Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Such a view of Buddha also gave rise to the Mahayana concept of an infinite number of Buddhas, or transformation bodies of the essential Buddha, appearing in innumerable worlds to help others reach enlightenment. ("Mahayana Buddhism" para on Doctrine)
The Theravadians consider the Pali Canon -- the earliest recording of Buddha's oral teachings -- as the sole authoritative scripture of the Buddhist religion and philosophy. In contrast, the Mahayanas, while not disputing the Pali Canon, consider a number of other "sutras" that were written much later as Buddhist scripture. These include the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajna-Paramita) Sutra, the Avatumsaka sutra, the Lotus sutra, and the Nirvana sutra. The Mahayana Buddhists justify the validity of these writings as scriptures by the argument that these sermons of Buddha were initially hidden but were revealed several centuries later by some mythological route. (Ibid)
Practice: The main goal of the Theravadin (or followers of Theravada doctrine) is to be become an arhat, a sage who has achieved nirvana (enlightenment) and will never be reborn. Hence in Theravada Buddhism, only a monk can achieve nirvana. Mahayana Buddhism tried to open up the Buddhist religion to a greater number of people by introducing the concept of bodhisattvas -- a theory of gradations of Buddhahood. This concept of bodhisattvas concedes that becoming "Buddha" by achieving nirvana was the ultimate aim of every Buddhist, but there were several other levels that could be attained before upgrading to the level of "Buddha." The theory also explains that before Buddha entered his final life as Siddhartha Gautama, he had spent many lives working towards Buddhahood by performing acts of kindness, generosity, and compassion towards his fellow human beings. (Ibid) a related aspect of the Mahayana belief is that all living beings-- gods, humans, and animals alike have the seeds of Buddha nature within them have in them a capacity to become Buddhas.
Theravada monks have also been criticized by followers of Mahayana for being selfishly concerned only with their own salvation and for indifference to the lay...
According to the Mahayana doctrine the bodhisattvas, out of a sense of compassion, delay their final passage to the transcendent state of nirvana in order to labor on behalf of others and help them in attaining salvation. They are, therefore, considered superior to the Theravadin arhat, who is mainly concerned with his own salvation but cannot help others in achieving salvation.
Conclusion
As we saw in this paper, most of the theological differences between the two main branches of Buddhism are due to a conservative and relatively liberal interpretation of Buddha's teachings. While the Theravada tradition claims to have preserved the teachings of Buddha in their original form, the Mahayanists emphasize a more accessible form of Buddhism based on universalism, compassion and salvation.
Works Cited
Akira, Hirakawa. A History of Indian Buddhism. Trans. Groner, Paul. Ed. Paul Groner. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1990.
Hooker, Richard. "Mahayana Buddhism." World Civilizations Web site. 1999. March 20, 2005. http://www.wsu.edu:8000/~dee/BUDDHISM/MAHAYANA.htm
Mahayana Buddhism." BELIEVE Religious Information Source. n.d. March 20, 2005. http://mb-soft.com/believe/txh/mahayana.htm
Theravada Buddhism." BELIEVE Religious Information Source. n.d. March 20, 2005. http://mb-soft.com/believe/txh/theravad.htm
Siddharta Gautama is said to have lived between approximately 563 and 483 BC
Theravada Buddhism is currently practiced in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and India
The influence of Mahayana Buddhism extends to China, Japan, Taiwan, Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia, Korea, and Vietnam, as well as in India
Other sources indicate the date of the third council as 308 BC
Followers of the Great Assembly
In the present day Pakistan
In the 1st century BC
The Theravadins counter such criticism by the argument that only a monk is able to achieve nirvana due to the time and devotion required to discharge the burden of karma.
Buddhism
It has to be noted however that this theoretical argument has met opposition from some scholars with others arguing that it is superfluous and did not give an obvious explanation to the origin of Mahayana Buddhism. Even though these three arguments have been supported by a number of scholars there is still a lot of debate with reference to the origin of Mahayana with a number believing that its origin
Mahayana Buddhism was one of the earliest schools of Buddhism to develop after the death of the Buddha, along with Theravada Buddhism. One of the leaders in this new movement was Nagarjuna, who lived between the first and second centuries and who founded what is known as the Madhyamaka philosophy, or the philosophy of the Middle Way. The Mahayana was divided into two schools as well, and the Madhyamaka was
It is through the process of death and rebirth that the knowledge is gained which will finally liberate the individual being from the central cause of all suffering itself - the cycle of death and birth. Essentially, it is only through knowledge that this can be achieved in most Buddhist schools of thought. The rationale behind the importance of reincarnation as a process that is required to escape the centrality
Charity, it may be said, therefore, is the initial step in establishing any relationship with a person of another faith. The barriers that one may face when attempting, however, to present the Gospel to a person of the Buddhist worldview may be found in the fact that Buddhism itself is not a religion. It is, rather, a kind of philosophy that enables one to remove oneself from the things in
The "collective harming and killing committed by governments...and harming or killing being of the natural world through soil depletion, clear-cutting, lab testing and poisons," Rothberg writes (274), is a violation of the 1st Precept as practiced by those of Theravadan Buddhist faith. And so, a person of Theravadan Buddhist beliefs would have a right, within the context of being in discussion in the temple, to criticize the Bush Administration for
Early Judaic religion also has a long extensive history. The ancient beginnings of Judaism come from the sands of the Syro-Arabian desert. Ancient ancestors of the later Hebrew people moved from the Mesopotamian desert towards the coast, moving into what is now known as Jerusalem and Palestine. Abraham was born into a family which still practiced early forms of animism. Through a religious epiphany, he began to worship only one