Page "Mahāsāṃghika" Paragraph 28

Paramārtha also wrote about the origins of the Bahuśrutīya sect in connection with acceptance of Mahāyāna teachings.

According to his account, the founder of the Bahuśrutīya sect was named Yājñavalkya.

In Paramārtha's account, Yājñavalkya is said to have lived during the time of the Buddha, and to have heard his discourses, but was in a profound state of samādhi during the time of the Buddha's parinirvāṇa.

After Yājñavalkya emerged from this samādhi 200 years later, he discovered that the Mahāsāṃghikas were teaching only the superficial meaning of the sūtras, and therefore founded the Bahuśrutīya sect in order to expound the full meaning.

According to Paramārtha, the Bahuśrutīya school was formed in order to fully embrace both " conventional truth " and " ultimate truth.

" According to Sree Padma and Anthony Barber, the Bahuśrutīya understanding of this full exposition included the Mahāyāna teachings.