Difference between revisions of "Lokottara-vāda"
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− | '''[[Lokottara-vāda]]''' ([[Sanskrit]]). ‘The [[Supermundane]] | + | '''[[Lokottara-vāda]]''' ([[Sanskrit]]). ‘The [[Supermundane School]]’, also known as ‘The [[One-utterance School]]’ ([[Ekavyavahāra]]), being a subdivision of the [[Mahāsaṃghika]] which [[taught]] that a [[Buddha]] in [[reality]] is endowed with a {{Wiki|supermundane}} ([[lokottara]]) [[nature]], [[omniscience]], {{Wiki|limitless}} power, and [[eternal life]]. |
+ | |||
+ | It also [[taught]] the docetic [[doctrine]] that any {{Wiki|physical}} {{Wiki|manifestations}} or [[actions]] on [[earth]] undertaken by a [[Buddha]] are merely [[appearances]] or {{Wiki|illusory}} {{Wiki|projections}} performed to save [[beings]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Little {{Wiki|literature}} remains of this school with the exception of the [[Mahāvastu]] and the [[Bhiksunī Vinaya]], or [[monastic rule for nuns]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The [[Buddhological]] [[ideas]] of this school seem to have influenced the [[development]] of similar [[Mahāyāna]] [[Wikipedia:concept|concepts]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The [[Lokottaravāda]] ([[Sanskrit]]; {{Wiki|traditional Chinese}}: [[說出世部]]; pinyin: [[Shuō Chūshì Bù]]) was one of the early [[Buddhist]] schools, according to [[Mahāyāna]] {{Wiki|doxological}} sources compiled by [[Bhavyaviveka]], {{Wiki|Vinitadeva}} and others, and was a sub-group which emerged from the [[Mahāsāṃghika]] [[sect]]. | ||
− | |||
{{Wiki|Etymology}} | {{Wiki|Etymology}} | ||
− | The [[name]] [[Lokottaravāda]] means those who follow the {{Wiki|supramundane}} (Skt. [[lokottara]]), or [[transcendent]], teachings. Despite bearing this [[name]], all sub-sects of the [[Mahāsāṃghikas]] seem to have accepted [[forms]] of {{Wiki|supramundane}} or {{Wiki|transcendent}} teachings. | + | |
+ | The [[name]] [[Lokottaravāda]] means those who follow the {{Wiki|supramundane}} (Skt. [[lokottara]]), or [[transcendent]], teachings. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Despite bearing this [[name]], all sub-sects of the [[Mahāsāṃghikas]] seem to have accepted [[forms]] of {{Wiki|supramundane}} or {{Wiki|transcendent}} teachings. | ||
Early history | Early history | ||
− | The [[Śāriputraparipṛcchā]] and the [[Samayabhedoparacanacakra]] both suggest that the [[Lokottaravāda]] had their origins with the [[Ekavyāvahārikas]] and the [[Gokulika]]'s. While the [[Mahāsāṃghikas]] initially flourished in the region around {{Wiki|Magadha}}, the [[Lokottaravādins]] are known to have flourished in the [[Northwest]]. | + | |
− | The 6th century CE [[Indian]] [[monk]] [[Paramārtha]] wrote that 200 years after the [[parinirvāṇa]] of the [[Buddha]], much of the [[Mahāsāṃghika]] school moved [[north]] of {{Wiki|Rājagṛha}}, and were divided over whether the [[Mahāyāna]] teachings should be incorporated formally into their [[Tripiṭaka]]. According to this account, they split into [[three groups]] based upon the [[relative]] manner and [[degree]] to which they accepted the authority of these [[Mahāyāna]] texts. | + | |
+ | The [[Śāriputraparipṛcchā]] and the [[Samayabhedoparacanacakra]] both suggest that the [[Lokottaravāda]] had their origins with the [[Ekavyāvahārikas]] and the [[Gokulika]]'s. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | While the [[Mahāsāṃghikas]] initially flourished in the region around {{Wiki|Magadha}}, the [[Lokottaravādins]] are known to have flourished in the [[Northwest]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The 6th century CE [[Indian]] [[monk]] [[Paramārtha]] wrote that 200 years after the [[parinirvāṇa]] of the [[Buddha]], much of the [[Mahāsāṃghika]] school moved [[north]] of {{Wiki|Rājagṛha}}, and were divided over whether the [[Mahāyāna]] teachings should be incorporated formally into their [[Tripiṭaka]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | According to this account, they split into [[three groups]] based upon the [[relative]] manner and [[degree]] to which they accepted the authority of these [[Mahāyāna]] texts. | ||
