VĀTSĪPUTRĪYA Skt.; follower of a Buddhist school that split off from the Sthaviras about 240 B.C.E .. Another name of this school is Pudgalavāda. It is the school of ancient Buddhism that diverged most from the orthodox view of the teaching. The founder of the school, Vātsīputra, a Brahmin who was originally a Sthavira, propounded the thesis that there is a person (pudgala) or individuality that is neither identical with the five aggregates (skandha) nor different from them. It is the basis of rebirth, warrants retribution for actions (karma), and even continues to exist in nirvāna. This school was one of the largest of its time, yet it encountered fierce resistance from representatives of other schools, because the “person” of the Vātsīputrīyas was regarded as nothing other than a new version of the ātman, the soul, the existence of which was considered to have been denied by the Buddha.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Documents on Vātsīputrīyas
Books on Vātsīputrīyas
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Pudgalavada / Vātsīputrīya / Saṃmitīya and other sub-schools