Note 3 — INTRODUCTION.

Açvaghoṣa, the first Mahâyâna expounder known to us,—living about the time of Christ,—used the term in his religio-philosophical book called Discourse on the Awakening of Faith in the Mahâyâna[3] as synonymous with Bhûtatathâtâ, or Dharmakâyâ,[4] the highest principle of Mahâyânism. He likened the recognition of, and faith in, this highest being and principle into a conveyance which will carry us safely across the tempestuous ocean of birth and death (samsâra) to the eternal shore of Nirvâna.