ABSTRACT
FROM the first century before Christ to the sixth century after, the great initiative in Indian speculation was taken by Buddhism, which gives proof of a marvellous effort in philosophy. The movement was led by a comparatively new Buddhism which, about the second century after Christ, came to be distinguished from the old by the name of Mahāyāna, the Great Vehicle, as opposed to Hīnayāna, the Small Vehicle. These two forms of Buddhist thought would react one on the other until, the heresy being eliminated from India itself, the Small Vehicle was confined chiefly to Ceylon and certain colonies (Siam, Burma), while the Great conquered Central Asia and the Far East.