+ | |||
+ | According to [[Paramārtha]], the [[Lokottaravādins]] accepted the [[Mahāyāna sūtras]] as the words of the [[Buddha]] ([[buddhavacana]]). | ||
Texts | Texts | ||
[[Mahāvastu]] | [[Mahāvastu]] | ||
− | [[Lokottaravādin]] [[views]] are known from the [[Mahāvastu]], which is a rare surviving [[Mahāsāṃghika]] text in [[Sanskrit]]. The [[Mahāvastu]] is a {{Wiki|biography}} of the [[Buddha]] which [[attributes]] itself to the [[Lokottaravādins]], and appears to have been an extended section of their [[vinaya]] recension. The [[Sanskrit]] text of the [[Mahāvastu]] was preserved in the libraries of the [[Mahāyāna]] [[Buddhists]] of [[Nepal]]. | + | [[Lokottaravādin]] [[views]] are known from the [[Mahāvastu]], which is a rare surviving [[Mahāsāṃghika]] text in [[Sanskrit]]. |
+ | |||
+ | The [[Mahāvastu]] is a {{Wiki|biography}} of the [[Buddha]] which [[attributes]] itself to the [[Lokottaravādins]], and appears to have been an extended section of their [[vinaya]] recension. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The [[Sanskrit]] text of the [[Mahāvastu]] was preserved in the libraries of the [[Mahāyāna]] [[Buddhists]] of [[Nepal]]. | ||
[[Sukhāvatīvyūha]] [[influences]] | [[Sukhāvatīvyūha]] [[influences]] | ||
− | Some {{Wiki|scholars}} believe that the [[Mahāyāna]] Longer [[Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra]] was compiled in the age of the {{Wiki|Kuṣāṇa}} {{Wiki|Dynasty}} in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE, by an order of [[Mahīśāsaka]] [[bhikṣus]], which flourished in the [[Gandhāra]] region. However, it is likely that the longer [[Sukhāvatīvyūha]] owes greatly to the [[Lokottaravāda]] [[sect]] as well for its compilation, and in this [[sūtra]] there are many [[elements]] in common with the [[Lokottaravādin Mahāvastu]]. The earliest of these translations show traces of having been translated from the {{Wiki|Gāndhārī language}}, a {{Wiki|prakrit}} used in the [[Northwest]]. | + | |
+ | Some {{Wiki|scholars}} believe that the [[Mahāyāna]] Longer [[Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra]] was compiled in the age of the {{Wiki|Kuṣāṇa}} {{Wiki|Dynasty}} in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE, by an order of [[Mahīśāsaka]] [[bhikṣus]], which flourished in the [[Gandhāra]] region. | ||
+ | |||
+ | However, it is likely that the longer [[Sukhāvatīvyūha]] owes greatly to the [[Lokottaravāda]] [[sect]] as well for its compilation, and in this [[sūtra]] there are many [[elements]] in common with the [[Lokottaravādin Mahāvastu]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The earliest of these translations show traces of having been translated from the {{Wiki|Gāndhārī language}}, a {{Wiki|prakrit}} used in the [[Northwest]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
[[Bamiyan]] [[monastery]] collection | [[Bamiyan]] [[monastery]] collection | ||
− | The {{Wiki|Chinese}} [[Buddhist monk]] [[Xuanzang]] visited a [[Lokottaravāda]] [[monastery]] in the 7th century CE, at [[Bamiyan]], {{Wiki|Afghanistan}}, and this [[monastery]] site has since been rediscovered by {{Wiki|archaeologists}}. Birchbark and palm leaf [[manuscripts]] of texts in this [[monastery's]] collection, including [[Mahāyāna sūtras]], have been discovered at the site, and these are now located in the {{Wiki|Schøyen Collection}}. Some [[manuscripts]] are in the {{Wiki|Gāndhārī language}} and [[Kharoṣṭhī script]], while others are in [[Sanskrit]] written in [[forms]] of the [[Gupta script]]. Manuscripts and fragments that have survived from this [[monastery's]] collection include the following source texts: | + | |
+ | |||
