Theravada (
Pāli
: थेरवाद
theravāda (cf Sanskrit: स्थविरवाद
sthaviravādaSthaviravāda literally means "Teaching Of The Elders". They were one of the two main movements in early Buddhism that arose from the Great Schism, the other being that of the...
); literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
. It is relatively conservative, and generally closest to early Buddhism, and for many centuries has been the predominant religion of
Sri LankaSri Lanka , officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka , is an island country in South Asia, located about off the southern coast of India...
(about 70% of the population) and most of continental
Southeast AsiaManila
Bangkok
Ho Chi Minh City
Kuala Lumpur
Singapore
Yangon
Bandung
Hanoi
Surabaya
Taichung
Kaohsiung
Medan|-|}...
(
CambodiaBuddhism has existed in Cambodia since at least the 5th century CE, with some sources placing its origin as early as the 3rd century BCE...
,
LaosBuddhism is the primary religion of Laos. The Buddhism practiced in Laos is of the Theravada tradition. Lao Buddhism is a unique version of Theravada Buddhism and is at the basis of Lao culture...
, Burma,
ThailandBuddhism in Thailand is largely of the Theravada school. Nearly 95% of Thailand's population is Buddhist of the Theravada school, though Buddhism in this country has become integrated with folk beliefs as well as Chinese religions from the large Thai-Chinese population.Buddhist temples in Thailand...
). Theravada is also practiced by minorities in parts of southwest
ChinaChinese Buddhism refers collectively to the various schools of Buddhism that have flourished in China proper since ancient times after introduction from its original source, India...
(by the
ShanThe Shan are a Tai ethnic group of Southeast Asia. The Shan live primarily in the Shan State of Burma , but also inhabit parts of Mandalay Division, Kachin State, and Kayin State, and in adjacent regions of China and Thailand...
and
TaiTai may refer to the*Tai ethnic groups*Tai languagesOther meanings include*Tai , a Chinese surname*Tai, Nigeria, a local government area in Rivers State, Nigeria*Mount Tai, in Shandong, China...
ethnic groups),
VietnamBuddhism came to Vietnam as early as the second century CE through the North from central Asia and via Southern routes from India. Buddhism in Vietnam as practiced by the ethnic Vietnamese is mainly of the Mahayana school, although some ethnic minorities adhere to the Theravada school...
(by the
Khmer KromThe Khmer Krom - Khmer people living in the Delta and the Lower Mekong area. Mostly regarded as the indigenous ethnic Khmer minority living in southern Vietnam...
),
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
(by the ethnic groups of
BaruaBarua is a common Assamese surname. It is also the shared surname of an ethnic minority in Bangladesh, and a Hispanic surname.-In Assam:...
s,
ChakmaChakma may refer to:*Chakma people*Chakma language*Chakma script...
, and
MaghThe Magh is the term used in Bengal for the Arakanese or Rakhine people of Arakan. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the kingdom of Arakan expended its territories to the Chittagong area of Bengal...
),
MalaysiaBuddhism is the second largest religion in Malaysia, after Islam, with 19.2% of Malaysia's population being Buddhist. Buddhism in Malaysia is mainly practised by the ethnic Chinese Malaysians.-History:...
and
IndonesiaBuddhism in Indonesia has a long history, with a considerable range of relics from its earlier years in Indonesia.During the New Order era the five official religions of Indonesia, according to the state ideology of Pancasila included Buddhism...
, while recently gaining popularity in
SingaporeAs of 2000, 42.5% of the Singaporeans register themselves as Buddhist by religion. Adherents of Buddhism are mostly of the Chinese majority ethnic group, although small minorities of Sinhalese and Thai Buddhists do exist as well....
and the
Western WorldThe Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term that can have multiple meanings depending on its context...
. Today Theravada Buddhists number over 100 million worldwide, and in recent decades Theravada has begun to take root in the West and in the Buddhist revival in India.
Origin of the school
The Theravāda school is ultimately derived from the
VibhajjavādaVibhajjavāda is an umbrella classification for Buddhist denominations that promote analysis as a primary tool for developing 'insight'...
(or 'doctrine of analysis') grouping which was a continuation of the older
SthaviraSthaviravāda literally means "Teaching Of The Elders". They were one of the two main movements in early Buddhism that arose from the Great Schism, the other being that of the...
