Mahayana is Mazdayasna

Mahayana is Mazdayasna. This seems an obvious conclusion to me - for apart from
the religious similarities between Buddhist Mahayana and Zoroastrian Mazdayasna

the two words are the same. Yet I have never heard anyone else whether
Zoroastrian or Buddhist remark on this linguistic similarity.

So how could this have come about? We know that Mazdayasna originated in
Bactria and maintained a stronghold there and we know that early Buddhism - more
of a spiritual practice than a religion - also came to flourish in Bactria. So
it would be no surprise if there were Bactrians who adopted Buddhist practices
while maintaining their Mazdayasna religion.

We can then imagine Mazdayasna Buddhist monks travelling along trade routes into
India and setting up monasteries there. Before long the original Persians died
and the local Indians - not being able to make any sense of the word Mazdayasna
in their language corrupted it to Mahayana - a more meaningful word for them.

Some people have commented that Mahayana Buddhism doesn't teach the same things as Zoroastrian Mazdayasna so that they shouldn't be equated with each other regardless of how the word Mahayana came to be used.

June 4012

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