Differences Of Theravada And Mahayana Buddhism

Buddhism and Confucianism are both unique religions that have their origins in the continent of Asia. While they both share similarities, Buddhism and Confucianism are also very different from each other and through the elements of religion I will be comparing what makes Buddhism and Confucianism so unique. The elements of religion I will be covering in this essay are founders, history, practices, teachings, scripture, worship, worldview, and ultimate goals. The objective of this essay is to emphasize the qualities these two religions share, as well as to identify what makes them different.

Buddhism is a major global religion with a complex history and system of beliefs. The founder of Buddhism is said to be Siddhartha Gautama, the son of an Indian warrior-king. Gautama led an extravagant life through early adulthood, reveling in the privileges of his social class. Gautama became bored with the indulgences of royal life so he wandered into the world searching for understanding. After encountering an old man, ill man, a corpse, and an ascetic, he was convinced that suffering lay at the end of all existence. He then became a monk, depriving himself of worldly possessions in the hope of comprehending the truth of the world around him. The culmination of his search came while meditating beneath a tree, where he finally understood how to be free from suffering, and ultimately, to achieve salvation. Gautama became known as the Buddha, meaning the “Enlightened One.” He spent the remainder of his life

One of the most early religions are Judaism and Buddhism. Both Judaism and Buddhism have lots of differences beliefs and practices and only few similarities. Judaism was started in 2000 B.C.E, led by Abraham. Buddhism was started in 560 B.C.E, by Siddhartha Gautama. Both religions have different point of view. Buddhism don’t believe in deity and Judaism believe in deity. Buddhism are just followers of Gautama and Judaism believe in Yahweh (the God Abraham believed in). It is important to know all this because it tells us when the religions were started and how different they are from one another.

Between the two religions they both had a different start. Buddhism started when Siddhartha Gautama, who previously lived a rich and luxurious lifestyle, decided to make a change in his life. He wanted to be able to feel pain and suffering that was felt all around the world by everyone else. After being able to find it, he decided to try and find a cure for it through meditation. Siddhartha Gautama, otherwise known as Buddha created the “Four Noble Truths,” as well as the “Eightfold Path” to help people live a peaceful life. Buddhism was modified later on to create three main versions of the religion which are Theravada, also known as the “Way of the Elders” or the “Small Vehicle.” Mahayana Buddhism, which was called the “Great Vehicle” and finally Tibetan Buddhism which also goes by the “Diamond Vehicle.” Yet Christianity formed in a different way,

Buddhism is a religous and philosophy belief propagated by the Buddha, a teacher from India who lived between the 4th and 6th century before the common era. The teachings of the Buddha whose real name was Siddharwa spread through Asia and to the West after his death as it was practised by the followers.

Hinduism and Buddhism are among the oldest traditions in the world. Incidentally, both traditions have their roots in India. Since their beginning, both traditions have co-existed peacefully and even spread beyond India in similar patterns. Most people have scattered information about the traditions and make assumptions that they are similar. However, they also have clear distinguishing features. This paper intends to study the similarities and contrasts between the two traditions in various contexts. First, the traditions will be compared and contrasted based on how they began. The development processes of both religions will then be contrasted. The paper will then discuss the similarities and differences between the two religions based on the social and the political roles they played.

The Mahayana and Theravada schools, while both following the Buddhist belief, have different understanding of the religion and the idea of Buddha The Buddha is the founder and leader of this religious tradition whose teachings make up the key Buddhist beliefs. The stimulus piece would be interpreted in a different manner for each Buddhist school, while also holding some similarities. While both Buddhist schools agree upon the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, interpretation and how they are applied differ in certain areas of Gautama 's teachings (Dickson, 2004). Traditional Theravada is described as ‘classical’ Buddhism as it is more ancient and

After encountering the fourth sight of the holy man, Guatama believed this holy way of life could provide adequate insight on how to overcome such agony and anguish. He wanted to come up with a preventative resolution from the immense amount of suffering, that ended in misery and death. When Siddhartha saw the monk and the peacefulness that was upon him, it impacted his way of perceiving the world. There was a unique sense of lightheartedness and tranquility, amongst the monk, even though deep suffering was all around him. The symbols of wisdom, peace and happiness, despite such misery or evil was incredibly impressing and inspirational. This encouraged Siddhartha to seek religion and proved to be the motivational driving force that would cause him to pursue a path to enlightenment and ultimate bliss. For months he gave a considerable amount of thought to whether he should become a monk or not. Nevertheless, “he hoped that he might come to a realization of how to find permanence in this world of constant change, where suffering was the inevitable outcome” (Corduan, 2012, p.316). One night, Siddhartha decided to kiss his wife and son goodbye and begin his journey in search of answers and a path to understanding. Beyond the only life that he had ever known, he cut off his hair and “embarked upon a quest for enlightenment” and began “meditative

