Buddhism is today divided in three main schools of thought:
1. Theravada, which developed between 200 BCE - 200 CE. Its goal is personal, individual escape from samsara (cycle of rebirth): the individual alone achieves nirvana. Theravada spread in South East Asia, i.e. Thailand, Myanmar (formerly Burma), Shri Lanka, Laos, Vietnam, Afghanistan, etc.
2. Mahayana, which developed between 100 BCE - 400 CE. Its name means "Greater Vehicle", symbolizing the great boat that will allow all people, monastic and lay persons alike, to cross the ocean of the world and reach nirvana. Mahayana Buddhists believe all must achieve nirvana together. There is no individual path to nirvana. The goal is therefore both to grow in the desire to be awakened, and to develop the compassion and skill to help others. This is the Buddhism practiced in Northern Asia primarily, i.e. Tibet, China, Japan, Korea, Russia, etc.
3. Vajrayana ("Diamond Vehicle"), which developed between 700 CE - 1100 CE, represents the more esoteric path. It is also called guhyamantrayana ("Vehicle of the Hidden Mantra") or tantric Buddhism, and it emphasizes mystical union with the Buddha-mind through yoga and tantric spiritual exercises, in an effort to recapture the enlightenment experience of the Gautama Buddha.
All three schools agree on the basic concepts of the Four Noble Truths, the doctrine of no-self (anatta), karma, rebirth, and a basic cosmology of 6 realms of existence (gods, demigods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts, and the wicked.) Their differences concern primarily:
- the number of past, present and future Buddhas
- the number and function of Buddha's nature bodies
- the characteristics of evolved beings
- the condition for attaining liberation (nirvana)
- what constitutes the Buddhist canon
I. Canon
There are more than a hundred volumes of Buddhist teachings today that have been compiled and commented on. But there is widespread disagreement as to what constitutes the Buddhist canon. The Buddha became realized at the age of 35 and he taught for 45 years. He died at the age of 80, having delivered 84,000 talks during that time. Nothing was written during his time, but his advanced disciples were memorizing all his talks. It is said that three months after the Buddha left his body, five hundred of his closest disciples met together for three months, putting together their recollections of all the sayings and deeds of the Buddha. What these five hundred disciples finally agreed upon became the Pali canon, also known as the Tipitaka, or "Three baskets" (250 B.C.E.), for the Theravada school:
1. The texts of the first basket are known as Vinaya Pitaka ("Basket of Discipline") and deal with monastic rules.
2. The texts of the second basket are known as the Sutta Pitaka ("Basket of Discourse"); they are subdivided in five nikayas ("collections") and deal mainly with the incidents that occurred during the lifetime of the Buddha and sermons and doctrinal and ethical discourses attributed to the Buddha or, in a few cases, to his disciples.
3. The texts of the third basket are called Abhidhamma Pitaka ("Basket of Special [or Further] Doctrine") further elucidate obscure philosophical points, and are only recognized by the Theravadins. The basic texts recognized by the Mahayana schools are derived from the Sutta Pitaka, but are often considered to have been revealed by the Buddha after he had passed into parinirvana (final exit from the body.)
The Dhammapada ("Way of Truth") (240 B.C.E.) is an anthology of basic Buddhist teachings (primarily ethical teachings) found in the second text in the Khuddaka Nikaya ("Short Collection") of the Sutta Pitaka, and is accepted by all Buddhist schools of thought.
II. Mahayana Additional Scriptures
[To be added later]
III. Theravada Additional Scriptures
[To be added later]
IV. Vajrayana Additional Scriptures
[To be added later]
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