The Vajracchedika Prajna Paramita Sutra ( Diamon Sutra) *SUTRA PALSU?*

[dilbert]

Tepat sekali. Bagi mereka yang konsisten mengantu kebenaran hanyalah kebenaran, tanpa aliran, tanpa embel-embel mazhab, maka otomatis tidak akan menganut kebenaran besar - kebenaran kecil, kendaraan besar (tronton) - kendaraan kecil (ojek). Karena terbebas dari pikiran mengkotak-kotakan demikian, maka tidak cocok dengan dengan sutra yang isinya mengkotak-kotakan sekte. Tinggal kembali pada diri sendiri menilai apakah sutra ini bicara tentang kebenaran apa adanya atau kebenaran besar vs kebenaran kecil; apakah universal atau pakai pembagian sekte (tronton/ojek).

masalahnya "banyak" ajaran yang diakui sebagai ajaran BUDDHA...dan berlain-an pula secara "prinsipil"

[ryu]

Yang mengatakan Vajracchedika Prajna Paramita Sutra palsu adalah orang yang termasuk kutipan diatas.
Apakah Ryu salah satunya juga?

oh enggak kok, aye percaya asli kok, sutra mahayana memang penuh ancaman, penuh penghinaan bagi yang tidak mempercayai sutra nya, kalau tidak mempercayainya maka masuk neraka, ya memang harus begitulah isi sutra mahayana, kalau tidak begitu isinya maka bukan sutra mahayana lah pastinya, kalau sutra yang berisi kebaikan dan tidak ada ancaman dll nah itu baru boleh di bilang sutra palsu mahayana, karena mahayana tidak mungkin isinya gitu

 

[djoe]

Tepat sekali. Bagi mereka yang konsisten mengantu kebenaran hanyalah kebenaran, tanpa aliran, tanpa embel-embel mazhab, maka otomatis tidak akan menganut kebenaran besar - kebenaran kecil, kendaraan besar (tronton) - kendaraan kecil (ojek). Karena terbebas dari pikiran mengkotak-kotakan demikian, maka tidak cocok dengan dengan sutra yang isinya mengkotak-kotakan sekte. Tinggal kembali pada diri sendiri menilai apakah sutra ini bicara tentang kebenaran apa adanya atau kebenaran besar vs kebenaran kecil; apakah universal atau pakai pembagian sekte (tronton/ojek).

Benar sekali.
Mengkotak - kotaki artinya membatasi dharma itu sendiri sehingga hasil yang didapat hanyalah dharma kecil. Padahal dharma itu tiada batasnya meliputi besar dan kecil.

[K.K.]

masalahnya "banyak" ajaran yang diakui sebagai ajaran BUDDHA...dan berlain-an pula secara "prinsipil"

Kalau terlihat berlainan, mungkin bisa dicek apakah maknanya betul-betul demikian, mungkin masing-masing membahas dari sudut pandang tertentu. Kalau memang betul-betul berbeda, pilihlah yang sesuai dengan kita. Ke umat lain saya pernah bilang 1000 orang, 1000 gambaran Tuhan. Sama juga dengan Buddhis, 1000 orang, 1000 gambaran Buddha. Hanya saja, tidak mungkin 1000 tersebut semuanya benar.

[K.K.]

Benar sekali.
Mengkotak - kotaki artinya membatasi dharma itu sendiri sehingga hasil yang didapat hanyalah dharma kecil. Padahal dharma itu tiada batasnya meliputi besar dan kecil.

Bisa dijelaskan apa itu dharma kecil & dharma besar?

[djoe]

Bisa dijelaskan apa itu dharma kecil & dharma besar?

Small Vehicle dharmas

[K.K.]

Small Vehicle dharmas

Bukan merknya, tapi penjelasannya.

[Sunkmanitu Tanka Ob'waci]

Small Vehicle dharmas

wrong translation, it should be bad dharmas. why do you keep on insisting wrong translation?

[djoe]

Bukan merknya, tapi penjelasannya.

Sesuatu yang dibatasi/dikotak - kotaki punya batas dan bisa diukur. Jika bisa diukur, maka bisa dikatakan besar atau kecil.
Dharma yang tidak terbatas, tidak bisa diukur dan tidak bisa dikatakan besar atau kecil. makanya dikatakan Anuttarasaüyaksaübodhi, the Unsurpassed, Proper and Equal, Right Enlightenment.

