HINAYANA

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Hinayana mean? 

• HINAYANA (noun)
  The noun HINAYANA has 2 senses:

1. a major school of Buddhism teaching personal salvation through one's own efforts

2. an offensive name for the early conservative Theravada Buddhism; it died out in India but survived in Sri Lanka and was taken from there to other regions of southwestern Asia

  Familiarity information: HINAYANA used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HINAYANA (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A major school of Buddhism teaching personal salvation through one's own efforts

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("Hinayana" is a kind of...):

Buddhism (a religion represented by the many groups (especially in Asia) that profess various forms of the Buddhist doctrine and that venerate Buddha)

Meronyms (members of "Hinayana"):

Hinayanist (an adherent of Hinayana Buddhism)

Derivation:

Hinayanist (an adherent of Hinayana Buddhism)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An offensive name for the early conservative Theravada Buddhism; it died out in India but survived in Sri Lanka and was taken from there to other regions of southwestern Asia

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

Hinayana; Hinayana Buddhism

Hypernyms ("Hinayana" is a kind of...):

Theravada; Theravada Buddhism (one of two great schools of Buddhist doctrine emphasizing personal salvation through your own efforts; a conservative form of Buddhism that adheres to Pali scriptures and the non-theistic ideal of self purification to nirvana; the dominant religion of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand and Laos and Cambodia)