Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun hinayana

2 senses of hinayana

Sense 1
Hinayana -- (a major school of Buddhism teaching personal salvation through one's own efforts)
       => Buddhism -- (a religion represented by the many groups (especially in Asia) that profess various forms of the Buddhist doctrine and that venerate Buddha)

Sense 2
Hinayana, Hinayana Buddhism -- (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)
       => 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)