A transcription of the Pali and Sanskrit a^gama， a term which has the basic meaning of "come." （1） Its basic meaning in the early Indian tradition was that of "orally transmitted scripture;" or "orally transmitted teaching." In Brahmanism， it means the words contained in the scriptures--the Vedas. （2） Teaching， esp. that which is orally transmitted. Teaching that is transmitted from ancient times. （3） Buddhist scriptures， taught by S/a^kyamuni. （4） The texts of early Indian Buddhism--as contrasted with Mahayana scriptures. After the appearance of Mahayana Buddhism， it became synonymous with "hi^naya^na" 小乘. （5） In the doctrinal classification 判教 system of Zhiyi 智顗 the a^gama period is the first of the five periods 五时 that he used to categorize the Buddhist teachings.