小乘
Chinese
small; tiny; few small; tiny; few; young | ride; mount; make use of ride; mount; make use of; take advantage of; multiply; to avail of; to ride | ||
---|---|---|---|
trad. (小乘) | 小 | 乘 | |
simp. #(小乘) | 小 | 乘 | |
Literally: “small vehicle”. |
Etymology
Calque of Sanskrit हीनयान (hīnayāna).
Pronunciation
Noun
小乘
- (Buddhism, originally derogatory, now usually neutral) Hinayana (early Buddhism; Theravada Buddhism)
Usage notes
- This term is applied by some Mahayana Buddhists, but is not accepted as proper by Theravada Buddhists.
- In 1950 the World Fellowship of Buddhists declared that this term should not be used when referring to any form of Buddhism existing today.
Synonyms
- 南傳/南传 (nánchuán)
Coordinate terms
- 大乘 (Dàchéng, “Mahayana”)
Derived terms
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See also
- 上座部 (Shàngzuòbù)
- 二乘
- 聲聞乘/声闻乘
References
- Ding, Fubao (丁福保) (1922),
“小乘” in 佛學大辭典 [A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms].
Further reading
小乘佛教 on the Chinese Wikipedia.Wikipedia zh
Hinayana on Wikipedia.Wikipedia