+ | The {{Wiki|Chinese}} [[Buddhist monk]] [[Xuanzang]] visited a [[Lokottaravāda]] [[monastery]] in the 7th century CE, at [[Bamiyan]], {{Wiki|Afghanistan}}, and this [[monastery]] site has since been rediscovered by {{Wiki|archaeologists}}. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Birchbark and palm leaf [[manuscripts]] of texts in this [[monastery's]] collection, including [[Mahāyāna sūtras]], have been discovered at the site, and these are now located in the {{Wiki|Schøyen Collection}}. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Some [[manuscripts]] are in the {{Wiki|Gāndhārī language}} and [[Kharoṣṭhī script]], while others are in [[Sanskrit]] written in [[forms]] of the [[Gupta script]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | Manuscripts and fragments that have survived from this [[monastery's]] collection include the following source texts: | ||
+ | |||
[[Pratimokṣa Vibhaṅga]] of the [[Mahāsāṃghika-Lokottaravāda]] (MS 2382/269) | [[Pratimokṣa Vibhaṅga]] of the [[Mahāsāṃghika-Lokottaravāda]] (MS 2382/269) | ||
+ | |||
[[Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra]], a [[sūtra]] from the [[Āgamas]] (MS 2179/44) | [[Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra]], a [[sūtra]] from the [[Āgamas]] (MS 2179/44) | ||
+ | |||
[[Caṃgī Sūtra]], a [[sūtra]] from the [[Āgamas]] (MS 2376) | [[Caṃgī Sūtra]], a [[sūtra]] from the [[Āgamas]] (MS 2376) | ||
+ | |||
[[Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra]], a [[Mahāyāna sūtra]] (MS 2385) | [[Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra]], a [[Mahāyāna sūtra]] (MS 2385) | ||
+ | |||
[[Bhaiṣajyaguru Sūtra]], a [[Mahāyāna sūtra]] (MS 2385) | [[Bhaiṣajyaguru Sūtra]], a [[Mahāyāna sūtra]] (MS 2385) | ||
+ | |||
[[Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra]], a [[Mahāyāna sūtra]] (MS 2378) | [[Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra]], a [[Mahāyāna sūtra]] (MS 2378) | ||
+ | |||
[[Pravāraṇa Sūtra]], a [[Mahāyāna sūtra]] (MS 2378) | [[Pravāraṇa Sūtra]], a [[Mahāyāna sūtra]] (MS 2378) | ||
+ | |||
[[Sarvadharmapravṛttinirdeśa Sūtra]], a [[Mahāyāna sūtra]] (MS 2378) | [[Sarvadharmapravṛttinirdeśa Sūtra]], a [[Mahāyāna sūtra]] (MS 2378) | ||
+ | |||
[[Ajātaśatrukaukṛtyavinodana Sūtra]], a [[Mahāyāna sūtra]] (MS 2378) | [[Ajātaśatrukaukṛtyavinodana Sūtra]], a [[Mahāyāna sūtra]] (MS 2378) | ||
[[Śāriputra Abhidharma Śāstra]] (MS 2375/08) | [[Śāriputra Abhidharma Śāstra]] (MS 2375/08) | ||
− | |||
− | |||
− | The [[Buddha]] is viewed as [[transcendent]] (Skt. [[lokottara]]) and his [[life]] and [[physical]] [[manifestation]] are mere [[appearance]]. The [[Lokottaravāda]] school upheld the [[Mahāsāṃghika]] view of the [[supramundane]] [[nature]] of the [[buddhas]] and [[bodhisattvas]], and the imperfection and fallibility of [[arhats]]. | + | It is likely that the [[Lokottaravādins]] had no major [[doctrinal]] {{Wiki|distinctions}} to distinguish them as different from [[Mahāsāṃghika]], but that the difference was instead a geographic one. [[Tāranātha]] viewed the [[Ekavyāvahārikas]], [[Lokottaravādins]], and [[Gokulikas]] as being [[essentially]] the same. |
+ | |||
+ | He even viewed [[Ekavyāvahārika]] as being a general term for the [[Mahāsaṃghikas]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The earlier [[Samayabhedoparacanacakra]] of [[Vasumitra]] also regards the [[Ekavyāvahārikas]], [[Gokulikas]], and [[Lokottaravādins]] as being doctrinally indistinguishable. | ||
+ | |||
+ | According to [[Vasumitra]], 48 theses were held in common by these three [[Mahāsāṃghika]] sects. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Of the 48 special theses attributed by the [[Samayabhedoparacanacakra]] to these sects, 20 points [[concern]] the [[supramundane]] [[nature]] of [[buddhas]] and [[bodhisattvas]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | The [[Lokottaravādins]] asserted that there are no real things in the [[world]] except two kinds of [[emptiness]] (Skt. [[śūnyatā]]), that is, the [[emptiness]] of a [[self]] (Skt. [[pudgala-śūnyatā]]) and the [[emptiness of phenomena]] (Skt. [[dharma-śūnyatā]]). | ||
