DEVELOPMENT OF MAHAYANA BUDDHISM AND THERAVADA BUDDHISM
Steven M. Kossak and Edith W. Watts of the Metropolitan Museum of Art wrote: "The earliest form of Buddhism is called the Theravada (Way of the Elders). It adheres strictly to the Buddha’s teaching and to his austere life of meditation and detachment. Theravada Buddhists believed that very few would reach nirvana. Initially, in this system, the Buddha was represented in art only by symbols, but in the first century A.D., under the Kushan rulers, the Buddha began to be depicted in human form. [Source: Steven M. Kossak and Edith W. Watts, The Art of South, and Southeast Asia, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York]
"At about this time, a new form of Buddhism emerged called the Mahayana (the Great Way), which held that the Buddha was more than a great spiritual teacher but also a savior god. It was believed that he had appeared in perfect human form to relieve suffering with the message that, by performing good deeds and maintaining sincere faith, everyone could reach nirvana through means less strict and arduous than in Theravada (which Mahayana Buddhists called the Hinayana, or Lesser Way).
"A whole pantheon of Mahayana Buddhist deities began to appear to aide the devotee—Buddhas of the past, bodhisattvas such as Maitreya (Buddha of the Future), and Vajrapani (“thunderbolt bearer”), who had evolved from the chief Vedic god Indra. Most appealing and approachable of all is the gentle Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of infinite compassion, who can be called upon to help people in all kinds of trouble. A bodhisattva is a being who has reached the moment of spiritual transcendence but foregoes nirvana in order to guide all beings in their quest to attain enlightenment. The Mahayana faith became the more popular form of Buddhism and was carried by mer- chants and monks across Central Asia along the trade routes to China, and from there to Korea and Japan."
Websites and Resources on Buddhism: Buddha Net buddhanet.net/e-learning/basic-guide ; Internet Sacred Texts Archive sacred-texts.com/bud/index ; Introduction to Buddhism webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/buddhaintro ; Early Buddhist texts, translations, and parallels, SuttaCentral suttacentral.net ; East Asian Buddhist Studies: A Reference Guide, UCLA web.archive.org ; View on Buddhism viewonbuddhism.org ; Tricycle: The Buddhist Review tricycle.org ; BBC - Religion: Buddhism bbc.co.uk/religion
Buddhism Before the Theravada -Mahayana Split
Dr. W. Rahula wrote: What is the difference between Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism? To see things in their proper perspective, let us turn to the history of Buddhism and trace the emergence and development of Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism. [Source: Dr. W. Rahula, BuddhaSasana (budsas.org), Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal, August 14, 2008; Grant Olson, Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Northern Illinois University +++]
“The Buddha was born in the 6th Century B.C. After attaining Enlightenment at the age of 35 until his Mahaparinibbana at the age of 80, he spent his life preaching and teaching. He was certainly one of the most energetic man who ever lived: for forty-five years he taught and preached day and night, sleeping for only about 2 hours a day. +++
“The Buddha spoke to all kinds of people: kings and princes, Brahmins, farmers, beggars, learned men and ordinary people. His teachings were tailored to the experiences, levels of understanding and mental capacity of his audience. What he taught was called Buddha Vacana, i.e. word of the Buddha. There was nothing called Theravada or Mahayana at that time. +++
“After establishing the Order of monks and nuns, the Buddha laid down certain disciplinary rules called the Vinaya for the guidance of the Order. The rest of his teachings were called the Dhamma which included his discourses, sermons to monks, nuns and lay people.” +++
Emergence of Theravada Buddhism at the Second and Third Buddhist Councils
early Bodhisattvas statue from Gandhara
Dr. W. Rahula wrote: One hundred years later, the Second Council was held to discuss some Vinaya rules. There was no need to change the rules three months after the Parinibbana of the Buddha because little or no political, economic or social changes took place during that short interval. But 100 years later, some monks saw the need to change certain minor rules. The orthodox monks said that nothing should be changed while the others insisted on modifying some rules, Finally, a group of monks left the Council and formed the Mahasanghika - the Great Community. Even though it was called the Mahasanghika, it was not known as Mahayana, And in the Second Council, only matters pertaining to the Vinaya were discussed and no controversy about the Dhamma [Teaching] is reported. [Source: Dr. W. Rahula, BuddhaSasana (budsas.org), Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal, August 14, 2008; Grant Olson, Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Northern Illinois University +++]
In the 3rd Century B.C.E., during the reign of Emperor Asoka, the Third Council was held to discuss the differences of opinion among the monks of different sects that had arisen. By the Third Council the differences were not confined to the Rules but were also connected with the Teaching. At the end of the Third Council, the president of the council, Moggaliputta Tissa, compiled a book he called Kathavatthu refuting the heretical, false views and theories held by some sects. +++