Lihat Commentary :
A General Explanation of the Vajra Prajña Paramita Sutra by Dhyana Master Hsüan Hua

Subhåti said, “Very big, World Honored One. And why? It is said by the Buddha to be no body. Therefore it is called a big body.

Having shown, by example of the previously mentioned fruits of the Small Vehicle, that there is no attachment to anything, the Buddha next used himself as an example. He anticipated people who would think that a Buddha or Bodhisattva is different from sages of the Small Vehicle.
“Was there any Dharma which the Tathàgata obtained while with Burning Lamp BuddhaŸ øàkyamuni Buddha referred to himself at that point. Burning Lamp Buddha had bestowed a prediction of Buddhahood on øàkyamuni Buddha, which means he gave him a name, saying, “In the future you will become a Buddha named øàkyamuni.
Burning Lamp Buddha gave øàkyamuni Buddha the prediction of Buddhahood at a time when both of them were bhikùus. The bhikùu who would become øàkyamuni Buddha had not yet realized Buddhahood, but Burning Lamp Buddha had done so. On that occasion, øàkyamuni Buddha was walking on the road and saw in the distance the bhikùu Burning Lamp Buddha walking toward him. øàkyamuni Buddha also saw that on the road between them was a largepuddle of muddy water. Because he cultivated as a Bodhisattva and dedicated himself to helping everyone, he realized that the bhikùu coming toward him would be hampered by the puddle; and lay down in the muddy water to serve as a bridge for the bhikùu. But the puddle was large and his body did not entirely span it. Therefore he unwrapped his
hair, which he kept long in accord with the ascetic practices he cultivated, and spread it over the remainder of the puddle.

When the bhikùu who was Burning Lamp Buddha reached the spot, øàkyamuni Buddha asked him to walk across his body. Burning Lamp Buddha complied. When he had crossed he said to the bhikùu, “You are thus. I also am thus.Ÿ He meant, “Your heart is like this, and my heart is also like this. You forget yourself for the sake of the Dharma, and I also forget myself for the sake of the Dharma. Thus we are both cultivating the Bodhisattva Way.Ÿ He then rubbed the top of the bhikùu’s head and said, “In the future you will become a Buddha named øàkyamuni.Ÿ After Dãpa¤kara Buddha had given øàkyamuni that prediction, the two bhikùus separated and each continued to practice the Way.

So then øàkyamuni Buddha asked Subhåti, “When I received my prediction, did I obtain any Dharma? Subhåti replied, “No.Again øàkyamuni Buddha asked for Subhåti’s opinion.
“Does a Bodhisattva adorn Buddhalands? “Does a Bodhisattva use the merit and virtue of cultivating the six pàramitàs and the ten thousand practices to adorn Buddhalands? Again Subhåti answered, “No. He does not adorn Buddhalands. If he had one thought of adorning Buddhalands, then he would have a mark of self, of others, of living beings, and of a life; he would have an attachment. The
principle is the same as it was for the first, second, third, and fourth fruits of Arhatship. Although they adorn Buddhalands, there is no adornment. Why? If they had the thought “I adorn BuddhalandsŸ they would not have realized the emptiness of people and dharmas.
When dharmas are not empty there is attachment to Dharma. When people are not empty there is
attachment to self. A Bodhisattva who adorns Buddhalands does not think that he is adorning Buddhalands. The adornment of Buddhalands is merely a name and nothing more. It has no real substance. Therefore a Bodhisattva, Mahàsattva,should produce a pure heart. A pure heart is free of attachment. That means you do not broadcast your good deeds to insure that whatever merit and virtue may have accrued be properly credited. Such a heart is impure. It is dirty. If you have the thought of self and others when you do virtuous acts to adorn Buddhalands, then there are no virtuous acts and
there is no adornment. A Bodhisattva’s heart should be pure, without self or others, and without right or wrong. Thoughts which delineate self, others, living beings, and a life are not pure. A heart which is attached to the six dusts is not pure,and is devoid of true and proper merit and virtue.

