Theravada

Theravada Buddhism is one of the oldest forms of Buddhist school that is said to have originated in India. After the death of Buddha, two principle schools of Buddhism emerged. One was Theravada Buddhism and the other was Mahayana Buddhism. Till date Theravada Buddhism is referred to as the "School of the Elders". Theravada Buddhists claim that they follow the original teachings of Buddha. Theravada Buddhism emphasizes personal salvation through one"s own efforts. It is a conservative form of Buddhism that adheres to Pali scriptures and the non-theistic ideal of self purification to Nirvana. The doctrines included in Theravada Buddhism are an extension of the doctrines discussed in the Buddhist Council. The teachings of Buddha were then penned down in Pali and are known as the Tripitaka. Till date, the Theravada Buddhists strictly follow all the teachings and rules that Buddha had once formulated.

According to Theravada Buddhism, one is only a "true" Buddhist when he desires to follow the Buddha, commits himself to following the guidance of the Sangha, and resolves to follow the teachings of Buddha. Compared to the Mahayana school, Theravada places less emphasis on a concern for the enlightenment of others and a much higher emphasis on the importance of monks and the monastic lifestyle.

This Theravada school is derived from the Vibhajjavada group, which has its origin in the older Sthavira group. It came into existence during the rule of Emperor Ashoka at the Third Buddhist Council. After a certain point of time Vibhajjavada broke up into 4 classes--Mahisasaka, Kasyapiya, Dharmaguptaka and the Tamraparniya. Theravada Buddhism evolved from Tamraparniya. It means the Sri Lankan descendant. This name was given to this school in India. The origin of this doctrine is till date unchanged. There is no historical evidence that there was any change from the original doctrine. The only difference is geographical.

Vibhajjavadins consider themselves a part of Sthaviras. Sthaviras were an orthodox group and were often referred to as The Elders. Even after the Third Council they continued to call themselves Sthaviras or Theras. Though the doctrines are similar to those of the older Sthaviras they are not identical. The basic difference between Sthaviras and Theras lie in their language medium. In ancient India those schools that used Sanskrit as the medium to educate is called the Sthavira. The schools that followed Pali language were the Theras. But in essence both the schools followed similar doctrine. It was not before the 4th century that the term Theravada was used in written form.

According to the Singhalese tradition Mahinda brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka for the first time. Mahindra the son of Emperor Ashoka, the greatest Buddhist follower ever. As a part of missionary activity the principles of Buddhism arrived here in the 3rd century BC. Mahavihara Monastery of Anuradhapura was also established by Mahindra at this time. Later the monastery became divided into other groups. And were set up in according to their names--the Mahavihara, the Abhayagirivihara, and the Jetavanavihara. In the year 1164 the Sri Lanka King reunited all Bhikshus with the help from two monks in Sri Lanka. Thus the Mahavihara School was established.

Ashoka` s daughter, Sanghamitra, was the person to start the first nun order in Sri Lanka. But soon it lost its popularity. In the year 429 on the request of the emperor of China Han Dynasty a nun from Anuradhapura was sent to China to establish a similar nun order. Soon it spread to Korea. In 1996 eleven nuns from Sri Lanka were selected and ordained as bhikshunis by some of the Theravada monks. A team of Korean nuns was also part of the ceremony. However there is disagreement over the validity of such ordinations. A branch of the Theravada vinaya authorities does not consider such ordination valid.

Theravada Buddhism also spread to Suvannabhumi. This place is located in lower Myanmar. Here the earliest dwellers were Mon and they are believed to be the followers of Theravada Buddhism. There are historical evidences that these groups of people were closely associated with Sri Lankans and South Indians. The Burmese were the first to adopt the Mon religion. Later the Thai also adopted this religion.

From here the principles of Theravada Buddhism traveled far and wide into the world.

In accord to the doctrine of Theravada Buddhism, the insight in an individual must evolve from his experiences, understanding and reasoning instead of blind faith. The doctrine widely promoted the concept of "Teaching of Analysis." The Theravada scriptures however say that a wise man is indeed required to guide an individual. As a result apart from an individual`s own experience he should also rely on the advice and the judgment of the wise man or elders.

