Schools of Buddhism

India in the 6th Century was the birthplace of what is now one of the world’s most famous religious movements—Buddhism. Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama–a prince belonging to the Sakya tribe who had renounced his royal life to find answers to the problems of human suffering and death. In the process, he attained spiritual enlightenment through penance and meditation, which came to be known as the Buddha or the Enlightened one. Buddhism is wholly based on the life of Buddha, his attainment of enlightenment, and his teachings.

Buddha’s teachings were simple and motivated people to lead a simple life instead of the then-burgeoning dominance of the Brahmins and their costly affairs. Buddha’s teachings, in general, contain a single message that the world is full of suffering and a person can attain salvation by understanding the Four Noble Truth and acting in accordance with the Eightfold Noble Path. 

The organisation that spread the teachings of Buddhism came to be known as Sangha. It was a monastic order that helped spread Buddhism far and wide. 

The Schools of Buddhism

After the death of the Buddha, initially, there was a single vision of what Buddha preached. However, with time, differences among monks regarding certain practices and rituals developed. This led to dissent over what comprised the “true teaching” of Buddha, which eventually resulted in the division of Buddhism into three main schools:

1. Theravada Buddhism (The School of the Elders)
2. Mahayana Buddhism (The Great Vehicle)
3. Vajrayana Buddhism (The Way of the Diamond)

These schools of Buddhism are referred to as “vehicles” by the Buddhists as they believe they are ways to carry believers from suffering to enlightenment. All three vehicles recognise the common Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path as sermonised by the Buddha during his lifetime. They embrace Buddha’s central vision: believing each adherent is a part of Ekayana–the “One Path,” and aim at promoting empathy and harmony in the world. However, they differ notably in their approach to following that path. 

Let’s learn about the three schools of Buddhism in more detail: 

Theravada Buddhism

Theravada Buddhism, or the “way of the elders”, is known to be the earliest form of Buddhism and claims to be the most original of the founder’s teachings. 

It is the most conservative of the three vehicles and is prevalent in Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Myanmar. The followers of the Way of the Elders call themselves Sthaviravadins. 

Individuals following Theravada discipline seek to become an arhat (perfected saint) who has attained enlightenment through self-efforts. Unlike Mahayana Buddhism, they have no responsibility towards teaching others about the path of enlightenment. 

Their goal is to free oneself from the samsara or the cycle of reincarnation. The disciples recognise the Pali canon as the most genuine scripture and concentrate on a monastic realisation of the Buddhist path. 

They believe Buddha was a person who became the Enlightened One. Therefore, they focus on the Three Trainings or trisksa: moral conduct or Sila; meditation or Samadhi; and wisdom or Prajna. 

They believe meditation and wisdom are interlinked for a person, and without wisdom, they can not meditate, and wisdom cannot be attained by a person who does not meditate.

In Theravada Buddhism, there exists a division between the followers: one section comprises a congregation of laypeople and the other a clergy of monks. The monks are believed to be more spiritually advanced than the common folk or laypeople.

There is discrimination between genders in this school of Buddhism—men are considered superior to women. Women are thought incapable of attaining salvation, not until they are reborn as male. 

Mahayana Buddhism 

Mahayana Buddhism, or the “Great Vehicle,” is the widely practised form of Buddhism globally. After the Second Buddhist Council, the Sthaviravadins broke away from the community due to doctrinal differences, leading to the development of different schools of which Mahasanghika or the “Great Congregation” was one. Mahayana developed from the “Great Congregation” Mahasanghika ideology. It was initially practised in Korea, Mongolia, China, and Japan.

The main figure of the Mahayana school was the sage Nagarjuna, who streamlined and codified the system. This discipline believes that every individual possesses a Buddha-nature and is capable of attaining enlightenment, thus becoming a Bodhisattva, who can serve as a guide to others following the same path. The followers seek to achieve sunyata – a higher state of realisation which allows one to recognise the reality of life and that nothing is permanent.

Mahayana Buddhists emphasise the aim of selflessness, for they believe there is no individual ‘self’. Instead, they seek to understand life through compassion and wisdom. Unlike Theravada, Mahayana Buddhism does not discriminate between genders, and as per this school, both men and women are equally capable of attaining enlightenment.

Vajrayana Buddhism 

Vajrayana Buddhism, or the “Way of the Diamond,” preaches a compilation of the Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism tenets with some alterations. 

It is widely practised in Tibet. Like Mahayana school, it also preaches that everyone has a Buddha nature and one has to realise it to be fully awakened. The followers of Vajrayana are initially not obligated to abstain from bad habits such as consumption of intoxicating substances, but one only has to commit to following the path. 

They believe that adherents will steadily lose their allure to the desired world to engage in unhealthy habits. It focuses on ‘letting go’ of one’s worldly attachment gradually under discipline, rather than abstaining from one’s self from desire right from the beginning. 

Vajrayana Buddhism is also called “Thunderbolt Buddhism”, for they believe that the enlightenment falls on an adherent like a thunderbolt after one has perfected oneself through the required efforts. 

They associate enlightenment with something unbreakable such as a diamond. The disciples use mantras to train their minds from going astray in the world and to remain aware of reality.

Nirvana Buddhism

Nirvana Buddhism is based on the Nirvana Sutra, which recognises Dharma Body as eternal and that human beings can inherit the Buddha-nature. 

The goal of following the Buddhist path is to attain Nirvana (salvation) which releases one from the cycle of suffering and reincarnation. It can be obtained only by eliminating ignorance (moha), greed (raga), and aversion (dvesha), which are considered as “three fires”. One is free from samsara when these three fires have been extinguished. 

According to Theravada Buddhism, nirvana can be attained through one’s own efforts to liberate oneself from desires and worldly attachment. The Mahayana Buddhists believe that those who seek the attainment of salvation and spiritual awareness can follow the path towards Nirvana with more efficiency than ignorant people.

Conclusion

Due to differences among Buddhist monks regarding the “true teaching” of Buddha, there was a division in the once-unified vision of Buddhism, which led to the formation of three main schools: Theravada Buddhism (The School of the Elders); Mahayana Buddhism (The Great Vehicle); and Vajrayana Buddhism (The Way of the Diamond).

The Theravada disciples seek to become an arhat, a person who has attained enlightenment through self-efforts. On the other hand, the Mahayana discipline believes that every individual possesses a Buddha-nature and is capable of attaining enlightenment, thus becoming a Bodhisattva, who can serve as a guide to others following the same path. 

Unlike Mahayana Buddhism, the Theravada Buddhists do not have a responsibility towards teaching others about the path of enlightenment. Vajrayana Buddhism preaches a compilation of the Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism tenets with some alterations. Nirvana Buddhism is based on the Nirvana Sutra, which recognises Dharma Body as eternal and that human beings can inherit the Buddha-nature.