“The Teaching approved and accepted by the Third Council was known as Theravada -- the “Teaching of the Elders” or what the Buddha’s original-hearers (those Theras) had rehearsed and passed down through the students dedicated to memorizing, reciting, and cross checking the various sections of the Dharma. The Abhidharma collection -- the Higher Teaching, that is, the philosophical commentaries and metaphysical treatises as distinct from the bare discourses -- was also included at the Third Council. +++
“After the Third Council, Asoka’s son, Venerable Mahinda, brought the Three Collections (Tripitaka: Teaching, Rules, and Abhidharma) to Sri Lanka, along with the commentaries and explanations which were recited at the Third Council. The texts brought to Sri Lanka were preserved to the present day without losing a single page. The texts were written in the Pali language, which was based on the Magadhi dialect spoken by the Buddha. There was still nothing known as “Mahayana.”“ +++
Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka
Theravada Buddhism got its start in Sri Lanka and helped re-energize Buddhism as a whole at a time when it was declining in India. Theravada Buddhism did not have a lasting impact in India but it spread from Sri Lanka to Southeast Asia, where it remains the dominant religion in Burma, Thailand and Laos today
Theravada Buddhism was once one of many schools that existed in the early years of Buddhism. It stayed close to the original Pali canon. Pali is the language that Buddha spoke 2,500 years ago. There were attempts to introduce Mahayana Buddhism and rivalry developed between two school of thought. Dominance seesawed back and forth depending on the sect the ruler belonged to . Theravada won out in the A.D. 4th century and has remained relatively unchallenged since then.
Theravada monk novices praying before a Buddha in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Buddhism has had a strong presence in Sri Lanka for 2,200 years. A key element of the identity of the Sinhalese, the dominant ethnic group there, it took hold very quickly and has evolved hand in hand in with Sri Lankan culture, literature and art. Sri Lanka is where the Theravada School of Buddhism originated.
Buddhism arrived in Sri Lanka in the third century B.C. as part of the expansion of the northern Indian Mauryan kingdom under the emperor Ashoka (272-232 B.C.). According to ancient chronicles Buddhism was introduced by a monk named Arahat Mahinda who came to Sri Lanka from India in 247 B.C. He converted King Devanampiya-Tiss who in turn converted his kingdom. Before that time Sri Lankans worshipped pagan gods similar to the Hindu deities in India.
At the time Buddhism entered Sri Lanka it was also widespread in India and found as far west as Afghanistan. But in the centuries that followed Buddhism declined these places was largely dead there by the A.D. 8th century. But in the meantime Buddhism went through rough periods in Sri Lanka but for the most part remained alive and well.
Arrival of Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia
The Buddhism that was introduced to Cambodia initially belonged to a now dead sect of Mahayana Buddhism called Sarvastivada. Theravada Buddhism did not appear there and in Laos until the 14th century. In Thailand, there is little evidence of it until the 13th century.
Theravada Buddhism developed in Sri Lanka and was introduced to Southeast Asia in southern Burma, when it was inhabited by people known as Mon, by way of eastern India and Sri Lanka. The religion took hold in Burma in A.D. 1040, when the Burmese monarch King Anawratha converted to it. Theravada Buddhism mixed with indigenous beliefs (particularly the belief in spirits called nats) and was spread with the help of rich patrons who supported the monasteries and established new monasteries across country that educated the people. In the process, Mahayana Buddhism disappeared.
Mahayana monks praying at Qibao Temple in China
The Buddhism brought to Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand owes little to China because it was carried their by monks from India. The texts were in the Pali language and derived from Sanskrit. The Buddhism that was introduced to Cambodia initially belonged to a now dead sect of Mahayana Buddhism called Sarvastivada. Theravada Buddhism did not appear there and in Laos until the 14th century. In Thailand, there is little evidence of it until the 13th century.
In the 13th century the Thai people arrived in northern Thailand from southern China. They absorbed Buddhism from the Mons in the central plains. In the 14th century Thai monks schooled in Sri Lanka returned with reformed concepts of Theraveda Buddhism, and helped spread the religion to Laos and Cambodia.
Theravada Buddhism arrived in Cambodia slowly in beginning in the 11th century from Sri Lanka, Thailand and Burma. It offered a new ideology and undermined the Hinduism and the god-king elements of Khmer rule. Theravada Buddhism gained a stronger foothold in Cambodia when the Thais conquered Angkor in 1431 and was the dominate form of Buddhism by the 15th century. It was expressed through the Pali language.
