--SourceTheravada means the ‘doctrine of the elders’. The term Hinayana has also been used for this form of Buddhism, but it is a misnomer. This term has been used by the Mahayana Buddhists, who reckoned that they were followers of the ‘greater vehicle’. The Mahayanists to differentiate themselves from the Theravadins called the latter Hinayana, the lesser vehicle. In the pre-Mahayana period there was truly a collateral sect called the Hinayana, but this sect is not the Theravada of today. This confusion was unfortunate, and therefore, it is better to avoid the term Hinayana altogether. Any attempt to label two different forms of Buddhism as ‘greater’ and ‘lesser’ is odious.
This is confusing to me. The term "Hinayana" was used before the break-up of the Sangha by Theravadan practitioners? What does it mean that the "Hinayana" of that time was different from the Theravada of today?
I've always thought that the term Hinayana was only pejorative. But I once saw Retro mention that there are appropriate uses for the word. Please play nice. I'm not trying to create divisions or open the door for ridiculing Mahayana. I put this in the "Discovering Theravada" section in hopes of just just getting information and clarification.