Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms by William Edward Soothill and Lewis Hodous. This is commonly referred to as "Soothill's'". It was first published in 1937 (and is now off copyright so we can use it here). Some of these definitions may be misleading, incomplete, or dated, but 95% of it is good information. Every professor who teaches Buddhism or Eastern Religion has a copy of this on their bookshelf. We incorporated these 16,850 entries into our dictionary database ourselves (it was lot of work).



Combined, these cover 1,007,753 Japanese, Chinese, and Buddhist characters, words, idioms, names, placenames, and short phrases.

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