The Varieties of Buddhism
"There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting." - Buddha
Theravada Buddhism
The Theravada Buddhists
believe that they practice the original form of Buddhism as the Buddha taught
it. Theravada means ‘Way of the Elders’.
In Theravada Buddhism they
believe in the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold path, and that you can reach the
nirvana by practicing it. However, by practicing the Eightfold path they focused
especially on meditation and concentration, so it emphasized a monastic life
removed from the busy society and it required an extreme time of meditating.
There was only little room for the bigger group of the Buddhists to join, it was
an esoteric religion.
After this the Mahayana Buddhism would start.
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Theravada countries
Mahayana Buddhism
Mahayana is also called ‘the Greater Vehicle’. It started about 500 years after Buddha passed away, and reached the Nirvana. It started in the first century AD (after the birth of Jesus Christ). They called the Theravada Buddhism Hinayana, or ‘The Lesser Vehicle’.
The Mahayana Buddhist said to go back to the origins of the teachings of Buddha, instead of starting a new way of Buddhism. The goal of Mahayana was to extend the religion to a greater number of people, rather than concentrating on just a few.
At the center of Mahayana is the bodhisattva, ‘a being of wisdom’. This was the most important invention of Mahayana. A bodhisattva was first used to explain Buddha’s earlier lives. They said he was in his earlier lives a bodhisattva, a Buddha in waiting to reach the nirvana. It is someone who is very close to the Nirvana, but turns back reaching it to help others on their way to the nirvana. A bodhisattva is a savior, who practices the Six Virtues, or Paramitas.
The six virtues:
The perfection of giving (dana)
The perfection of morality (sila)
The perfection of patience (santi)
The perfection of courage (virya)
The perfection of meditation (dhyana)
The perfection of wisdom (prajna)
Bodhisattvas can be reborn
as humans or animals. The Mahayana came up with a new idea, the idea of heaven.
The most powerful bodhisattvas are those who are in heaven. They believed that
the bodhisattvas, also the enlightened ones, could be recognized with prayer.
The reason why the Buddha didn’t become a bodhisattva, instead of reaching into
the nirvana, is because of a doctrine called the Three Bodies of the Buddha.
The three bodies are the
Body of Essence, the Body of Bliss, and the Transformation Body. When the Buddha
was still Siddartha Gautama, and lived on earth, the Buddha was the
Transformation Body. This Transformation Body was an appearance of the Body of
Bliss. In the Body of Bliss he goes to heaven forever. The body of Bliss is also
an appearance of the Body of Essence, the Ultimate Buddha. The Ultimate Buddha
inspires the complete universe and is known as the nirvana itself.
In Mahayana Buddhism the highest goal is to become a Buddha. But different from other ways of Buddhism, there are also other goals you can reach. The first one is becoming a pratyeke-buddha, someone who has awakened the truth but keeps it secret. Below this goal, you can become an arhant, ‘worthy’ who has learned the truth from others and realized it as truth. This one is a goal for all believers; he hears the truth, realizes it as the truth and then passes into Nirvana. You can see here the reason why it is called the ‘Greater Vehicle’, because it is meant to include everyone.
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Mahayana countries
The Mantrayana
Mantrayana means ‘sacred recitation vehicle’. The schools mayor centers are in the Himalayan regions, in Mongolia, and in Japan. The Japanese call it Shingon. Mantrayana Buddhism accepts most Mahayana doctrines. It focuses on a close relationship between a spiritual leader, like a guru, and a small group of disciples. The disciples spend time reciting spells called mantras, performing sacred dances and gestures, and of course meditating is really important. The followers of Mantrayana Buddhism traditionally keep many of their beliefs and practices secret from others.
The Pure Land Sect
Pure Land Buddhism is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism, it is now the most important form of Buddhism in East Asia.
It was first brought to China; the Chinese took slowly the different scriptures as they obtained them. Later the Chinese made their own contributions to the Buddhist doctrine. First they add commentaries to Mahayana scriptures.
They also developed the Meditation School. This was a new tradition, and now the techniques of meditation became more important than the scriptures. These Chinese contributions were important because it was Chinese Buddhism that spread to Korea, Japan and Vietnam. All the new traditions and practices were slowly added.
Pure Land Buddhism believes in a system of merits and promoted the idea that there is more than one Buddha. They believe in paradise after death. Amitabha, the Buddha of infinite Light, is host here. They believe that if they pray and honor the Amitabha, they will be reborn in Pure Land. It does not mean you die and are reborn, it means you are reborn into the Buddha-nature of your own mind. The Pure Land exists in your mind in life and after death, it is the place where enlightenment takes place, but it is not enlightenment itself.
If you pray to the Buddha’s name, you would come in the paradise. The paradise, Pure Land, was the next step to come closer to the nirvana. There were no further obstacles if you came in the Pure Land, to become enlightenment.
The three basic elements of Pure Land Buddhism:
1. Faith
You must have trust and confidence in the power and wisdom of the Buddha’s.
2. Vows
You must vow to be reborn.
3. Practice
You must practice and always know the Buddha.
Zen
Zen is practiced mostly in Japan. It started in China, where it is called Chan. Zen acknowledges most of the Mahayana doctrines and it focuses, just like in Mantrayana Buddhism, between a master and his disciples. However, different is that Zen has typical practices that purposes to lead to a state of spiritual enlightenment called satori. Some believers of Zen think that it comes in a sudden flash of insight. Others believe that satori can be attained slowly trough a long process of self-discipline, meditation and instruction.
