According to Jan Nattier, the term Mahāyāna "Great Vehicle" was originally even an honorary synonym for Bodhisattvayāna "Bodhisattva Vehicle." The Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, an early and important <answer>Mahayana</answer> text, contains a simple and brief definition for the term bodhisattva: "Because he has enlightenment as his aim, a bodhisattva-mahāsattva is so called."
What is an honorary synonym for Bodhisattvayana?
Mahayana