He should produce that heart without dwelling anywhere.
He should, without having any attachment, produce that heart. He should have no thought. If you can have no thought, you are not attached anywhere. If you can have no thought, you can produce that heart without dwelling anywhere.
The Buddha used another example. “Suppose a person had a
body like Sumeru, King of Mountains… . Would that body be big?
Subhåti said, “Very big, but afterwards added, “It is said by the Buddha to be no body, therefore it is called a big body.
Mt. Sumeru, although big, nonetheless has a measure. If you have Mt. Sumeru you still have a measure. If you manage to have no body, nothing can compare to it, and so it is called a big body. If there is a measure for it, then the body is not really big. No body, a body without measure, is
truly a big body.

[K.K.]

Sesuatu yang dibatasi/dikotak - kotaki punya batas dan bisa diukur. Jika bisa diukur, maka bisa dikatakan besar atau kecil.
Dharma yang tidak terbatas, tidak bisa diukur dan tidak bisa dikatakan besar atau kecil. makanya dikatakan Anuttarasaüyaksaübodhi, the Unsurpassed, Proper and Equal, Right Enlightenment.

Lihat Commentary :
Subhåti said, “Very big, World Honored One. And why? It is said by the Buddha to be no body. Therefore it is called a big body.

Having shown, by example of the previously mentioned fruits of the Small Vehicle, that there is no attachment to anything, the Buddha next used himself as an example. He anticipated people who would think that a Buddha or Bodhisattva is different from sages of the Small Vehicle.
“Was there any Dharma which the Tathàgata obtained while with Burning Lamp BuddhaŸ øàkyamuni Buddha referred to himself at that point. Burning Lamp Buddha had bestowed a prediction of Buddhahood on øàkyamuni Buddha, which means he gave him a name, saying, “In the future you will become a Buddha named øàkyamuni.
Burning Lamp Buddha gave øàkyamuni Buddha the prediction of Buddhahood at a time when both of them were bhikùus. The bhikùu who would become øàkyamuni Buddha had not yet realized Buddhahood, but Burning Lamp Buddha had done so. On that occasion, øàkyamuni Buddha was walking on the road and saw in the distance the bhikùu Burning Lamp Buddha walking toward him. øàkyamuni Buddha also saw that on the road between them was a largepuddle of muddy water. Because he cultivated as a Bodhisattva and dedicated himself to helping everyone, he realized that the bhikùu coming toward him would be hampered by the puddle; and lay down in the muddy water to serve as a bridge for the bhikùu. But the puddle was large and his body did not entirely span it. Therefore he unwrapped his
hair, which he kept long in accord with the ascetic practices he cultivated, and spread it over the remainder of the puddle.

When the bhikùu who was Burning Lamp Buddha reached the spot, øàkyamuni Buddha asked him to walk across his body. Burning Lamp Buddha complied. When he had crossed he said to the bhikùu, “You are thus. I also am thus.Ÿ He meant, “Your heart is like this, and my heart is also like this. You forget yourself for the sake of the Dharma, and I also forget myself for the sake of the Dharma. Thus we are both cultivating the Bodhisattva Way.Ÿ He then rubbed the top of the bhikùu’s head and said, “In the future you will become a Buddha named øàkyamuni.Ÿ After Dãpa¤kara Buddha had given øàkyamuni that prediction, the two bhikùus separated and each continued to practice the Way.

So then øàkyamuni Buddha asked Subhåti, “When I received my prediction, did I obtain any Dharma? Subhåti replied, “No.Again øàkyamuni Buddha asked for Subhåti’s opinion.
“Does a Bodhisattva adorn Buddhalands? “Does a Bodhisattva use the merit and virtue of cultivating the six pàramitàs and the ten thousand practices to adorn Buddhalands? Again Subhåti answered, “No. He does not adorn Buddhalands. If he had one thought of adorning Buddhalands, then he would have a mark of self, of others, of living beings, and of a life; he would have an attachment. The
principle is the same as it was for the first, second, third, and fourth fruits of Arhatship. Although they adorn Buddhalands, there is no adornment. Why? If they had the thought “I adorn BuddhalandsŸ they would not have realized the emptiness of people and dharmas.
When dharmas are not empty there is attachment to Dharma. When people are not empty there is
attachment to self. A Bodhisattva who adorns Buddhalands does not think that he is adorning Buddhalands. The adornment of Buddhalands is merely a name and nothing more. It has no real substance. Therefore a Bodhisattva, Mahàsattva,should produce a pure heart. A pure heart is free of attachment. That means you do not broadcast your good deeds to insure that whatever merit and virtue may have accrued be properly credited. Such a heart is impure. It is dirty. If you have the thought of self and others when you do virtuous acts to adorn Buddhalands, then there are no virtuous acts and
there is no adornment. A Bodhisattva’s heart should be pure, without self or others, and without right or wrong. Thoughts which delineate self, others, living beings, and a life are not pure. A heart which is attached to the six dusts is not pure,and is devoid of true and proper merit and virtue.

