Early Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism II: New Perspectives

Abstract

Part 1 of this article surveyed and appraised recent developments in the study of early Indian Mahāyāna. Part 2 continues by presenting a number of new perspectives on the nature of this movement, the practices it advocated, and the preachers, known as , that seem to have been its primary agents. An appendix discusses the use of terms such as Mahāyāna, Theravāda, Hīnayāna, and Mainstream Buddhism.