Mahasamghika, the Mahasanghikas, one of the {rtsa pa'i sde bzhi} of Sravakayana. Syn {dge bdun} a main Shravaka school [has eight subsects se Mipham Rinpoche's {grub mtha' bsdus pa} [one of the {rtsa ba'i sde bzhi} of shravaka yana / {nyan thos kyi theg pa} Syn {dge 'dun}-]. It is divided into eight subschools; Def. by Jamgön Kongtrül: {phal chen pa zhes pa ni gyes pa'i tshe dge 'dun phal che ba phyogs gcig tu gnas pas yin la/ sde pa de ni phra krI ta rang bzhin gyi skad/ mkhan po bram ze'i rigs sbyangs yon la gnas pa'i mchog 'od srung/ snam phran bdun nas nyer gsum man la rtags dpal be'u/ ming ye shes dang sbas pa'i mtha' can/ grub mtha' bdag phung tha dad pa dang/ bden pa cig car mthong ba dang/ chos mchog las kyang nyams srid pa dang/ dbang pos yul mi 'dzin pa sogs su 'dod do}
Mahāsāṃghika an early Indian Buddhist school thought by some scholars to have been a predecessor of Mahāyāna