He should produce that heart without dwelling anywhere.
He should, without having any attachment, produce that heart. He should have no thought. If you can have no thought, you are not attached anywhere. If you can have no thought, you can produce that heart without dwelling anywhere.
The Buddha used another example. “Suppose a person had a
body like Sumeru, King of Mountains… . Would that body be big?
Subhåti said, “Very big, but afterwards added, “It is said by the Buddha to be no body, therefore it is called a big body.
Mt. Sumeru, although big, nonetheless has a measure. If you have Mt. Sumeru you still have a measure. If you manage to have no body, nothing can compare to it, and so it is called a big body. If there is a measure for it, then the body is not really big. No body, a body without measure, is
truly a big body.

Saya kurang mengerti. Awalnya ada dharma kecil dan dharma besar. Dharma kecil ini dikatakan tidak benar. Lalu saya tanya definisi dharma kecil dan dharma besar, sekarang kok jawabnya 'tidak terukur'? Jangan jauh-jauh dulu, nanti susah bahasnya.

[Predator]

Saya kurang mengerti. Awalnya ada dharma kecil dan dharma besar. Dharma kecil ini dikatakan tidak benar. Lalu saya tanya definisi dharma kecil dan dharma besar, sekarang kok jawabnya 'tidak terukur'? Jangan jauh-jauh dulu, nanti susah bahasnya.

menurut Ronald Epstein, Ph.D, Former Professor of Buddhism at San Francisco State University :
http://www.nalanda-university.com/buddhist-ayurveda-encylopedia/mahayana_hinayana_compared_maha-yana_hina_great-vehicle_small-lesser-theravada_ta-cheng-syau-cheng.htm

Mahayana and Hinayana Compared

"Maha" means great, "yana" means "vehicle", hence "Great Vehicle"; "Hinayana" means "Small Vehicle" or "Lesser Vehicle".

The modern representatives of the Hinayana belong to the Theravada School of Buddhism, which is found in Sri Lanka and most of Southeast Asia such as Burma (Myanmar) and Cambodia. Because Hinayana is a pejorative term, it is sometimes referred to as Southern Buddhism, while Mahayana is called Northern Buddhism because it came to be found in China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, and Tibet.

Mahayana and Hinayana began not as separate schools but as alternative goals which were a matter of personal choice. The adherents of each lived and practiced together. Over the centuries they developed into different schools and eventually spread into different geographic areas.

What then are the different goals? The goal of the Hinayana is that of ending attachment to self and, thereby, becoming an Arhat, who undergoes no further rebirth. The Mahayana teaches that Arhatship is not an ultimate goal; its adherents follow the Path of the  Bodhisattva, which leads to Buddhahood. The Bodhisattva is reborn voluntarily in order to aid all living beings to become  enlightened. The realization of Buddhahood includes not only realization of the  emptiness of self but also of the emptiness of dharmas, that is, of the entire psycho-physical world. (See  emptiness.)

The Mahayana accepts all of the teachings of the Hinayana; however, the Hinayana rejects the Mahayana Sutras and does not recognize the "expansive" teachings of the Mahayana about Bodhisattvas and about the Buddhas of the other directions.

"In Buddhism we find an attachment to the Great and Small Vehicles, and much opposition between them. Those of the Small Vehicle won't admit there is a Great Vehicle. And in the Great Vehicle, the attitude toward the Small Vehicle is condescending.

"Within the Buddhadharma itself this difficulty arises. You say I'm false, and I say you're false; as a result, it's become the case that both are false; neither is true. That's because the Buddha's disciples didn't listen to the Buddha's instructions and made the divisions of Great and Small.

