Category Archives: Buddhism

Comparing Mahayanan Buddhism and Theravadan Buddhism

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The major differences between Mahayana tradition and Theravadan tradition in Buddhism include the number of Buddhas, the proper language to use for religious texts, the number of bodhisattvas, and the acceptability of adaption of local custom.

Mahayana Tradition recognizes an infinite number of Buddhas who are able to help people achieve enlightenment or, for the lay followers, pray to in times of need. Theravadan tradition however only recognizes Gautama Buddha and prior Buddhas as legitimate. These Buddhas are accepted as men who found enlightenment, but not as supernatural beings. The Mahayanan tradition of accepting infinite Buddhas is beneficial to the religion overall because general practitioners can look to the different Buddhas for guidance and support in times of trouble which, in turn, has a profound positive influence on lay followers.

Theravada Buddhism only accepts Maitreya Bodhisattva as an “official” bodhisattva because he is the only one mentioned in the Pali language cannon. However, Mahayana teaches that all human beings have the opportunity to become a bodhisattva through many lifetimes worth of work. This act of becoming a bodhisattva is seen as an act of great compassion in Mahayanan tradition because the practitioner forestalls an easier road to nirvana to help others achieve enlightenment. Mahayanan tradition holds those who forestall their own ascension to nirvana in the highest regard; however, Theravadan tradition rewards those who focus on their own attainment of nirvana. As a result, Theravadan Buddhism tends to be seen as an elitist religion without much in the way of benefit for lay followers.

Theravadan Buddhism also does not allow local input or updating of traditions from the original Pali language; however, Mahayana allows local traditions to blend with the prior tradition. Mahayana also accepts all languages as part of their cannon while Theravada only allows for the original Pali texts as cannon. Theravadan furthers compounds this difference by only allowing the Tripitaka to be written in Pali unlike Mahayana’s acceptance of all languages. Without a blending of traditions and the ability to easily adopt the ideals of Buddhism to each new region or group, Theravadan Buddhism has had a much harder time spreading over a large area. Mahayana however, has continually spread, and, as a result, has become the dominant form of Buddhism in most areas.

Theravada tradition puts only minor emphasis on rituals. The rituals that are practiced only come from pre-Buddhist influences; local customs are cast aside in the practice of Theravadan Buddhism. Mahayana however greatly emphasizes rituals most of which are based on the local traditions of the area Mahayana migrated to. Emphasis on rituals causes Mahayana to be seen as a folk religion or words over substance and it also encourages the dilution of Mahayanan tradition with the influx of outside influences.

The differences within Mahayanan schools of Buddhism are striking. The three main schools: the pure land sect, the intuitive sect, and the rationalist sect each offer three very different but complementary views of Buddhist scripture and philosophy. Theravadan tradition has only a single school of thought which prevents the philosophy from being fully explored by practitioners. However, Theravadan tradition does have strength as it does not have the schisms in the religious community that has plagued Mahayanan tradition since its inception.

Overall, Mahayanan tradition is seen as a religion of the people while Theravadan tradition is a religion of the elders. Neither is entirely superior to the other as both traditions have their own strengths and weaknesses.

Compared histories of Gautama and Mahavira

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While both Guatama and Mahavira followed a similar patterns in life, there were small differences in Mahavira’s and Gautama’s life from the beginning. For example, the mothers of Gautama and Mahavira both had dreams that foretold that the boys would either become great religious leaders or great warriors. Mahavira’s mother dreamed that the baby was conceived in the Brahmin Devanda’s womb and then later transferred to her body; Gautama’s mother dreamed that a white elephant holding a lotus flower entered her body. However they were raised differently: Gautama’s father surrounded him with every earthly pleasure to force him to become a warrior; however, Mahavira’s father did not try to force the outcome and allowed the boy to find his own path.

Mahavira was born in 599 BC in Bihar, India (formerly Vaishali Videha) where he lived a normal princely life until the age of 28 when both of his parents died. He, in respect to the wishes of his brother, continued to live at home for two years. During this time, he began his practice of self-denial and meditation. In contrast, Gautama was born in 536 BC in Kapilavastu, India (now called Nepal) where he lived surrounded by earthly pleasures and excesses to the point that his father never allowed him to see anything dissatisfactory with the world for fear Gautama would become a spiritual leader rather than a warrior. Gautama was content with his life, but when he was about 29 years old he became discontent with his life because of what are referred to as the “four sites”. These four sites (age, sickness, death, and mediation) caused him to question his place in life and caused him to fear the same happening in his own family. Soon after, he cast aside the burden of householder life and, leaving his family behind, began his journey to enlightenment.

Mahavira, after his renunciation, began his quest for enlightenment first by joining a group of ascetics, but left them soon after because of differences in opinion. (Oddly, he left because he had angered the other Ascetics by allowed starving cattle to eat the thatch roofs of their huts.) He then spent two years in the town of Nalanda. During the second year he meet Gosala, and the two traveled together for ten years (less 6 months) until Gosala left him. However, Gosala did not leave Mahavira’s life permanently later he tried to kill Mahavira by cursing him; however, the curse backfired and, if the legends are to be believed, Gosala himself died from the same curse 7 years later. Mahavira spent 12 years in meditation to achieve enlightenment; as he progressed his spiritual abilities grew and he achieved perfect enlightenment. After his enlightenment, Mahavira spent the reminder of his life preaching the way to enlightenment he had achieved.

Gautama began his journey by studying with the hermits Arada and later Udraka. They taught him how to meditate and achieve a state of non-existence and to achieve a state not of perception or non-perception respectively. After Gautama mastered both of these techniques, he began practicing asceticism, and he was later joined by a group of wandering ascetics who were impressed by the degree of self-mortification Gautama had achieved. After several years, he remembered the meditative states he had achieved as a boy, and he began to become discontent with the ascetic way. He decided that the ascetics would not help him achieve the enlightenment he desired, so he renounced asceticism, ate some food and began his pursuit of a “middle way”. Gautama then began seeking enlightenment through meditation rather than self-deprivation. After leaving the ascetic way of life, Gautama sat under a bodhi tree and began his meditation; shortly after, he achieved a heightened state of awareness, and by turning this awareness inward, he realized the four noble truths. The truths he realized became known as the Dharma which Gautama spent the remainder of his life preaching to those who would listen.

The paths of these two men are very similar: their life choices follow the same path and the end result was the same. The differences can be traced back to a single point: one was spoiled as a child and one was not. Gautama who lived a life of excess beyond what was normal even for other princes chose a middle path that did not require self-deprivation, Mahavira who lead a “normal” life for a prince chose extreme self-deprivation as a tool. One can only wonder if the roles were reversed would their decisions have been the same.