Mahayana

E59081

Buddhist tradition branch of Buddhism religious movement

Mahayana is one of the two main branches of Buddhism, emphasizing the bodhisattva path and the aspiration to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings.

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All labels observed (11)

Label	Occurrences
Mahayana Buddhism	368
Mahāyāna Buddhism	78
Mahayana canonical	13
Mahayana Buddhists	9
Mahāyāna	8
Mahāyāna tradition	3
Buddhist Mahayana tradition	1
Mahayana Buddhism (state religion at foundation)	1
Mahayana Buddhist philosophy	1
Yogācāra	1
大乘佛教	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T466556 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Mahayana
Context triple: [Buddhism, majorBranch, Mahayana]

A. Theravada
Theravada is the oldest surviving school of Buddhism, emphasizing the Pali Canon and the path of individual liberation through monastic discipline and meditation.
B. Chan Buddhism
Chan Buddhism is a major school of Chinese Buddhism emphasizing meditation, direct insight into one’s true nature, and the transmission of enlightenment outside of scriptures.
C. Buddhism
Buddhism is a major world religion and philosophical tradition founded on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha), emphasizing the Four Noble Truths and the path to enlightenment.
D. Jainism
Jainism is an ancient Indian religion that emphasizes non-violence, truth, and asceticism as the path to spiritual liberation.
E. Maitreya
Maitreya is the future Buddha in Buddhist tradition, prophesied to appear on Earth, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the pure dharma.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Mahayana
Target entity description: Mahayana is one of the two main branches of Buddhism, emphasizing the bodhisattva path and the aspiration to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings.

A. Theravada
Theravada is the oldest surviving school of Buddhism, emphasizing the Pali Canon and the path of individual liberation through monastic discipline and meditation.
B. Chan Buddhism
Chan Buddhism is a major school of Chinese Buddhism emphasizing meditation, direct insight into one’s true nature, and the transmission of enlightenment outside of scriptures.
C. Buddhism
Buddhism is a major world religion and philosophical tradition founded on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha), emphasizing the Four Noble Truths and the path to enlightenment.
D. Jainism
Jainism is an ancient Indian religion that emphasizes non-violence, truth, and asceticism as the path to spiritual liberation.
E. Maitreya
Maitreya is the future Buddha in Buddhist tradition, prophesied to appear on Earth, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the pure dharma.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (53)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Buddhist tradition ⓘ branch of Buddhism ⓘ religious movement ⓘ
aimsAt	enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	Great Vehicle ⓘ
contrastedWith	Hīnayāna (as a polemical term in Mahāyāna texts) ⓘ Theravāda Buddhism ⓘ linked to: Theravada
coreIdeal	bodhisattva ideal ⓘ
cosmology	multiple Buddha-fields (Buddha-kṣetras) ⓘ
emphasizes	bodhisattva path ⓘ compassion (karuṇā) ⓘ wisdom (prajñā) ⓘ
ethicalFocus	benefit of all sentient beings ⓘ
etymology	Sanskrit term meaning “Great Vehicle” ⓘ
goal	attainment of Buddhahood ⓘ
historicalOrigin	India ⓘ
includesSchool	Huayan / Kegon ⓘ Madhyamaka tradition ⓘ linked to: Madhyamaka Nichiren Buddhism ⓘ Pure Land Buddhism ⓘ Tiantai / Tendai ⓘ linked to: Tendai Buddhism Yogācāra tradition ⓘ Zen (Chan) Buddhism ⓘ linked to: Chan Buddhism
isPartOf	Buddhism ⓘ
majorDoctrine	emptiness of all phenomena ⓘ two truths doctrine ⓘ universal Buddhahood potential ⓘ
originPeriod	around the 1st century BCE to 1st century CE ⓘ
practice	devotional practices to Buddhas and bodhisattvas ⓘ meditation ⓘ recitation of sūtras ⓘ
recognizes	bodhisattvas as central figures ⓘ multiple Buddhas in many world-systems ⓘ
religion	Buddhism ⓘ
scriptures	Avataṃsaka Sūtra (Flower Garland Sūtra) ⓘ linked to: Avataṃsaka Sutra (Flower Ornament Sutra) Lotus Sūtra ⓘ Mahāyāna sūtras ⓘ linked to: Mahayana sutras Prajñāpāramitā sūtras ⓘ linked to: Diamond Sutra Pure Land sūtras ⓘ linked to: Pure Land sutras Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra ⓘ linked to: Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sutra
spreadTo	China ⓘ Japan ⓘ Korea ⓘ linked to: Korean Peninsula Mongolia ⓘ Tibet ⓘ linked to: Tibet Autonomous Region Vietnam ⓘ linked to: Viet Nam
teaches	Buddha-nature (tathāgatagarbha) ⓘ linked to: Buddha-nature is inherent in all beings bodhisattva vows ⓘ emptiness (śūnyatā) ⓘ perfection of wisdom (prajñāpāramitā) ⓘ skillful means (upāya) ⓘ
values	altruistic motivation (bodhicitta) ⓘ six perfections (pāramitās) ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (484)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Buddhism → majorBranch → Mahayana ⓘ

Kediri Kingdom → religiousInfluence → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Borobudur Temple → BuddhistSchool → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Srivijaya Empire → religion → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Srivijaya Empire → majorReligionCenterFor → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Manimekalai → associatedReligion → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Cholon → religionPracticed → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Eastern religions → includes → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Cambodian American → religion → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Indian philosophy → includesSchool → Yogācāra ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Kinh people → religion → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Mon → historicalReligion → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Chan Buddhism → parentTradition → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Arhat Hall → belongsToTradition → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Shakyamuni Buddha → associatedWith → Mahāyāna Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Guanyin → associatedConcept → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Maitreya → veneratedIn → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Four Noble Truths → tradition → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Tripitaka → usedBy → Mahayana Buddhists ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Theravada → contrastedWith → Mahayana ⓘ

Five Precepts → associatedWith → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Middle Way → centralToSchool → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Sangha → presentInTradition → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Vesak → associatedWith → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Bodhi tree → sacredIn → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Mahayana sutras → religiousTradition → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Pure Land Buddhism → partOf → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Indochinese Peninsula → religion → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Tibetan Kangyur → scope → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Vajrayana → basedOn → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Vajrayana → sharesDoctrinesWith → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Champa → religion → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Shingon Buddhism → parentTradition → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Mazu → religion → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Talang Tuwo inscription → culturalContext → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Tendai Buddhism → parentTradition → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Sailendra dynasty → religiousAffiliation → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Sewu temple complex → religion → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Rakai Pikatan → spouseReligion → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Khmer Empire → religion → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Nirvana → coreDoctrineOf → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

subject linked to: nirvana

linked to: Mahayana

Engaged Buddhism → influencedBy → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

socially engaged Buddhism → associatedWithTradition → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Biàncáitiān → tradition → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Yangchenma → associatedTradition → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Ajanta Caves → mainReligionRepresented → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Eightfold Path → isPracticedIn → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Kakawin Sutasoma → philosophicalInfluence → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Chuang Yen Monastery → primaryTradition → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

Kingdom of Khotan → religion → Mahayana Buddhism ⓘ

linked to: Mahayana

All labels observed (11)

How this entity was disambiguated Show

Statements (53)

How these facts were elicited Show

Referenced by (484)

How this entity was disambiguated

How these facts were elicited