"An expression says that one must enter as the master and come out as the servant. If you are a Great Vehicle person, then the Great Vehicle is the master, the lord, and the Small Vehicle is the servant. If you're of the Small Vehicle, then you say the Small Vehicle is the master and the Great Vehicle is the servant. All this struggle occurs right in the basic substance of the Buddhadharma. . . .

"Those of the Small Vehicle should take a step forward and not be so attached. And those of the Great Vehicle should take a step backward and not be so attached. When the two, those of both the Great and the Small Vehicles, don't have any attachments, they can become one. When they become one, then they can benefit one another and not indulge in mutual slander.

"In the Dharma-ending Age all the Buddha's disciples work on a superficial level. They don't apply their effort on the real, fundamental level. It is a very painful situation. . . .

"Is it not strange that people nowadays make discriminations and say there are only Arhats, that there aren't any Bodhisattvas or any Buddhas in the ten directions. They still argue ceaselessly, and that's really too bad. . . . In Buddhism there shouldn't be any Great Vehicle and Small Vehicle; there is only the Buddha Vehicle. There is no other vehicle. If you look at it this way, you won't be able to be so attached. Also, for the sake of the Dharma you should forget yourself. For the sake of seeking the Buddhadharma, you should spare neither body nor life. It is said that to the ends of space throughout the Dharma Realm, there isn't a place as small as a mote of dust which is not a place where all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the past, the present, and the future have given up their lives.

"All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have renounced their lives for the sake of the Buddhadharma in order to seek true principle, to seek the unsurpassed Way.

"Nowadays people not only don't seek true principle; they also indulge in slander of one another. Those of the Small Vehicle slander the Great Vehicle; those of the Great Vehicle slander the Small Vehicle. Evolving in this way Buddhism has developed a lot of discriminations: right and wrong, us and them, mine and yours. Such Buddhists don't understand in the least that the practices which the Buddhas of the past cultivated were without self and others, were beyond right and wrong. They concentrated on cultivating many Dharma doors and did not criticize the Dharma doors cultivated by others as being wrong." (LY I 146-150)

(Source:  Epstein, 2003: pp. 133 - 134)

[djoe]

Baca yang di kasih warna merah.
Untuk pengertian Besar dan Kecil dan di luar Besar dan Kecil

[djoe]

Saya kurang mengerti. Awalnya ada dharma kecil dan dharma besar. Dharma kecil ini dikatakan tidak benar. Lalu saya tanya definisi dharma kecil dan dharma besar, sekarang kok jawabnya 'tidak terukur'? Jangan jauh-jauh dulu, nanti susah bahasnya.

Bukan dalam artian benar atau salah.
Coba baca kutipan tersebut dengan sabar dan cuba untuk mencernanya. Bahasanya sederhana dan tidak susah dicerna
Karena jika di artikan atau dibicarakan, bisa jadi rancu.

[Indra]

Pada suatu titik pada periode ini, interpretasi altruistic dari pencerahan Sang Buddha yang memuncak pada konsep jalan bodhisattva berbalik pada komunitas Buddhis dan, minimal pada beberapa anggotanya, menggunakan paksaan. Ketika mereka merenungkan secara mendalam tentang apa yang dimaksudkan sebagai pengikut ideal dari Sang Buddha, siswa Buddhis demimkian berkesimpulan bahwa jejak langkah Sang Buddha dalam makna tertinggi, tidaklah cukup hanya dengan mengikuti jalan mulia berunsur delapan yang ditujukan untuk mencapai nirvāṇa. Ini masih terlihat sebagai suatu pilihan yang benar, suatu pilihan yang memuncak dalam kebebasan diri sendiri dan mereka yang terpengaruh oleh ajaran dan teladan; tetapi, mereka meyakini, Sang Buddha sendiri telah bertujuan untuk mencapai suatu kondisi yang memungkinkanNya untuk memajukan kesejahteraan dan kebahagiaan para deva dan manusia. Dengan demikian, para pemikir ini merasa, pilihan yang lebih tinggi, cara yang lebih tinggi untuk mengikuti Sang Buddha, adalah melakukan pencarian yang sama seperti yang telah dilakukan oleh Sang Buddha: dengan mengambil sumpah bodhisattva dan mengikuti jalan bodhisattva. Hal ini menandai munculnya bodhisattva-yāna sebagai konsep gaya hidup ideal Buddhis, jalan yang menyatukan pengikut sejati dari Yang Tercerahkan.

