 the sthavira nikÄya (; ) literally "sect of the elders," was one of the early buddhist schools. it was one of the two main movements in early buddhism that arose from the great schism in pre-sectarian buddhism, the other being that of the mahÄsÄá¹ghika school. the sthavira sect was also called sthÄvirÄ«ya. ==scholarly views== ===origin=== most sources place the origin of the sthaviras to the second buddhist council. traditions regarding the second council are confusing and ambiguous, but it is agreed that the overall result was the first schism in the saá¹gha, between the sthaviras and the mahÄsÄá¹ghikas, although it is not agreed upon by all what the cause of this split was.skilton, andrew. a concise history of buddhism. 2004. p. 47 one suggested cause of the great schism were the disagreements in the five theories about an arhat supposedly put forward by mahÄdeva, who later founded the mahÄsÄá¹ghika. the monks who rejected the five theories named themselves as "sthavira" to differentiate from the mahÄsÄá¹ghika.dutt, nalinaksha (2nd ed., 1978). buddhist sects in india. delhi: motilal banarsidass. however, this account relies on a later text, the mahÄvaá¹sa. vasumitra's samayabhedoparacanacakra, an earlier source whose writing probably dates from around 100 ce, and which is preserved in chinese and tibetan, there is no mention of any such person named mahÄdeva. instead, it lists the names of the well-known figures who accepted or rejected the five theories. Ãtienne lamotte has also demonstrated that the existence of the "mahÄdeva" character was a later sectarian interpolation.(p.&nbsp;42) andrew skilton has suggested that the problems of contradictory accounts are solved by the mahÄsÄá¹ghika ÅÄriputraparipá¹cchÄ, which is the earliest surviving account of the schism.skilton, andrew. a concise history of buddhism. 2004. p. 48 in this account, the council was convened at pÄá¹­aliputra over matters of vinaya, and it is explained that the schism resulted from the majority (mahÄsaá¹gha) refusing to accept the addition of rules to the vinaya by the minority (sthaviras). the mahÄsÄá¹ghikas therefore saw the sthaviras as being a breakaway group which was attempting to modify the original vinaya.skilton, andrew. a concise history of buddhism. 2004. p. 64 scholars have generally agreed that the matter of dispute was indeed a matter of vinaya, and have noted that the account of the mahÄsÄá¹ghikas is bolstered by the vinaya texts themselves, as vinayas associated with the sthaviras do contain more rules than those of the mahÄsÄá¹ghika vinaya. modern scholarship therefore generally agrees that the mahÄsÄá¹ghika vinaya is the oldest. according to skilton, future scholars may determine that a study
Early_Buddhist_schools Nikaya_schools