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GS History Modern India
Q.

Consider the following about ‘Hinayana & Mahayana’

1. Both adopt one and the same Vinaya (Discipline).

2. Both practice the Four Noble Truths.

3. Those who venerate the bodhisattvas are called the Mahayanists.

4. Those who do not venerate the bodhisattvas are called the Hinayanists.

Which of the statements given above are correct?
Explanation:

Hinayana follows the original teaching of Buddha. It emphasizes individual salvation through self discipline and meditation. This sect of Buddhism believes in the heavenliness of Buddha and believes in Idol Worship.

  • Mahayana worships the bodhisattvas and read the Mahayana sutras while Hinayanists do not perform these.
  • Mahayana Buddhism followers think that the Buddha is a God because they think that the Buddha came down to earth to help people cross the sea of life. So the Buddha can be worshipped as a God because he is eternal and comes down to earth.
  • On the other hand Hinayana Buddhists think that The Buddha was a Human instead of a God because they think The Buddha was simply a man who found a way to Nirvana.
  • Hinayana think that The Buddha is an ordinary person because he has many human-like characteristics such as looking like a person, being born like a person, living like a person besides if he was a God he would have already known about old-aged people, diseased people and dead people. So Siddhartha Gautama is an ordinary person who devoted most of his life to finding the truth of life, to reach enlightenment. Also, the fact that Siddhartha Gautama didn’t know how to meditate before reaching the Meditation Masters suggests that Siddhartha Gautama didn’t know how to meditate and so couldn’t have been a God.
  • Both adopt one and the same Vinaya, and they have in common the prohibitions of the five offenses, and also the practice of the Four Noble Truths.

Thus, Option D is Correct

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