Mahāsāṃghika

The Mahāsāṃghika (Sanskrit: महासांघिक mahāsāṃghika; traditional Chinese: 大眾部; pinyin: dàzhòng-bù), literally the "Great Saṃgha", was one of the early Buddhist schools in ancient India.

One reason for the interest in the origins of the Mahāsāṃghika school is that their Vinaya recension appears in several ways to represent an older redaction overall. Many scholars also look to the Mahāsāṃghika branch for the initial development of Mahāyāna Buddhism.