THERAVADA AND MAHAYANA

Theravada and Mahayana understanding of the Buddha

Theravada and Mahayana understanding of the Buddha

Introduction

From its Indian context, Buddhism spread worldwide for over 2,500 years through trade, royal patronage, migration, scholarly study, and travel. Currently, about 350 million people or 6 percent of the world's population identify themselves as Buddhist, with Mahayana the largest tradition. Besides Mahayana Buddhism, the other main schools are Theravada and Vajrayana. However, Vajrayana also is regarded as a form of Mahayana Buddhism and is said to provide a faster path to Buddhahood or enlightenment. In addition, there are organizations or individuals who identify themselves as non-sectarian Buddhists. While Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana traditions each have their distinctive features the traditions also share commonalities such as the acceptance of the Four Noble Truths (Conze, 1975, 88).

These state that life is unsatisfactory, that suffering is due to desire and attachment, that there is a solution to this state, and that following the Noble Eightfold Path includes having the right understanding, action, and mindfulness that suffering can end. Buddhism also coexists with other local religious traditions. The monastic institution is an important feature in Buddhism, but it is marked by gender bias as the ecclesiastical authority in the Theravada and Vajrayana tradition is yet to recognize women's ordination as bhikkhuni (the female counterpart of bhikkhu or monk). In contrast, there is a strong bhikkhuni presence in the monastic order in Mahayana Buddhism even as male dominance still exists.

Mahayana's understanding of Buddha

Mahayana Buddhism is one of the two major schools of Buddhist religious philosophy that emerged from the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (c. 563-c. 483 BCE), known as the Buddha ("Enlightened One"). The term Mahayana ("Greater Vehicle") was adopted by the followers of this school to distinguish it from the earlier orthodox interpretation of the Buddha's teachings referred to as Hinayana ("Lesser Vehicle"), or Theravada ("Way of the Elders"). Mahayana Buddhism first appeared as a distinct school of thought during the centuries immediately following the death of the Buddha as differences arose among Buddhist scholars over the authority and authenticity of various sutras (scriptures) composing the early Buddhist canon. The Theravada school of Buddhism formulated an interpretation of the Buddha's teachings based upon the earliest Pali language discourses and commentaries compiled by the First Buddhist Council shortly after the Buddha's death (Gombrich, 1988, 96).

In subsequent Buddhist councils, Mahayanists rejected what they saw as the narrow orthodoxy of Hinayana and advocated a more liberal acceptance of apocryphal scriptures and traditions. In the early centuries of the first millennium CE, the Mahayana tradition expanded into East Asia, where it eventually became the predominant form of Buddhism practiced in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Theravada Buddhism, on the other hand, spread southward where it became the predominant form of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and the countries of Southeast Asia, such as Burma, Thailand, and Cambodia.

Essential Principles of Mahayana Buddhism

Mahayana Buddhism adopts a less analytical and more intuitive interpretation of the Buddha's teachings than the earlier Theravada ...