The term Nikāya Buddhism was coined by Masatoshi Nagatomi as a non-derogatory substitute for Hinayana, meaning the early Buddhist schools.
[2] The Mahāsāṃghika nikāyas generally advocated the transcendental and supramundane nature of the buddhas and bodhisattvas, and the fallibility of arhats.
[4] Avalokitavrata wrote of the Mahāsāṃghikas as using a "Great Āgama Piṭaka", which is then associated with Mahāyāna sūtras such as the Prajñāparamitā and the Ten Stages Sutra.
The Sarvāstivādin Mahāvibhāṣā Śāstra is known to employ the outlook of Buddhist practice as consisting of three vehicles: Śrāvakayāna, Pratyekabuddhayāna, and Bodhisattvayāna.
[8] The Theravada sect from Sri Lanka generally accepts the three vehicles, but categorizes these as three different types of bodhi, or enlightenment.
[9] Walpola Rahula writes of this, "At the end of a religious ceremony or an act of piety, the bhikkhu who gives benedictions, usually admonishes the congregation to make a resolution to attain Nirvana by realising one of the three Bodhis - Sravakabodhi, Pratyekabodhi or Samyaksambodhi - as they wish according to their capacity.
"[9] Jan Nattier writes that there is also no evidence that Mahāyāna ever referred to a separate formal school or sect of Buddhism, but rather that it existed as a certain set of ideals, and later doctrines, for bodhisattvas.