Comparison of the Theravadan & Mahayanan traditions:
Theravada Buddhism
Intense, dedicated and time-consuming effort
required to attain enlightenment.
Reaching Nirvana is the ultimate goal of the
Theravada Buddhist.
Strives for wisdom first .
Centers on meditation, and requires major personal
dedication such as being a monk or nun.
Followed as a teaching or Philosophy.
Moved primarily South and West covering
Indochina and Ceylon (Sri-Lanka).
Early work written in Pali (e.g. kamma, dhamma).
Emphasizes rules and education
Politically conservative
Mahayana Buddhism
Enlightenment is achieved through a normal life
with varying degrees of spiritual involvement.
Vow to be reborn in order to help all other sentient
beings reach Nirvana first.
Compassion is the highest virtue.
Encourages practice in the world and among the
general community.
Followed with reference to higher beings, more like
a religion.
Moved Primarily North and West, covering China,
Korea, Japan, and Tibet.
Early texts are in Sanskrit (e.g. karma, dharma)
Emphasizes intuition and practice
Politically liberal
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetans first came into contact with Buddhism when they occupied the oasis cities of central Asia. Some
time later, in the 8th century AD, the first of many missionary monks arrived and the country's first
monastery was established in 787AD. However, despite some early success Buddhism soon went into
decline due to opposition from Bon, the indigenous religion, and political turmoil. In the 10th century
monks from India and Tibetans going to India re-introduced the religion together with many aspects of
Indian civilization and it soon began to flourish. .
There are Four Principle Schools in Tibetan Buddhism. In the 17th century the head of the country's most
powerful sect, the Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-82), made himself king and his successors ruled the country
until 1951. Although living in a sparsely populated and geographically isolated region, the Tibetans
gradually evolved one of the richest and most sophisticated forms of Buddhism. However, the powerful
and conservative clergy refused to allow any form of modernization or contact with the outside world,
which made Tibet an easy target for communist China which invaded the country in 1951. Between 1959
and 1977 almost all traces of Buddhism were destroyed and hundreds of thousands of people were driven
into exile. However, refugee monks have been highly successful in re-establishing themselves in India and
since the 1960s have been equally successful in founding temples and centres in the West.
Tibet in Exile
The Dalai Lama and about a 100 thousand men and women went into exile in
India, in 1959. Completely destitute at the beginning of their exile, they have
succeeded in gradually rebuilding their monasteries, preserving their culture
and restructuring their society and keeping it alive, in spite of the extremely
difficult circumstances. They have set up a government and rebuilt
monasteries where masters pass on their teachings to young monks. They
built schools where they provide a suitable education for more than 10,000
children supported by sponsors from all over the world. These schools are
rated the best in the Himalayas. In spite of the extremely precarious
circumstances in exile, Tibetans have recreated their monastic institutions.
Tibetans believe that the Dalai Lama is a reincarnation of Avalokiteshvara (Ocean of Wisdom). For his
part, the Dalai Lama travels around the world spreading a message of Peace and Universal Responsibility.
The Dalai Lama believes that the common aim of all religions, an aim that everyone must try to find, is to
foster tolerance, altruism and love. According to him, if the authentic Buddhism of Tibetan Lamas
disappears from the surface of the Earth, this loss will result in an imbalance that concerns us all, and we
must all accept responsibility for it.