Sosok ideal ini muncul dari titik awal yang berbeda dari Buddhisme awal, dari latar belakang yang berbeda. Sedangkan Buddhisme awal mengambil (seperti yang kita lihat di atas) kondisi manusia biasa sebagai titik awalnya, dan bahkan melihat Sang Buddha sebagai seorang manusia yang tunduk pada segala kelemahan manusia, Buddhisme Mahāyāna periode awal mengambil titik awal yaitu latar belakang kosmis yang panjang hingga Sang Buddha mencapai Kebudhaan. Buddhisme Mahāyāna awal melihat kembali pada konsepsi awalnya yaitu bodhicitta, tekad awalnya, dan praktik oāramitā selama kehidupan yang tidak terhitung banyaknya, dan memperlakukan hal ini sebagai paradigma praktik. Yaitu, melihat proses ini, bukan sekadar sebagai gambaran sang jalan yang diikuti oleh seorang Buddha, melainkan sebagai jalan yang direkomendasikan yang harus dijalani oleh para siswa sejatiNya; beberapa versi Mahāyāna belakangan melihat hal ini sebagai aktualisasi potensi Kebuddhaan, tathāgatagarbha atau “embrio dari yang datang-demikian,” yang telah ada dalam diri kita.

Kita dapat membayangkan suatu periode ketika bodhisattva-yāna telah dengan sadar diterima oleh semakin banyak Buddhis, mungkin pertama dalam lingkaran kecil para bhikkhu, yang mencari tuntunan dari sūtra-sūtra dari Nikāya-nikāya atau Āgama dan kisah-kisah Jātaka yang menceritakan kehidupan-kehidupan lampau Sang Buddha. Mereka masih anggota dari komunitas Buddhis awal dan mungkin bahkan tidak sadar bahwa mereka telah berbelok dan membentuk tradisi baru. Mereka tidak menganggap diri mereka sebagai “Buddhis Mahāyāna,” seperti yang kita pahami sekarang ini, melainkan hanya sebagai komunitas Buddhis yang bertekad untuk mengikuti bodhisattva-yāna, yang mungkin mereka sebut mahāyāna hanya dalam makna bahwa hal tersebut merupakan “jalan besar” menuju pencerahan. Akan tetapi, walaupun selama beberapa saat mereka telah berusaha untuk tetap berada dalam lingkungan Buddhisme mainstream, begitu mereka mulai seecara terbuka menyebarkan sosok ideal bodhisattva, maka mereka terlibat dalam konfrontasi terbuka dengan mereka yang terikat lebih kuat pada gagasan dan sosok ideal dari sūtra-sūtra yang lebih tua dan kokoh. Konfrontasi ini memperkuat makna perbedaan dan dengan demikian mengarahkan gabungan kesadaran mereka kepada komunitas yang berputar di sekitar visi baru dari jalan dan tujuan Buddhis.

Pada titik ini mereka mungkin telah menemukan bahwa ajaran-ajaran dari Nikāya-nikāya dan sūtra-sūtra Āgama, yang menjelaskan praktik yang diperlukan untuk mencapai kebebasan dari lingkaran kelahiran dan kematian, tidak lagi sesuai dengan kebutuhan mereka. Tentu saja, mereka masih menerima ajaran-ajaran ini sebagai benar, karena ajaran tersebut juga berasal langsung dari Sang Buddha, tetapi mereka juga merasakan perlunya naskah-naskah yang berasal dari otoritas yang sama yang memberikan ajaran rinci tentang praktik dan tahap-tahapan jalan bodhisattva, yang bertujuan untuk mencapai tingkat yang tidak lebih rendah dari Kebudhaan. Adalah untuk mengisi keperluan ini, diduga, maka sūtra-sūtra Mahāyāna mulai muncul di pentas Buddhis India. Persisnya bagaimana sūtra-sūtra ini disusun pertama kali dan kemunculannya adalah suatu hal yang masih diliputi kegelapan bagi para terpelajar masa kini; [5] karena apa yang kita miliki sebagai penyelesaian hanyalah sūtra-sūtra Mahāyāna yang sudah agak berkembang dan mewakili Buddhisme Mahāyāna pada tahap yang dapat kita sebut “tahap dua” atau bahkan “tahap tiga” dari perkembangannya. Sayangnya, kita tidak dapat menggunakannya untuk melacak kembali ke tahap paling awal Mahāyāna, ketika sūtra-sūtra ini baru mulai terbentuk, atau bahkan setelah periode tersebut, ketika gagasan-gagasan Mahāyanis masih dalam tahap persiapan, mencari kata-kata belum sampai menjadi ungkapan dalam dokumen-dokumen literatur.

