The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (458 page)

(3rd cent. BCE).
Under this endorsement, popular Buddhism flourished, especially in
pilgrimages
, in the development of
st
pas
and the rituals and beliefs associated with them, and in the proliferation of art and image-making. But philosophy (
abhidhamma
) also began its quest for more exact analysis of Buddhist concepts: three major schools emerged in the 3rd cent. BCE): Puggalav
da
(Skt., Pudgalav
da), Sarvastiv
da
(P
li, Sabbatthiv
da), and Vibhajjav
da
(Skt., Vibhajyav
da). Later, and even more important, came the development of ‘the Great Vehicle’, Mah
y
na, between the 2nd cent. BCE and 1st CE. It was not a single school or movement, but a drawing out of elements of practice and belief which had been in Buddhism from the outset, but without formal elaboration. Nevertheless, as the implications of these elements
were
elaborated, a new style of Buddhism began to emerge. In particular, the emphasis was no longer on making one's own way as near to enlightenment as possible (
arhat
), but on attaining what the Buddha promised and then turning back from selfish attainment in order to help others (
bodhisattva
). This led to entirely new cosmologies, as the whole spectrum of buddhas and bodhisattvas was mapped into its place. But even more disjunctively, new philosophical realizations were achieved of what the true buddha-nature must be, and how there cannot be other than that nature which is empty of self and of all differentiation (
buddhat
;
bussho
;
nyat