+ | |||
+ | This two-fold view of [[emptiness]] is also a distinguishing [[characteristic]] of [[Mahāyāna Buddhism]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | The [[Buddha]] is viewed as [[transcendent]] (Skt. [[lokottara]]) and his [[life]] and [[physical]] [[manifestation]] are mere [[appearance]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The [[Lokottaravāda]] school upheld the [[Mahāsāṃghika]] view of the [[supramundane]] [[nature]] of the [[buddhas]] and [[bodhisattvas]], and the imperfection and fallibility of [[arhats]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
[[Bodhisattvas]] | [[Bodhisattvas]] | ||
− | The [[Lokottaravādin Mahāvastu]] speaks of [[Buddhism]] as consisting of the [[Three Vehicles]], and includes specific instructions regarding the [[Bodhisattva Path]] and the practices of [[bodhisattvas]]. From the [[Mahāvastu]], we know that the [[Lokottaravādins]] had a {{Wiki|conception}} of a [[bodhisattva's]] progress toward [[enlightenment]] as consisting of [[ten grounds]], or [[bhūmis]], as required for [[Mahāyāna]] bodhisattvas.These [[bhūmis]] described in the [[Mahāvastu]] are similar to those in the [[Mahāyāna]] [[Daśabhūmika Sūtra]], but the names of these stages seem to differ somewhat. | + | |
+ | |||
+ | The [[Lokottaravādin Mahāvastu]] speaks of [[Buddhism]] as consisting of the [[Three Vehicles]], and includes specific instructions regarding the [[Bodhisattva Path]] and the practices of [[bodhisattvas]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | From the [[Mahāvastu]], we know that the [[Lokottaravādins]] had a {{Wiki|conception}} of a [[bodhisattva's]] progress toward [[enlightenment]] as consisting of [[ten grounds]], or [[bhūmis]], as required for [[Mahāyāna]] [[bodhisattvas]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | These [[bhūmis]] described in the [[Mahāvastu]] are similar to those in the [[Mahāyāna]] [[Daśabhūmika Sūtra]], but the names of these stages seem to differ somewhat. | ||
[[Buddha-fields]] | [[Buddha-fields]] | ||
− | From the [[Mahāvastu]], it is evident that the [[Lokottaravādins]] also held that there were {{Wiki|innumerable}} [[buddha-fields]] (Skt. [[buddha-kṣetra]]), throughout which there are {{Wiki|innumerable}} [[buddhas]] and {{Wiki|innumerable}} tenth-ground [[bodhisattvas]] who will become [[buddhas]]. Each is said to lead {{Wiki|limitless}} [[sentient beings]] to [[liberation]], yet the number of [[sentient beings]] is [[essentially]] [[infinite]]. | + | |
+ | From the [[Mahāvastu]], it is evident that the [[Lokottaravādins]] also held that there were {{Wiki|innumerable}} [[buddha-fields]] (Skt. [[buddha-kṣetra]]), throughout which there are {{Wiki|innumerable}} [[buddhas]] and {{Wiki|innumerable}} tenth-ground [[bodhisattvas]] who will become [[buddhas]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Each is said to lead {{Wiki|limitless}} [[sentient beings]] to [[liberation]], yet the number of [[sentient beings]] is [[essentially]] [[infinite]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
Equality of [[buddhas]] | Equality of [[buddhas]] | ||
− | In the [[Mahāvastu]], there are some [[Lokottaravādin]] accounts of the [[nature]] of [[buddhas]] which have strong parallels to those in [[Mahāyāna sūtras]]. 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 [[Mahāyāna]] [[Śūraṅgama Samādhi Sūtra]]. 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]], and not the [[throne]] of others. 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 [[Śūraṅgama Samādhi Sūtra]], the [[Buddha's]] answer is ultimately that they are all {{Wiki|equal}}, because the [[nature]] of [[buddhas]] is not apart from all [[phenomena]]. | + | |
