There are two major traditions of Buddhism such as Theravada
and Mahayana. In Theravada Buddhism, the goal is to become an enlightened saint
who has attained nirvana while Mahayana Buddhists hope to become bodhisattvas,
altruistic enlightened saints who delay nirvana so they can help others attain
it.
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| Theravada Buddhism |
Theravada is one of the two major traditions of Buddhism:
the other is Mahayana. Whereas Mahayana is sometimes referred to as Northern
Buddhism, Theravada is called Southern Buddhism for its prominence in the more
southern countries of Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, among
others. The name comes from the Pali language and is translated as “doctrine of
the elder monks.” Theravada claims to be the oldest school of Buddhism and the
one that remains closest to the Buddha's original teachings, having descended
from the Buddha's own disciples. According to the book, “The Pali Canon
constitutes the definitive core of Theravada Buddhism. Theravada is the name of
one, albeit a prominent one, of the schools of Buddhism that took form in India
during the centuries following the death of Buddha in the early fifth century
B.C.E.” (Bresnan 213)
There are some
different between Theravada and Mahayana. Unlike
Theravada Buddhists whose goal is to become enlightened saints who have
attained nirvana, Mahayana Buddhists hope to become bodhisattvas,
altruistic enlightened saints who delay nirvana so they can help others attain
it. Mahayana is one of the two main traditions of Buddhism, the other being
Theravada. From Sanskrit, maha means “great” and yana means
“vehicle.” The Mahayana tradition also teaches that even a layperson can attain
enlightenment. The schools within the Mahayana Buddhist tradition differ in how
to achieve this goal, but believe that enlightenment is attainable in a single
lifetime. In my opinion, I think the thing that make two traditions is different
is the goal, the belief and opinions.
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| Mahayana Buddhism |
Work Cited
Bresnan, Patrick. Awakening: an Introduction to the
History of Eastern Thought. Fifth ed., Pearson, 2013.