The philosophy of Theravada Buddhism propagates that the primary cause of human suffering lies in his desires. These desires or cravings include greed, anger, jealousy, fear, passion, hatred, vengeance, pride, cardinal pleasures, aversion and others. The levels of these defilements were divided into coarse, medium, and subtle. These defilements are temporary phases, which harms the individual as well as the people surrounding him. It is also the main reason behind all the inhumanities that man commits. The only way to escape from dukkha is by following the principles of Buddhism.

The doctrine of Theravada believes that these cravings or dukkha arise in man out of ignorance or avijja. Out of ignorance men consider these defilements apart of their self. Actually they are nothing but parasites that affect the mind and create pain and suffering. These ignorant human beings consider their bodies as their possession whereas the truth is that the body is made up of four elements i.e. Earth, Fire, Water and Air. After death the body decomposes and returns back to its original forms. But the defilements manipulate and instigate the mind and prevent it from seeing the obvious.

In order to free oneself from the cycle of pain and suffering it is essential for the individuals to get rid of these vices. The only way to eradicate them is through logic, analyzing and experience. To understand the true nature of the vices one needs to practice jhana. This practice will lead the aspirant to the Four Noble Truths, Enlightenment and ultimately to Nirvana. The ultimate aim of Theravada Buddhism is Nirvana. This is the stage that liberates a man from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth and helps him to attain spirituality.

Theravadins strongly believe that each individual is responsible for his karma (action and decision) and in the process he is the sole one responsible for his liberation too. To achieve nirvana the only way is to follow Noble Eight fold Paths. This discipline believes that gods are incapable of granting human beings from their sufferings as gods themselves incorporate the defilements like wrath, vengeance, hatred, delusion and greed. For the followers of Theravada, Buddha was a teacher who showed them the Eight fold Paths.

It is possible to attain Nirvana in one lifetime by an Arhant. The followers of Theravada Buddhism believe that those who attain nirvana are similar to Buddha. However Gautama Buddha was superior to the other arhants because he himself discovered the path to achieve it. Theravada looks up to Buddha as a supreme individual who found a way to nirvana and imparted the knowledge to others. However, this discipline also recognizes the existence of such Buddhas in the distant past or near future.

The remarkable feature about Theravada School of Buddhism is that the followers of this discipline can either blindly follow the teachings of Gautama Buddha or verify them through their experience and analyzing power. Very few religious discourses in the world propagate such principles.

The philosophy of this school is that all worldly phenomena are subject to three characteristics - they are impermanent and transient; unsatisfactory and that there is nothing in them which can be called one"s own. All compounded things are made up of two elements - the non-material part and the material part. They are further described as consisting of 5 constituent groups, namely the material quality, and the 4 non-material qualities - sensations, perception, mental formatives and consciousness. When the perfected state of insight is reached, that person is a "worthy person", an Arhat. The life of the Arhat is the ideal of the followers of this school, a life where all birth is at an end, where the holy life is fully achieved, where all that has to be done has been done, and there is no more returning to the worldly life.

The Theravada School of Buddhism considers Tripitaka (Pali Canon) as the most authoritative text that contains the teachings of Gautama Buddha. The Sutta and Vinaya segments of the Tripitaka text are overlapped and have similarities with the texts used by the non-Theravada schools that exist primarily in Chinese language. Both these kinds of texts are considered as the oldest ones on Buddhist principles. It is widely believed that the Pali text was taken to Sri Lanka during the rule of Emperor Ashoka. Theravada Buddhism is one of the first Buddhist schools that have its entire text in written form.

The Pali Tipitaka or the Scripture of Theravada is comprised of three parts: the Vinaya Pitaka, Sutta Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka. Amongst these Abhidhamma Pitaka is seen as the later addition. Some of the Buddhist scholars are of the view that the first two Pitakas only existed during the First Buddhist Council. Hence the Pali Abhidhamma Pitaka was not recognized by any other school of Buddhism other than the Theravada School.

There are several commentaries that accompany the Tipitaka text. Of these the first one was written by Buddhaghosa Thera in the 4th or 5th centuries. These commentaries have become a part of the Theravada culture.

Through these scriptures it becomes easier to comprehend the cultural heritage of Theravada Buddhism. The segments of Sutta Pitaka and Vinaya Pitaka were common to early Buddhist tradition. As a result these are not unique to Theravada School of Buddhism.