+ | In the [[Mahāvastu]], there are some [[Lokottaravādin]] accounts of the [[nature]] of [[buddhas]] which have strong parallels to those in [[Mahāyāna sūtras]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | 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 [[Mahāyāna]] [[Śūraṅgama Samādhi Sūtra]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | 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]], and not the [[throne]] of others. | ||
+ | |||
+ | 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 [[Śūraṅgama Samādhi Sūtra]], the [[Buddha's]] answer is ultimately that they are all {{Wiki|equal}}, because the [[nature]] of [[buddhas]] is not apart from all [[phenomena]]. | ||
[[Future buddhas]] | [[Future buddhas]] | ||
+ | |||
In the [[Mahāvastu]], 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 {{Wiki|future}} following [[Gautama Buddha]]. | In the [[Mahāvastu]], 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 {{Wiki|future}} following [[Gautama Buddha]]. |
Revision as of 10:55, 8 April 2015
Lokottara-vāda (Sanskrit). ‘The Supermundane School’, also known as ‘The One-utterance School’ (Ekavyavahāra), being a subdivision of the Mahāsaṃghika which taught that a Buddha in reality is endowed with a supermundane (lokottara) nature, omniscience, limitless power, and eternal life.
It also taught the docetic doctrine that any physical manifestations or actions on earth undertaken by a Buddha are merely appearances or illusory projections performed to save beings.
Little literature remains of this school with the exception of the Mahāvastu and the Bhiksunī Vinaya, or monastic rule for nuns.
The Buddhological ideas of this school seem to have influenced the development of similar Mahāyāna concepts.
The Lokottaravāda (Sanskrit; traditional Chinese: 說出世部; pinyin: Shuō Chūshì Bù) was one of the early Buddhist schools, according to Mahāyāna doxological sources compiled by Bhavyaviveka, Vinitadeva and others, and was a sub-group which emerged from the Mahāsāṃghika sect.
Etymology
The name Lokottaravāda means those who follow the supramundane (Skt. lokottara), or transcendent, teachings.
Despite bearing this name, all sub-sects of the Mahāsāṃghikas seem to have accepted forms of supramundane or transcendent teachings.
Early history
The Śāriputraparipṛcchā and the Samayabhedoparacanacakra both suggest that the Lokottaravāda had their origins with the Ekavyāvahārikas and the Gokulika's.
While the Mahāsāṃghikas initially flourished in the region around Magadha, the Lokottaravādins are known to have flourished in the Northwest.
The 6th century CE Indian monk Paramārtha wrote that 200 years after the parinirvāṇa of the Buddha, much of the Mahāsāṃghika school moved north of Rājagṛha, and were divided over whether the Mahāyāna teachings should be incorporated formally into their Tripiṭaka.
According to this account, they split into three groups based upon the relative manner and degree to which they accepted the authority of these Mahāyāna texts.
According to Paramārtha, the Lokottaravādins accepted the Mahāyāna sūtras as the words of the Buddha (buddhavacana).
Texts
Mahāvastu
Lokottaravādin views are known from the Mahāvastu, which is a rare surviving Mahāsāṃghika text in Sanskrit.
The Mahāvastu is a biography of the Buddha which attributes itself to the Lokottaravādins, and appears to have been an extended section of their vinaya recension.
The Sanskrit text of the Mahāvastu was preserved in the libraries of the Mahāyāna Buddhists of Nepal.
Sukhāvatīvyūha influences
Some scholars believe that the Mahāyāna Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra was compiled in the age of the Kuṣāṇa Dynasty in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE, by an order of Mahīśāsaka bhikṣus, which flourished in the Gandhāra region.
However, it is likely that the longer Sukhāvatīvyūha owes greatly to the Lokottaravāda sect as well for its compilation, and in this sūtra there are many elements in common with the Lokottaravādin Mahāvastu.
