The Mà «lasarvÃÂstivÃÂda (; ) was one of the early Buddhist schools of India. The origins of the Mà «lasarvÃÂstivÃÂda school and their relationship to the SarvÃÂstivÃÂda remain largely unknown, although various theories exist.
The continuity of the Mà «lasarvÃÂstivÃÂda monastic order remains in Tibetan Buddhism, although until recently, only Mà «lasarvÃÂstivÃÂdin bhiká¹£us (monks) existed. The Tibetan Buddhist tradition of bhiká¹£uá¹Âë (nuns) officially commenced in Bhutan on 23 June 2022, when 144 women were ordained. Previously, bhiká¹£uni ordinations were only administered in Taiwan, and later in Bodh Gaya, India.
The relationship of the Mà «lasarvÃÂstivÃÂda to the SarvÃÂstivÃÂda school is a matter of dispute; modern scholars lean towards classifying them as independent. Yijing claimed that they derived their name from being an offshoot of SarvÃÂstivÃÂda, but Buton Rinchen Drub stated that the name was a homage to SarvÃÂstivÃÂda as the "root" (mà «la) of all Buddhist schools. A number of theories have been posited by academics as to how the two are related, which Bhikkhu Sujato summaries as follows:
According to Gregory Schopen, the Mà «lasarvÃÂstivÃÂda developed during the 2nd century CE and went into decline in India by the 7th century.
The Mà «lasarvÃÂstivÃÂda were prevalent at times throughout Central Asia due to missionary activities performed in the region. A number of scholars identify three distinct major phases of missionary activities seen in the history of Buddhism in Central Asia, which are associated with the following sects chronologically:
According to the monk Yijing, at the end of the 7th century, Buddhist monks in Champa generally either belonged to the Sammitiya NikÃÂya and the Mà «lasarvÃÂstivÃÂda NikÃÂya. The latter's adherents would pull up their robes on both sides, pull the ends through the belt and hang them over it.
In the 7th century, Yijing writes that the Mà «lasarvÃÂstivÃÂda were prominent throughout the kingdom of à Ârëvijaya (modern day Sumatra, Indonesia). Yijing stayed in à Ârëvijaya for six to seven years, during which time he studied Sanskrit and translated Sanskrit texts into Chinese. Yijing states that the Mà «lasarvÃÂstivÃÂda Vinaya was almost universally adopted in this area. He writes that the subjects studied, as well as the rules and ceremonies, were essentially the same in this region as they were in India. Yijing described these islands as generally "HënayÃÂna" in orientation, but writes that the Melayu Kingdom included MahÃÂyÃÂna teachings such as Asaá¹ ga's YogÃÂcÃÂrabhà «mi à ÂÃÂstra.
Kukai, the founder of the Shingon lineage in Japan, is recorded to have required his students to study the Mà «lasarvÃÂstivÃÂda Vinaya.
The Mà «lasarvÃÂstivÃÂda Vinaya is one of three surviving Vinaya lineages, along with the Dharmaguptaka and TheravÃÂda. The Tibetan Emperor Ralpachen restricted Buddhist ordination to the Mà «lasarvÃÂstivÃÂdin Vinaya. As Buddhism was introduced to Mongolia from Tibet, Mongolian ordination follows this rule as well.
The Mà «lasarvÃÂstivÃÂda Vinaya is extant in Tibetan (9th century translation) and Chinese (8th century translation), and to some extent in the original Sanskrit.