STHAVIRA Skt., roughly “adherent of the elders”; one of the two Hīnayāna schools into which the original Buddhist community split at the third Buddhist council of Pātaliputra. The split took place as a result of disagreements over the nature of an arhat. A monk named Mahādeva is said to have proposed the following five theses: (1) an arhat is still susceptible to temptation, i.e., he can still have nocturnal emissions of semen; (2) he is not yet free from ignorance (avidyā); (3) he is still subject to doubt concerning the teaching; (4) he can still make progress on the path of liberation through the help of others; (5) he can still make progress on the path of liberation through enunciating certain sounds and through concentration (samādhi). The Sthaviras rejected these theses; their opponents, the Mahāsānghikas, accepted them.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
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External Links: Branches of Buddhism / Schools of Buddhism / Early Buddhist schools / The eighteen schools / Sthavira nikāya