The earliest of these translations show traces of having been translated from the Gāndhārī language, a prakrit used in the Northwest.
Bamiyan monastery collection
The Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang visited a Lokottaravāda monastery in the 7th century CE, at Bamiyan, Afghanistan, and this monastery site has since been rediscovered by archaeologists.
Birchbark and palm leaf manuscripts of texts in this monastery's collection, including Mahāyāna sūtras, have been discovered at the site, and these are now located in the Schøyen Collection.
Some manuscripts are in the Gāndhārī language and Kharoṣṭhī script, while others are in Sanskrit written in forms of the Gupta script.
Manuscripts and fragments that have survived from this monastery's collection include the following source texts:
Pratimokṣa Vibhaṅga of the Mahāsāṃghika-Lokottaravāda (MS 2382/269)
Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, a sūtra from the Āgamas (MS 2179/44)
Caṃgī Sūtra, a sūtra from the Āgamas (MS 2376)
Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, a Mahāyāna sūtra (MS 2385)
Bhaiṣajyaguru Sūtra, a Mahāyāna sūtra (MS 2385)
Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra, a Mahāyāna sūtra (MS 2378)
Pravāraṇa Sūtra, a Mahāyāna sūtra (MS 2378)
Sarvadharmapravṛttinirdeśa Sūtra, a Mahāyāna sūtra (MS 2378)
Ajātaśatrukaukṛtyavinodana Sūtra, a Mahāyāna sūtra (MS 2378)
Śāriputra Abhidharma Śāstra (MS 2375/08)
It is likely that the Lokottaravādins had no major doctrinal distinctions to distinguish them as different from Mahāsāṃghika, but that the difference was instead a geographic one. Tāranātha viewed the Ekavyāvahārikas, Lokottaravādins, and Gokulikas as being essentially the same.
He even viewed Ekavyāvahārika as being a general term for the Mahāsaṃghikas.
The earlier Samayabhedoparacanacakra of Vasumitra also regards the Ekavyāvahārikas, Gokulikas, and Lokottaravādins as being doctrinally indistinguishable.
According to Vasumitra, 48 theses were held in common by these three Mahāsāṃghika sects.
Of the 48 special theses attributed by the Samayabhedoparacanacakra to these sects, 20 points concern the supramundane nature of buddhas and bodhisattvas.
The Lokottaravādins asserted that there are no real things in the world except two kinds of emptiness (Skt. śūnyatā), that is, the emptiness of a self (Skt. pudgala-śūnyatā) and the emptiness of phenomena (Skt. dharma-śūnyatā).
This two-fold view of emptiness is also a distinguishing characteristic of Mahāyāna Buddhism.
The Buddha is viewed as transcendent (Skt. lokottara) and his life and physical manifestation are mere appearance.
The Lokottaravāda school upheld the Mahāsāṃghika view of the supramundane nature of the buddhas and bodhisattvas, and the imperfection and fallibility of arhats.
Bodhisattvas
The Lokottaravādin Mahāvastu speaks of Buddhism as consisting of the Three Vehicles, and includes specific instructions regarding the Bodhisattva Path and the practices of bodhisattvas.
From the Mahāvastu, we know that the Lokottaravādins had a conception of a bodhisattva's progress toward enlightenment as consisting of ten grounds, or bhūmis, as required for Mahāyāna bodhisattvas.
These bhūmis described in the Mahāvastu are similar to those in the Mahāyāna Daśabhūmika Sūtra, but the names of these stages seem to differ somewhat.
Buddha-fields
From the Mahāvastu, it is evident that the Lokottaravādins also held that there were innumerable buddha-fields (Skt. buddha-kṣetra), 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 is essentially infinite.
Equality of buddhas
In the Mahāvastu, there are some Lokottaravādin accounts of the nature of buddhas which have strong parallels to those in Mahāyāna sūtras.
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 Mahāyāna Śūraṅgama Samādhi Sūtra.
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, and not the throne of others.
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 Śūraṅgama Samādhi Sūtra, the Buddha's answer is ultimately that they are all equal, because the nature of buddhas is not apart from all phenomena.
Future buddhas
In the Mahāvastu, 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 Mahāsāṃghika-Lokottaravāda view is contrasted with the common view in the Theravāda tradition, which holds that five buddhas are destined to follow Gautama.