Emergence of Mahayana Buddhism
Dr. W. Rahula wrote: “Between the 1st Century B.C. to the 1st Century A.D., the two terms Mahayana and Hinayana appeared in the Saddharma Pundarika Sutra or the Sutra of the Lotus of the Good Law. About the 2nd Century A.D. Mahayana became clearly defined. Nagarjuna developed the Mahayana philosophy of Sunyata and proved that everything is Void in a small text called Madhyamika-karika. About the 4th Century, there were Asanga and Vasubandhu who wrote enormous amount of works on Mahayana. [Source: Dr. W. Rahula, BuddhaSasana (budsas.org), Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal, August 14, 2008; Grant Olson, Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Northern Illinois University +++]
“After the 1st Century AD., the Mahayanists took a definite stand and only then were the opposing terms Mahayana and Hinayana introduced and propagated, the latter as a foil or strawman for the former. [Mahayana teachings were a criticism of those now defunct Indian sects (not of Theravada) particularly the Sarvastivada School, which taught the theory that all exists]. +++
“We must not confuse Hinayana with Theravada (“the Teaching of the Elders”) because the terms are not synonymous. Theravada Buddhism went to Sri Lanka during the 3rd Century B.C. when there was no Mahayana at all. Hinayana schools [among the 18 sects that had] developed in India [200 years after the Buddha’s passing] and had an existence independent from the form of Buddhism existing in Sri Lanka. Today there is no Hinayana sect in existence anywhere in the world. Therefore, in 1950 the World Fellowship of Buddhists inaugurated in Colombo unanimously decided that the term Hinayana should be dropped when referring to Buddhism existing today in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, etc. [sometimes referred to as “Southern Buddhism”] This is the brief history of Theravada, Mahayana and Hinayana.” +++
See Development of Buddhist Schools Under ORIGIN AND EARLY HISTORY OF BUDDHISM factsanddetails.com
Rise of Mahayana Buddhism
Ajanta Buddha of the 4th century AD Mahayana Buddhism arose around the A.D. 1st century with the development of the first Mahayana scripture, the “Sutras on Perfect Wisdom” and teachings of Nagarjuna, the greatest early Mahayana philosopher. But Mahayana’s roots go back centuries earlier, arguably to the time of The Buddha himself.
According to the Northern Buddhist tradition, a fourth council was held at Jalandhara around A.D. 100. This council authorized the addition of Sanskrit commentaries to the canon, which was ignored by Pali sources. In the first two centuries A.D., Buddhist believers aimed to achieve a more emotional piety and sought more personal deities by syncretizing their faith with polytheistic Vedism, monistic Vedantism, and ritual Yoga. As a result, the ideal of the bodhisattva, who sacrifices oneself to save others in a long chain of rebirths, replaced that of the Arhat, who attains nirvana by one's own virtue. Gautama was considered only one of the earthly manifestations of the cosmic Buddha, who has and will incarnate countless times. Buddhas and bodhisattvas were regarded as superhuman beings, and the adherents of the new doctrine named it Mahayana, the Great Vehicle to salvation, to differentiate it from the conservative Hīnayana or Little Vehicle. [Source: A. S. Rosso,; Jones, C. B. New Catholic Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia.com]
Factors that are thought to have contributed to its rise are: 1) pressure from the laity; 2) disappointment with the monk ideal for achieving nirvana; and 3) the view that monks were becoming increasingly self-centered and corrupt. Mahayana Buddhism responded by paving the way for more participation by the laity in Buddhist life and encouraging monks to deal with lay people — outside their traditional roles as begging monks — as astrologers, physicians and counselors.
Most of what is known about early Mahayana Buddhism come from the extensive amount of literature that was produced over 2,000 years. Although much has been lost enough remains to give great insight the belief. There is so much in fact that much of it has never been read. Most of it is the form of Sutras, Sastras and Tantras (See Buddhist Texts).
The two main early schools of Mahayana Buddhism were: 1) the Madhyamikas school of Nagarjuna and Aryadeva, founded about A.D. 150; and 2) the Yogacarins school of Vasubandhu and Asanga, founded around A.D. 400. They engaged in many disputes of scripture and authority. But otherwise Mahayana has proved itself to flexible and adaptable and has often tended to absorb viewpoints that threatened it rather than rejecting them.
Spread and Evolution of Mahayana Buddhism
Gupta Budda, 3rd to 7th AD Mahayana doctrine was much more flexible than Theravada doctrine and this allowed it to spread as far and wide as it did. Theravada Buddhists, for example, took the command for monks to wear cotton robes quite literally and this made it difficult for them to expand into places with a cold climate. Mahayana Buddhists on the other hand had no qualms about wearing robes made of wool or other materials and were able expand easily into China, Tibet and northern and central Asia.