Theravada Buddhism has been the pre dominant religion/school in the continental south-east Asia, it is mainly found in sir Lanka, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Burma, Taiwan and Lous. Today Theravada Buddhist is a group which has well over 100,000,000 member’s world-wide. Theravada is considered to be the soul-survivor of the traditional and original Buddhism. It implies rather traditional and the strictest moral field of teaching. Theravada concentrates on monks and nuns, those who give full devotion to god. They live their lives only by the traditional teachings of the Buddha.

developing in India. Theravada recognizes the primacy and humanity of the historical Buddha. The Buddha was an exemplary figure. Enlightenment is an arduous task, available only to monks who explicitly pursue the path of Shakyamuni himself. Theravada is the dominant form of Buddhism today in Sri Lanka as well as Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. The subject matter of Buddhist art from these traditions focuses on life events of the Buddha.

Siddharta Gautama was twenty-nine years old when he abandoned his family to search for a means to bring to an end his and other’s suffering after studying meditation for many years. At age thirty-five, Siddharta Gautama sat down under the shade of a fig tree to meditate and he determined to meditate until he reached enlightenment. After seven weeks he received the Great Enlightenment which he referred to as the Four Noble Truths and the Eight-fold Path. Henceforth he became known as the Buddha.

Theravadan means “Doctrine of the Elders” and Mahayana means Journey. Mahayana Buddhism believes that everyone should reach nirvana and should not be personal. Mahayana Buddhists believed that no one could reach nirvana since everyone is “one”. If one reaches enlightenment in Mahayana Buddhism then they take the “Vow of the Bodhisattva.” A Bodhisattva is one who reaches enlightenment but stays in existence to help others. An example of a Bodhisattva is Yama. He reached enlightenment after meditating in a cave and now he protects other Buddhists. They also believe in Trikaya, which is three bodies or three meanings of Buddha. One of the bodies relates to Sunyata (emptiness). Mahayana Buddhism also has many sections and sub-sections that spread all over the place. One of those places is Tibet. Vajrayana I believe is a school that is only found in Tibet since it follows Tibetan Buddhism. A famous leader of Tibetan Buddhism is Dalai Lama. Theravadan Buddhism focuses on the teachings of the Buddha’s sutra. They are more conservative with their teachings and focus on interpreting Buddha’s teachings or “Dharma”. Since his teachings were passed on for many years, they tried to follow the Buddha’s teachings closely. Both men and women can follow the teachings of the Buddha. The community of monks and nuns is known as “Sangha.” Monks in both Mahayana and

Since the country is 95 percent Buddhist, there is a big population of Theravada Buddhist monks. Theravada literally means "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching". Theravada is the oldest surviving Buddhist school and was founded in India around 250 BCE. It is closest to early Buddhism and historically has been the predominant religion. There are over 100 million Theravada Buddhists worldwide. [ (Theravada) ]

Is concentrated on spiritualism than religious teachings. Established by the buddha, one must obtain their own spiritual awakening, or nirvana through meditation. There are three main branches of Buddhism Theravada Buddhism , Mahayana Buddhism and Tantric Buddhism.

Hindus believe in the four stages of life, but the Buddha do not share that believe. Whereas the Buddhists believe in the concept of Bodhisattvas, or the enlightened existence, but the Hindus do not. Buddhists must believe that the Buddha, Sangha, and Dhamma are the three most important requirements on the eightfold path, or the principal teachings of the Buddha. Hinduism has many different paths of self realization. Both religions believe in karma and reincarnation, but their terms and conditions vary, different in as many ways as they are similar. Buddhists have no priests or rituals like the Hindus do. Also, in the Buddhist religion, any follower than achieve Nirvana, but in the Hindu religion, only the Brahmins, or priests, could achieve moksha, the Hindu equivalent of Nirvana. Another large difference is that Buddhists do not believe in the Caste System, a main factor in Hinduism. This is one of their largest differences. Hinduism does not know their original creator, unlike most other religions; they’ve lost any information about their founder over the many years, whereas the Buddhists know their creator, Buddha. Buddhism is a much younger religion than Hinduism. The two religions are very much different.