Vibhajyavāda (Sanskrit; Pāli: Vibhajjavāda; ) is a term applied generally to groups of early Buddhists belonging to the Sthavira Nikaya. These various groups are known to have rejected Sarvāstivāda doctrines (especially the doctrine of "all exists") and the doctrine of Pudgalavada (personalism). During the reign of Ashoka, these groups possibly took part in missionary activity in Gandhara, Bactria, Kashmir, South India and Sri Lanka. By the third century CE, they had spread in Central Asia and South-East Asia. Their doctrine is expounded in the Kathavatthu. Nomenclature and etymology The word Vibhajyavāda may be parsed into vibhajya, loosely meaning "dividing", "analyzing" and vāda holding the semantic field: "doctrine", "teachings". According to Andrew Skilton, the analysis of phenomena (Skt. dharmas) was the doctrinal emphasis and preoccupation of the Vibhajyavādins. According to A.K. Warder, they are called "distinctionists" because they make distinctions between dhammas that exist in the present and the past, and dhammas that don't exist in the past and the future (as opposed to Sarvāstivāda). This is supported by the explanation given by the 6th century Mahayana philosopher Bhavaviveka. According to Bhante Sujato, Vibhajyavāda means that the doctrine "distinguishes" (vibhajanto) the heterodox and orthodox views, particularly the non-buddhist theory of a self (atman) and also the pudgala theory of the pudgalavadins. The characteristic method used by the Buddha and early Buddhists to break down the idea of self was the method of analyzing (vibhajjati) the components of a person and investigating them to find that they do not possess the features that one could ascribe to a self. Thus, it would make sense that the term refers to "the Abhidhamma movement as an analytic approach to Dhamma in general, and as a critique of the ‘self’ in particular". Overview The Vibhajyavādins are a group of early Buddhist schools. According to the Theravada account, this group rejected the Sarvastivada teachings at the third Buddhist council (however modern scholars question the council narratives). The name means "those who make distinctions," and include the Kāśyapīya, Mahīśāsaka and Dharmaguptaka. The Vibhajyavādins were strongly represented in south India, where they called themselves Theriyas. They survived until the seventeenth century in south India, and in Sri Lanka they became the Theravadins. The Vibhajyavādins rejected the Sarvāstivāda claim that all dhammas (principles, phenomena) exist in the past, present and future. Instead, they made a distinction between dhammas that "exist" and dhammas that do not exist, hence the name