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Theravāda (/ ˌ t ɛr ə ˈ v ɑː ð ə /; [a] lit. 'School of the Elders') [1] [2] is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. [1] [2] The school's adherents, termed Theravādins (anglicized from Pali theravādī), [3] [4] have preserved their version of Gautama Buddha's teaching or Dhamma in the Pāli Canon for over two millennia.
Historically, the roots of Buddhism lie in the religious thought of Iron Age India around the middle of the first millennium BCE. [5] This was a period of great intellectual ferment and socio-cultural change known as the Second Urbanisation, marked by the growth of towns and trade, the composition of the Upanishads and the historical emergence of the Śramaṇa traditions.
According to the scriptures, a council was held shortly after the Buddha's passing to collect and preserve his teachings. The Theravada tradition states that the Canon was recited orally from the 5th century to the first century BC, when it was written down. [23] The memorization was reinforced by regular communal recitations.
The Hīnayāna (or Theravada) is considered as the preliminary or small (hina) vehicle (yana) of the Buddha's teachings. It is often contrasted with Mahāyāna, the second vehicle of the Buddha's teachings, or the great (maha) vehicle (yana). The third vehicle of the Buddha's teachings is the Vajrayana, the indestructible (vajra) vehicle (yana).
Like in other Southeast Asian countries, medieval Buddhism in Laos included Mahāyāna Buddhism, Tantric Buddhism and Theravāda Buddhism. [76] The political influence of Southeast Asian Theravāda helped make it the main religion of the Laotian kingdom of Lan Xang (1353–1707), which had close ties to the Thai and Khmer realms. [ 77 ]
Theravada Buddhism scholars, states Oliver Leaman, consider the Anattā doctrine as one of the main theses of Buddhism. [43] The Buddhist denial of an unchanging, permanent self is what distinguishes Buddhism from major religions of the world such as Christianity and Hinduism, giving it uniqueness, asserts the Theravada tradition. [ 43 ]
The Basic Points Unifying the Theravāda and the Mahāyāna is an important Buddhist ecumenical statement created in 1967 during the First Congress of the World Buddhist Sangha Council (WBSC), where its founder Secretary-General, the late Venerable Pandita Pimbure Sorata Thera, requested the Ven. Walpola Rahula to present a concise formula for the unification of all the different Buddhist ...
According to Donald Swearer, the understanding of Buddha in Hinduism is a part of his wider and diverse influences. Even within Buddhism, states Swearer, Buddha and his ideas are conceptualized differently between Theravada, Mahayana, Tibetan, Japanese and other traditions.