The “Great (Mahā) Vehicle (yāna)” Buddhism (see Buddhism) or Mahāyāna Buddhism is the reformed Buddhism that replaces the Nirvāna (see Nirvāna), monastic, and Gautama Buddha (see Gautama Buddha)-oriented Hīnayāna (hīna = lesser, yāna = vehicle) or Theravāda (“Doctrine of the Elders”) Buddhism (see Hīnayāna Buddhism, Theravāda Buddhism). Its emphases are on bodhisattvas (see Bodhisattva), an all-encompassing and pervasive “Buddha Nature,” and the ability of lay people to achieve spiritual release.
