Sthavira nikāya

The Sthavira nikāya (Sanskrit "Sect of the Elders"; traditional Chinese: 上座部; ; pinyin: Shàngzuò Bù) was one of the early Buddhist schools. They were a group of reformists who split from the conservative majority Mahāsāṃghikas at the Second Buddhist council, resulting in the first schism in the Sangha. After unsuccessfully trying to modify the Vinaya, a small group of "elderly members", i.e. sthaviras, broke away from the majority Mahāsāṃghika during the Second Buddhist council, giving rise to the Sthavira nikāya.

The Sthaviras were a group of reformists who split from the conservative majority Mahāsāṃghikas at the Second Buddhist council, resulting in the first schism in the Sangha. After unsuccessfully trying to modify the vinaya, a small group of "elderly members", i.e. sthaviras, broke away from the majority Mahāsāṃghika during the Second Buddhist council, giving rise to the Sthavira sect.

The Mahāsāṃghika Śāriputraparipṛcchā states the council was convened at Pāṭaliputra over matters of vinaya, and it is explained that the schism resulted from the majority (Mahāsaṃgha) refusing to accept the addition of rules to the Vinaya by the minority (Sthaviras). The Mahāsāṃghikas therefore saw the Sthaviras as being a breakaway group which was attempting to modify the original Vinaya.

Scholars have generally agreed that the matter of dispute was indeed a matter of vinaya, and have noted that the account of the Mahāsāṃghikas is bolstered by the vinaya texts themselves, as vinayas associated with the Sthaviras do contain more rules than those of the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya. Modern scholarship therefore generally agrees that the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya is the oldest. According to Skilton, future scholars may determine that a study of the Mahāsāṃghika school will contribute to a better understanding of the early Dhamma-Vinaya than the Theravada school.

The Tibetan historian Buton Rinchen Drub wrote that the Mahāsāṃghikas used Prakrit, the Sarvāstivādins used Sanskrit, the Sthaviras used Paiśācī, and the Saṃmitīya used Apabhraṃśa.

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