Mahayana
Mahayana (Sanskrit: महायान mahāyāna, from mahā "great" and yāna "vehicle, path", i.e. great vehicle or great path) is one of the main schools of Buddhism. Common to all schools of Buddhism is the striving for salvation from all suffering of earthly existence through the final extinction of the I in Nirvana. Only in this way can the sorrowful cycle of rebirths be ended. In the Hinayana, the small vehicle, according to the followers of the Mahayana, each aspirant seeks this salvation only for himself. This is especially referred to the Theravada school (Pali: school of the elders). Mahayana, on the other hand, is based on the Bodhisattva ideal; the aspirant will voluntarily incarnate again and again on earth to guide other people on the path of salvation until all people are finally redeemed. The followers of Theravada firmly deny this. In fact, the Bodhisattva ideal is also central there. In terms of content, however, the Thervada, in contrast to the Mahayana, is based almost exclusively on the Pali canon, the oldest collection of the teachings of Buddha Siddhartha Gautama that has been handed down coherently, whereas in the Mahayana no generally binding canon was established.
