mahayana

noun

1. the later of the two great schools of Buddhism, chiefly in China, Tibet, and Japan, characterized by eclecticism and a general belief in a common search for salvation, sometimes thought to be attainable through faith alone.

noun

1. 1. a liberal Buddhist school of Tibet, China, and Japan, whose adherents aim to disseminate Buddhist doctrines, seeking enlightenment not for themselves alone, but for all sentient beings
   2. (as modifier)Mahayana Buddhism

type of Buddhism practiced in northern Asia, 1868, from Sanskrit, from maha “great,” from PIE root *meg- “great” (see magnate) + yana “vehicle,” from PIE root *ei- “to go” (see ion).