Lokottaravāda
The Lokottaravāda emerged from the Mahāsārgika school in ancient India. Historical texts suggest this group formed alongside the Ekavyāvahārikas and the Kukkuītikas. While the parent Mahāsāghikas flourished around Magadha, the Lokottaravādins spread to Northwest India. The 6th century CE Indian monk Paramārtha recorded that two hundred years after the Buddha's death, much of the school moved north of Rājagrhā. They divided over whether to incorporate Mahāyāna teachings into their Tripiāka. This split created three groups based on how they accepted these new texts. The Lokottaravādins fully accepted the Mahāyāna sūtras as the words of the Buddha.
Scholars know the views of the Lokottaravādins primarily through a rare Sanskrit text called the Mahāvastu. This work serves as a biography of the Buddha attributed directly to the Lokottaravādins. It appears to have been an extended section of their Vinaya recension. The Sanskrit version of the Mahāvastu was preserved in the libraries of Mahāyāna Buddhists in Nepal. Some scholars believe the Mahāyāna Infinite Life Sūtra owes its compilation greatly to the Lokottaravādins. The earliest translations of this later text show traces of having been translated from Gāndhārī. Elements within the Infinite Life Sūtra share many common features with the Mahāvastu.
Archaeologists rediscovered a monastery site at Bamyan in modern Afghanistan that once housed a Lokottaravāda vihara. The Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang visited this location during the 7th century. Birch bark and palm-leaf manuscripts found there now reside in the Schøyen Collection. These documents include texts written in both Gāndhārī using Kharosthi script and Sanskrit using Gupta scripts. Surviving fragments include the Prātimokā Vibhaāga of the Mahāsāghika-Lokottaravāda. Other items are the Mahāparinirvāa Sūtra and the Caāki Sūtra from the Agamas. The collection also holds the Diamond Sūtra, the Bhaiśajyaguru Sūtra, and the Śrīmālādevī Siāhanāda Sūtra. A Sarvadharmapravrttinirdeśa Sūtra fragment is also present among these ancient papers.
The Lokottaravādins asserted that only two kinds of emptiness exist in the world. They defined these as the emptiness of a self and the emptiness of phenomena. This view distinguishes their doctrine within the broader Mahāyāna tradition. Vasumitra recorded that forty-eight theses were held in common by three major Mahāsāghika sects. Twenty of these special points concern the supramundane nature of buddhas and bodhisattvas. These groups believed the Buddha could know all dharmas in a single moment of mind. They viewed the physical life and manifestation of the Buddha as mere appearance. The school upheld the imperfection and fallibility of arhats while elevating the status of buddhas.
The Mahāvastu text reveals that the Lokottaravādins believed in innumerable Pure Lands throughout existence. These realms contain countless buddhas and tenth-ground bodhisattvas who will eventually become buddhas. Each buddha leads limitless sentient beings to liberation even though the number of beings remains infinite. A section of the Mahāvastu describes devas putting up sunshades in honor of the Buddha. The Buddha shows himself sitting beneath each shade, making every deva feel uniquely honored. This narrative parallels accounts found in the Śūraagama Samādhi Sūtra where the Buddha appears on vast lion-thrones. All buddhas are revealed to be equal because their nature is not apart from all phenomena.
It is likely the Lokottaravādins had no major doctrinal distinctions separating them from other Mahāsāghika groups. Tāranātha viewed the Ekavyāvahārikas, Lokottaravādins, and Gokulikas as essentially the same sect. Earlier texts like the Samayabhedoparacanaćakra regard these groups as doctrinally indistinguishable. The difference between them was primarily geographic rather than theological. The Lokottaravādin Mahāvastu speaks of Buddhism consisting of Three Vehicles with specific instructions for the Bodhisattva Path. They conceived a bodhisattva's progress toward enlightenment as ten grounds or bhūmis required for Mahāyāna practitioners. These stages resemble those in the Mahāyāna Ten Stages Sūtra though some names differ slightly. The future buddha Maitreya will appear among one thousand buddhas destined to follow Gautama Buddha.
Common questions
What is the Lokottaravāda school of Buddhism?
The Lokottaravāda emerged from the Mahāsārgika school in ancient India. Historical texts suggest this group formed alongside the Ekavyāvahārikas and the Kukkuītikas.
When did the Lokottaravādins move north of Rājagrhā?
Paramārtha recorded that two hundred years after the Buddha's death, much of the school moved north of Rājagrhā. This event occurred around the 6th century CE according to historical records.
Which text preserves the views of the Lokottaravādins?
Scholars know the views of the Lokottaravādins primarily through a rare Sanskrit text called the Mahāvastu. The Sanskrit version of the Mahāvastu was preserved in the libraries of Mahāyāna Buddhists in Nepal.
Where did archaeologists rediscover a Lokottaravāda vihara?
Archaeologists rediscovered a monastery site at Bamyan in modern Afghanistan that once housed a Lokottaravāda vihara. The Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang visited this location during the 7th century.
What are the two kinds of emptiness asserted by the Lokottaravādins?
The Lokottaravādins asserted that only two kinds of emptiness exist in the world. They defined these as the emptiness of a self and the emptiness of phenomena.