The LokottaravÃÂda (; ) was one of the early Buddhist schools according to MahÃÂyÃÂna doxological sources compiled by BhÃÂviveka, Vinitadeva and others, and was a subgroup which emerged from the MahÃÂsÃÂá¹Âghika.
The name LokottaravÃÂda means those who follow the supramundane (Skt. lokottara), or transcendent, teachings. Despite bearing this name, all sub-sects of the MahÃÂsÃÂá¹Âghikas seem to have accepted forms of supramundane or transcendent teachings.
The à ÂÃÂriputraparipá¹Âcchàand the SamayabhedoparacanaÃÂakra both suggest that the LokottaravÃÂda had their origins with the EkavyÃÂvahÃÂrikas and the Kukkuá¹Âikas. While the MahÃÂsÃÂá¹Âghikas initially flourished in the region around Magadha, the LokottaravÃÂdins are known to have flourished in the Northwest India.
The 6th century CE Indian monk ParamÃÂrtha wrote that 200 years after the of the Buddha, much of the school moved north of RÃÂjagá¹Âha, and were divided over whether the MahÃÂyÃÂna teachings should be incorporated formally into their Tripiá¹Âaka. According to this account, they split into three groups based upon the relative manner and degree to which they accepted the authority of these MahÃÂyÃÂna texts. According to ParamÃÂrtha, the LokottaravÃÂdins accepted the MahÃÂyÃÂna sà «tras as the words of the Buddha (buddhavacana).
LokottaravÃÂdin views are known from the MahÃÂvastu, which is a rare surviving MahÃÂsÃÂá¹Âghika text in Sanskrit. The MahÃÂvastu is a biography of the Buddha which attributes itself to the LokottaravÃÂdins, and appears to have been an extended section of their Vinaya recension. The Sanskrit text of the MahÃÂvastu was preserved in the libraries of the MahÃÂyÃÂna Buddhists of Nepal.
Some scholars believe that the MahÃÂyÃÂna Infinite Life Sà «tra was compiled in the era of the Kushan Empire, the first and second centuries CE, by an order of Mahëà ÂÃÂsaka monastics that flourished in GandhÃÂra. However, it is likely that the longer Infinite Life Sà «tra owes greatly to the LokottaravÃÂdins as well for its compilation: in this sà «tra, there are many elements in common with the MahÃÂvastu. The earliest of these translations show traces of having been translated from the GÃÂndhÃÂrë.
The Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang visited a LokottaravÃÂda vihara in the 7th century at Bamyan (modern Afghanistan); this monastery site has since been rediscovered by archaeologists. Birch bark and palm-leaf manuscripts of texts in this monastery's collection, including MahÃÂyÃÂna sà «tras, have been discovered at the site, and these are now located in the Schøyen Collection. Some manuscripts are in GÃÂndhÃÂrë and written in Kharosthi, while others are in Sanskrit written in Gupta scripts. Manuscripts and fragments that have survived from this monastery's collection include the following source texts:
It is likely that the LokottaravÃÂdins had no major doctrinal distinctions to distinguish them as different from MahÃÂsÃÂá¹Âghika, but that the difference was instead a geographic one. TÃÂranÃÂtha viewed the EkavyÃÂvahÃÂrikas, LokottaravÃÂdins, and Gokulikas as being essentially the same. He even viewed EkavyÃÂvahÃÂrika as being a general term for the MahÃÂsaá¹Âghikas. The earlier SamayabhedoparacanaÃÂakra of Vasumitra also regards the EkavyÃÂvahÃÂrikas, Gokulikas, and LokottaravÃÂdins as being doctrinally indistinguishable.
The LokottaravÃÂdins asserted that there are no real things in the world except two kinds of emptiness (Skt. à Âà «nyatÃÂ), that is, the emptiness of a self (Skt. ) and the emptiness of phenomena (Skt. ). This two-fold view of emptiness is also a distinguishing characteristic of MahÃÂyÃÂna.
According to Vasumitra, 48 theses were held in common by these three MahÃÂsÃÂá¹Âghika sects. Of the 48 special theses attributed by the SamayabhedoparacanaÃÂakra to these sects, 20 points concern the supramundane nature of buddhas and bodhisattvas. According to the SamayabhedoparacanaÃÂakra, these four groups held that the Buddha is able to know all dharmas in a single moment of the mind.
The Buddha is viewed as transcendent (Skt. lokottara) and his life and physical manifestation are mere appearance. The LokottaravÃÂda school upheld the MahÃÂsÃÂá¹Âghika view of the supramundane nature of the buddhas and bodhisattvas, and the imperfection and fallibility of arhats.
The LokottaravÃÂdin MahÃÂvastu speaks of Buddhism as consisting of the Three Vehicles, and includes specific instructions regarding the Bodhisattva Path and the practices of bodhisattvas. From the MahÃÂvastu, we know that the LokottaravÃÂdins had a conception of a bodhisattva's progress toward enlightenment as consisting of ten grounds, or bhà «mis, as required for MahÃÂyÃÂna bodhisattvas. These bhà «mis described in the MahÃÂvastu are similar to those in the MahÃÂyÃÂna Ten Stages Sà «tra, but the names of these stages seem to differ somewhat.
From the MahÃÂvastu, it is evident that the LokottaravÃÂdins also held that there were innumerable Pure Lands (Skt. ' "buddha-fields"), throughout which there are innumerable buddhas and innumerable tenth-ground bodhisattvas who will become buddhas. Each is said to lead limitless sentient beings to liberation, yet the number of sentient beings remains essentially infinite.
In the MahÃÂvastu, there are some LokottaravÃÂdin accounts of the nature of buddhas which have strong parallels to those in MahÃÂyÃÂna sà «tras. In one section, a multitude of devas are described as putting up sunshades in honor of the Buddha, who in turn shows himself sitting beneath each and every one. Each deva believes himself to be particularly honored, unaware of the fictitious character of his own buddha, who is no different from the others he sees. This has a parallel with an account in the à Âà «raá¹ gama SamÃÂdhi Sà «tra. In this text, the Buddha appears simultaneously on a vast number of lion-thrones prepared by various devas, but each deva sees only the Buddha that is sitting on his own throne. At the appropriate moment, all the buddhas are revealed to the devas, and one asks which is real – his own Buddha, or all the others. In the à Âà «raá¹ gama SamÃÂdhi Sà «tra, the Buddha's answer is ultimately that they are all equal, because the nature of buddhas is not apart from all phenomena.
In the MahÃÂvastu, the future buddha Maitreya is mentioned a number of times, and the text states that he will be just one of the one thousand buddhas who are destined to appear in the future following Gautama Buddha. The MahÃÂsÃÂá¹Âghika-LokottaravÃÂda view is contrasted with that of the TheravÃÂda, which holds that five buddhas are destined to follow Gautama.