The Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism both share the common core beliefs and dedication to the life and teachings of Buddha. However, these two branches of Buddhism have some differences considering the location of Buddhist paths, scriptures, language, goals, types of meditation, and more. In the South East Asia, the Theravada Buddhism is closer to the Indian form of Buddhism while in the Northern part of Asia has its local traditions. Generally, Buddhism has a number of different transformations ranging from moral concerns, doctrinal interpretation, metaphysics, and philosophy. The perspective often holds the concept of a united and harmonious early Buddhist community and after many generations, several schools become known for its gradual division. Both the Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism are defenders of the faith and patrons of the Sangha the guarantor of the orthodoxy in doctrine and practices. The Theravada Buddhism focuses on the individual and wisdom while Mahayana Buddhism focuses on society as a whole and compassion. Above all, both Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism follow the four Noble Truths; the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of freedom from suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering.
Theravada (Buddha’s Original Teachings)
The Theravada is guided by the monastic tradition and based on the interpretation of the words of the Buddha adopted and developed from the tradition. The Theravada doctrine has the generous quotations from the Pali Suttas and Tilakaratne respects the modern philological and historical scholarship. The traditional Theravada monastic interpretation believes in the Suttas as the words of the Buddha (Buddavacanam). The words of the Buddha are organized by the early disciples and characterizes the communal acts of chanting. Theravada means Teaching of the Elders and it is a dominant form of Buddhism in Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. Today, the Theravada school has expanded all over the world and it is a universal school than being specifically cultural. In details, the Theravada Buddhism only accepts the historical Gautama Buddha (Sakyamuni) and Maitreya Bodhisattva and other past Buddhas. The objective of training in the Theravada is Arahant or the Pacceka-Buddha and the organization of the Buddhist Scriptures are the Pali Canon with the Tipitaka, Vinaya Pitaka, Sutta Pitaka, and Abhidhamma Pitaka.
Mahayana (Freedom to Innovate, Expand, and Incorporate Concepts)
The Mahayana is a Sanscrit word that means the Great Vehicle and originated in the Northern India and Kashmir and spreads in East Asia and Central Asia. Most scholars face challenges in presenting the general characterization of Mahayana Buddhism because it is a combination of the visions that overlap and contradict; however, they are proud to say that they have the unique strength and virtue among other religious traditions with the Buddha’s wisdom and compassion. The Mahayana historical account explains that early form of Buddhism has followed in the Mahayana tradition. Specifically, it accepts other contemporary Buddhas, Amitabha and Medicine Buddha, aside from Sakyamuni Buddha. Also, it accepts the four known Bodhisattvas aside from Maitreya, they are Avalokitesvara, Ksitigarbha, Mansjuri, and Samanthabadra. The objective of training is through the Bodhisattvas’ path and the organization of the Buddhist scripture consists of the Sutras and Dharma analysis, and the Tripitaka of disciplines with the topics of the cause, conditions, and verses.
The subgroups of Mahayana are the Pure Land, Zen, and Vajrayana. Through the calling on the name of Amida is a salvation by faith, some believed that Pure Land, a special place of happiness is a literal place, but others visualized it as a metaphor. The Zen emphasizes the experience over concepts. It is a direct intuition of the cosmic unity that favors Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and it includes the Zazen (sitting meditation) and Koan (a logical thought to move a direct intuition of the nature of reality). Vajrayana is a Tantric Buddhism that means The Vehicle of the Thunderbolt. It is grounded in the Mahayana’s tradition, but the school added the esoteric elements and a complex set of rituals that utilizes different tools that focus on the breathing techniques, forms of yoga exercises to gain enlightenment, and ritual images to facilitate psychophysical practices like the Mandalas meditation. The Vajrayanas believe that when they achieve enlightenment through the Vajrayana method, it arrives in a single lifetime, it does not require a lifetime in a traditional way.
Reference
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