Ada dua sikap yang dapat dilihat dalam sūtra-suṭra Mahāyāna awal sehubungan dengan paradigma kuno berdasarkan sosok ideal Arahant. Salah satunya adalah untuk menegaskannya sebagai benar bagi khas pengikut Buddhis, sambil memuji jalan bodhisattva sebagai kendaraan yang tepat bagi orang yang memiliki cita-cita luhur. Sikap ini memperlakukan sosok ideal Arahant, atau paradigma srāvaka, dengan hormat dan penghargaan, sambil secara berlebihan memuji sosok ideal bodhisattva. Ketika sikap ini diterima, kedua jalan – bersama-sama dengan jalan menuju pencerahan dari pratyekabuddha – menjadi tiga kendaraan yang benar, yang pemilihannya diserahkan kepada siswa. Sikap lain yang terlihat dalam sūtra-sūtra Mahāyāna adalah merendahkan dan mencemarkan. Hal ini melibatkan bukan hanya membandingkan jalan menuju Kearahatan secara tidak baik terhadap jalan bodhisattva (karena semua aliran Buddhis mengenali superioritas jalan bodhisattva menuju Kebuddhaan), tetapi merendahkan dan mengolok-olok sosok ideal dari Buddhisme kuno, kadang-kadang dengan memperlakukannya nyaris dengan hina. Sikap pertama terlihat dalam teks-teks Mahāyāna awal seperti Ugrapariprcchā Sūtra.[6] Akan tetapi, dengan berjalannya waktu, sikap ke dua menjadi lebih menonjol hingga kita menemukan teks-teks seperti Vimalakīrti Sūtra, yang mengolok-olok para siswa besar Sang Buddha seperti Sāriputta, Upāli, dan Puṇṇa Mantāniputta; atau Asokadattā Sūtra, yang mana seorang gadis bodhisattva muda menolak memberi hormat kepada paara siswa besar Arahant; atau Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra, yang membandingkan nirvāṇa para Arahant dengan upah dari pekerja bayaran. Dalam beberapa sūtra, bahkan dikatakan bahwa para Arahant merasa malu dan mencela diri mereka sendiri karena mencapai Kearahatan, atau para Arahant itu angkuh dan terperdaya. Tidak diragukan bahwa sūtra-sūtra Mahāyāna sering kali memiliki bagian-bagian yang mendalam dan indah. Akan tetapi, saya percaya, bahwa sikap yang lebih berdamai terhadap bentuk Buddhisme yang lebih tua akan membuat tugas mencapai keharmonisan antara aliran-aliran Buddhis yang berbeda-beda pada masa sekarang ini, menjadi lebih mudah daripada yang seharusnya. Di dalam aliran Theravada, ajaran-ajaran Mahāyāna tentang sosok ideal bodhisattva dan praktik pāramitā dimasukkan ke dalam komentar-komentar belakangan, tetapi tidak pernah dalam cara-cara yang merendahkan, tujuan Buddhis Kearahatan yang lebih tua dan lebih histories.

[djoe]

menurut Ronald Epstein, Ph.D, Former Professor of Buddhism at San Francisco State University :
http://www.nalanda-university.com/buddhist-ayurveda-encylopedia/mahayana_hinayana_compared_maha-yana_hina_great-vehicle_small-lesser-theravada_ta-cheng-syau-cheng.htm

Mahayana and Hinayana Compared

"Maha" means great, "yana" means "vehicle", hence "Great Vehicle"; "Hinayana" means "Small Vehicle" or "Lesser Vehicle".

