Mahayana (mahāyāna:महायान, "Great Vehicle", Chinese: 大乘, Dàshèng; Japanese: 大乗, Daijō; Korean: 대승, Dae-seung; Vietnamese: Đại Thừa; Tibetan: theg-pa chen-po; Mongolian: yeke kölgen) is a classification of Buddhism used in several different senses.
The source of the name Mahayana is polemical , having its origin in a debate about what the real teachings of the Buddha are. Although the Mahayana movement claims that it was founded by the Buddha himself, the consensus of the evidence indicates that it originated in South India in the first century CE . It was first propagated into China by Kushan Lokaksema (Ch: 支谶, Zhi Chen, full name 支樓迦讖 var. 支婁迦讖 Zhi Loujiachen, active ca. 164-186 C.E.), the first translator of Mahayana sutras into Chinese.
The earliest mention of "Mahayana" occurs in the Lotus Sutra between the first century BCE and the first century CE. The earliest Mahayana scriptures probably originated during the first century CE in the Indian subcontinent, and spread to China during the second century CE. Only in the fifth century CE did Mahayana become an influential school in India. In the course of its history, Mahayana spread throughout East Asia. The main countries in which it is practiced today are China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.
From the point of view of Tantric Buddhism, from Mahayana developed the esoteric Vajrayana found mainly in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and Mongolia, but also in adjacent areas of China, Japan, India, and Russia. The Vajrayana school claims to encompass all previous schools.
The main Mahayana sutras, codified in Sanskrit, have not survived over time and have been lost. Versions later translated into Tibetan language and Chinese language have survived. The main schools of Mahayana Buddhism which have a significant following are Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon, Tibetan Buddhism and Tendai.
