About Vaibhāṣika

Sarvāstivāda-Vaibhāṣika or simply Vaibhāṣika (वैभाषिक), refers to an ancient Buddhist tradition of Abhidharma, which was very influential in north India, especially Kashmir. In various texts, they referred to their tradition as Yuktavāda, and another name for them was Hetuvāda. The Vaibhāṣika school was an influential subgroup of the larger Sarvāstivāda school. They were distinguished from other Sarvāstivāda sub-schools like the Sautrāntika and the "Western Masters" of Gandhara and Bactria by their orthodox adherence to the doctrines found in the Mahāvibhāṣa. Vaibhāṣika thought significantly influenced the Buddhist philosophy of all major Mahayana Buddhist schools of thought and also influenced the later forms of Theravāda Abhidhamma.