The modern representatives of the Hinayana belong to the Theravada School of Buddhism, which is found in Sri Lanka and most of Southeast Asia such as Burma (Myanmar) and Cambodia. Because Hinayana is a pejorative term, it is sometimes referred to as Southern Buddhism, while Mahayana is called Northern Buddhism because it came to be found in China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, and Tibet.

Mahayana and Hinayana began not as separate schools but as alternative goals which were a matter of personal choice. The adherents of each lived and practiced together. Over the centuries they developed into different schools and eventually spread into different geographic areas.

What then are the different goals? The goal of the Hinayana is that of ending attachment to self and, thereby, becoming an Arhat, who undergoes no further rebirth. The Mahayana teaches that Arhatship is not an ultimate goal; its adherents follow the Path of the  Bodhisattva, which leads to Buddhahood. The Bodhisattva is reborn voluntarily in order to aid all living beings to become  enlightened. The realization of Buddhahood includes not only realization of the  emptiness of self but also of the emptiness of dharmas, that is, of the entire psycho-physical world. (See  emptiness.)

The Mahayana accepts all of the teachings of the Hinayana; however, the Hinayana rejects the Mahayana Sutras and does not recognize the "expansive" teachings of the Mahayana about Bodhisattvas and about the Buddhas of the other directions.

"In Buddhism we find an attachment to the Great and Small Vehicles, and much opposition between them. Those of the Small Vehicle won't admit there is a Great Vehicle. And in the Great Vehicle, the attitude toward the Small Vehicle is condescending.

"Within the Buddhadharma itself this difficulty arises. You say I'm false, and I say you're false; as a result, it's become the case that both are false; neither is true. That's because the Buddha's disciples didn't listen to the Buddha's instructions and made the divisions of Great and Small.

"An expression says that one must enter as the master and come out as the servant. If you are a Great Vehicle person, then the Great Vehicle is the master, the lord, and the Small Vehicle is the servant. If you're of the Small Vehicle, then you say the Small Vehicle is the master and the Great Vehicle is the servant. All this struggle occurs right in the basic substance of the Buddhadharma. . . .

"Those of the Small Vehicle should take a step forward and not be so attached. And those of the Great Vehicle should take a step backward and not be so attached. When the two, those of both the Great and the Small Vehicles, don't have any attachments, they can become one. When they become one, then they can benefit one another and not indulge in mutual slander.

"In the Dharma-ending Age all the Buddha's disciples work on a superficial level. They don't apply their effort on the real, fundamental level. It is a very painful situation. . . .

"Is it not strange that people nowadays make discriminations and say there are only Arhats, that there aren't any Bodhisattvas or any Buddhas in the ten directions. They still argue ceaselessly, and that's really too bad. . . . In Buddhism there shouldn't be any Great Vehicle and Small Vehicle; there is only the Buddha Vehicle. There is no other vehicle. If you look at it this way, you won't be able to be so attached. Also, for the sake of the Dharma you should forget yourself. For the sake of seeking the Buddhadharma, you should spare neither body nor life. It is said that to the ends of space throughout the Dharma Realm, there isn't a place as small as a mote of dust which is not a place where all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the past, the present, and the future have given up their lives.

"All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have renounced their lives for the sake of the Buddhadharma in order to seek true principle, to seek the unsurpassed Way.

"Nowadays people not only don't seek true principle; they also indulge in slander of one another. Those of the Small Vehicle slander the Great Vehicle; those of the Great Vehicle slander the Small Vehicle. Evolving in this way Buddhism has developed a lot of discriminations: right and wrong, us and them, mine and yours. Such Buddhists don't understand in the least that the practices which the Buddhas of the past cultivated were without self and others, were beyond right and wrong. They concentrated on cultivating many Dharma doors and did not criticize the Dharma doors cultivated by others as being wrong." (LY I 146-150)

(Source:  Epstein, 2003: pp. 133 - 134)

Menurut saya Great Vechicle, Small Vehicle bukan aliran tetapi bersifat personal dan individu.
Jika anda membatasi dharma maka anda masuk small Vehicle, membatasi diri anda terhadap dharma.

Akan lebih baik jika kita memakai kata Greate Vehicle atau Small Vehicle, karena ada konotasi negatif yang melekat pada kata Hina.