Ways were also found to get around restrictions on eating meat so that nomadic, pastoral cultures in central Asia could embrace Buddhism. Prohibitions on serving as doctors were also ignored and many missionaries served as healers and physicians.
Mahayana doctrine proved to equally flexible and was able to adapt itself to local conditions and even adopt elements of local religions and beliefs, even incorporating astrology, magic and fortune telling and morphing local figures and gods into Bodhisattvas. Under the influence of Hinduism the Mahayana school evolved a pantheon of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and a metaphysics of a pantheistic world soul complicated by Yoga and Tantra practices. See Tibetan Buddhism.
Mahayana Buddhists worn support from ordinary people by 1) promising to bring about things like bountiful harvest and good health to children through magic; 2) making Enlightenment more attainable through rebirth in the Buddha-lands of Amitabha in the West and Aksshbhya in the East; 3) giving a prominent place to Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future, who promised to bring salvation to many; and 4) promoting the belief that merit will bring a better life in the future.
Mahayana Buddhism and Christianity
Mahayana Buddhism evolved roughly at the same time that Christianity was developing in the Middle East and Europe. Some scholars have suggested that the evolution of Mahayana Buddhism from Theravada Buddhism parallels the emergence of Christianity from Judaism, namely in that: 1) an emphasis was placed on love and compassion; 2) the similarities between Bodhisattvas and Christ as figures who sacrificed themselves for the welfare of others; and 3) excitement over the second coming of The Buddha as the Maitreya Buddha (“Future Buddha”). The are also Some scriptural similarities between Buddhist scripture that appeared at this time and the Gospels.
Mahayana Buddhism was influenced by Zoroastrian, Gnostic, and Hellenic elements brought by Persian, Parthian, Kushan, and Greek invaders. It arose in 1) southern India, which scholars who make the Christian links, like to point had trading relations in contact with the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean; and 2) Kushan kingdom, which kept alive its contacts with Greek and Roman empires.
Development of Tibetan Buddhism
Steven M. Kossak and Edith W. Watts of the Metropolitan Museum of Art wrote: "Another form of Buddhism, called Esoteric and also known as Tantric or Vajrayana Buddhism, grew out of Mahayana Buddhism beginning in the late sixth or early seventh century. Esoteric Buddhists accepted the tenets of the Mahayana but also used forms of meditation subtly directed by master teachers (gurus) involving magical words, symbols, and practices to speed the devotee toward enlightenment. They believed that those who practiced compassion and meditation with unwavering effort and acquired the wis- dom to become detached from human passions could achieve in one lifetime a state of perfect bliss or “clear light,” their term for ultimate realization and release. Their practices paralleled concurrent developments in Hinduism. [Source: Steven M. Kossak and Edith W. Watts, The Art of South, and Southeast Asia, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York]
"Many new deities appeared in the Esoteric Buddhist pantheon who, in their poses, gestures, and expressions, visualize philosophical ideas. For instance, male and female deities shown in embrace express the union of wisdom and compassion. Wrathful deities symbolize protection, and their violent and horrific appearance helps devotees to overcome the passions that hinder salvation. Also central to Esoteric thinking were the five celestial Buddhas (the four directions and the zenith), who represent both the energy of the universe and the potential for wisdom within the psychological make- up of the individual.
During the Kushan Kingdom (135 B.C. to A.D. 375), the Swat Valley in present-day Pakistan,. was a major center of Tantric Buddhism. Many tantras (manuals for mystical acts) were developed here. From Gandhara, Buddhism was carried by traders and pilgrims along the Silk Road into China, Tibet and Central Asia. Buddhist engravings dating back to these period can be seen on rock faces along the Karakoram Highway."
geographical location of the Buddhist sects
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: East Asia History Sourcebook sourcebooks.fordham.edu , “Topics in Japanese Cultural History” by Gregory Smits, Penn State University figal-sensei.org, Asia for Educators, Columbia University; Asia Society Museum “The Essence of Buddhism” Edited by E. Haldeman-Julius, 1922, Project Gutenberg, Virtual Library Sri Lanka; “World Religions” edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File Publications, New York); “Encyclopedia of the World's Religions” edited by R.C. Zaehner (Barnes & Noble Books, 1959); “Encyclopedia of the World Cultures: Volume 5 East and Southeast Asia” edited by Paul Hockings (G.K. Hall & Company, New York, 1993); BBC, Wikipedia, National Geographic, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Reuters, AP, AFP, and various books and other publications.
Last updated March 2024