Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism Is Term Paper

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This view is expressed in the Mahayana doctrine of the triple body (trikaya), of the Buddha. 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.

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" 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 community. 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.

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