Mahayana

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Mahayana

/ˌmɑːhəˈjɑːnə/
/ˌmʌhəˈjɑːnə/

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Sanskrit महायान (mahāyāna, literally “great vehicle”).

proper noun

One of the two primary branches of Buddhism that emerged around the 1st century BCE, which accepts non-Pali canon scriptures, and emphasizes the path of bodhisattva.
Similar: Great Vehicle

Translations

Every language

name school of Buddhism

한국어	대승불교 daeseungbulgyo, 마하연 mahayeon
日本語	大乗 daijō, 大乗仏教 Daijō Bukkyō, 摩訶衍 makaen
中文	大乘佛教 Dàchéng Fójiào, 北傳佛教 /北传佛教 Běichuán Fójiào, 摩訶衍 /摩诃衍 Móhēyǎn
Ελληνικά	μαχαγιάνα machagiána
Русский	Маха́яна Maxájana
Tiếng Việt	Đại thừa

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MLA

"Mahayana." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/mahayana. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

Mahayana. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/mahayana

Chicago

"Mahayana." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/mahayana.

BibTeX

@misc{mahayana_2026,
  title = {Mahayana},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/mahayana},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}