(or 'teaching of the Elders') group at the time of the
Third Buddhist CouncilThe Third Buddhist council was convened in about 250 BCE at Asokarama in Patiliputta, supposedly under the patronage of Emperor Asoka. The reason for convening the Third Buddhist Council is reported to have been to rid the Sangha of corruption and bogus monks who held heretical views. It was...
around 250 BC, during the reign of Emperor Asoka in
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
. Vibhajjavadins saw themselves as the continuation of orthodox Sthaviras and after the Third Council continued to refer to their school as the Sthaviras/Theras ('The Elders'), their doctrines were probably similar to the older Sthaviras but were not completely identical. After the Third Council geographical distance led to the Vibhajjavādins gradually evolving into four groups: the
MahīśāsakaMahisasaka is one of the twenty schools of early Buddhism according to a Mahayana record. Its origins go back to the dispute in the Second Buddhist Council. Dharmaguptaka sect branch out from Mihisasaka sect toward the end of the 2nd or the beginning of the 1st century BC. Its vinaya was...
,
KāśyapīyaKāśyapīya is an early Buddhist school. Their name is believed to be derived from Kāśyapa, one of the original missionaries sent by King Ashoka to the Himavant country. They are believed to have become an independent school ca. 190 BCE...
,
DharmaguptakaThe Dharmaguptaka are one of the eighteen or twenty schools of Early Buddhism, depending on one's source. It originated from another sect, Mahisasaka...
and the Tāmraparnīya. The Theravada is descended from the Tāmraparnīya, which means 'the Sri Lankan lineage'. Some sources claim that only the Theravada actually evolved directly from the Vibhajjavādins.
According to Buddhist scholar A.K. Warder, the Theravada “spread rapidly south from
AvantiAvanti was an ancient Indian janapada , roughly corresponded to the present day Malwa region. According to the Buddhist text, the Anguttara Nikaya, Avanti was one of the solasa mahajanapadas of the 6th century BCE...
into Maharastra and
AndhraAndhra Pradesh , abbreviated A.P., is a state situated on the south-eastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Hyderabad...
and down to the Chola country (Kanchi), as well as Ceylon. For sometime they maintained themselves in Avanti as well as in their new territories, but gradually they tended to regroup themselves in the south, the Great Vihara (Mahavihara) in Anuradhapura, the capital of Ceylon, become the main centre of their tradition, Kanchi a secondary center and the northern regions apparently relinquished to other schools."
The name of Tamraparniya was given to the Sri Lankan lineage in India but there is no indication that this referred to any change in doctrine or scripture from the Vibhajjavadins, since the name points only to geographical location. The Theravadan accounts of its own origins mention that it received the teachings that were agreed upon during the
Third Buddhist CouncilThe Third Buddhist council was convened in about 250 BCE at Asokarama in Patiliputta, supposedly under the patronage of Emperor Asoka. The reason for convening the Third Buddhist Council is reported to have been to rid the Sangha of corruption and bogus monks who held heretical views. It was...
, and these teachings were known as the Vibhajjavada. In the 7th century, Chinese pilgrims
XuanzangXuanzang [602/603? - 664 CE] was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator that brought up the interaction between China and India in the early Tang period....
and
Yi JingI Ching or Yi Jing was a Tang Dynasty Buddhist monk, originally named Zhang Wen Ming...
refer to the Buddhist school in Sri Lanka as ‘Sthavira’. In ancient India, those schools that used Sanskrit as their religious language referred to this school as the 'Sthaviras', but those that use Pali as their religious language referred to this school as the 'Theras'. Both 'Sthaviras' (Sanskrit) and 'Theras' (Pali) both literally mean 'The Elders'. The school has been using the name 'Theravada' for itself in a written form since at least the fourth century CE when the term appears in the
Dipavamsa.
There is little information about the later history of Theravada Buddhism in India, and it is not known when it disappeared in its country of origin.
The Theravada school had also reached Burma around the time it arrived in Sri Lanka and something of a synergy gradually developed. Around the end of the tenth century C.E, for example, war in Sri Lanka had extinguished the Theravadan ordination lineage, and a contingent of Burmese monks had to be imported to rekindle it. Burmese and Sri Lankan Theravada reinforced each other sufficiently, so that by the time Buddhism died out in India in the eleventh century, it had established a stable home in these countries. Gradually the Theravada form of Buddhism spread to Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.
Royal houses in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia associated themselves closely with Buddhism. States in those areas strictly enforced orthodoxy, and ensured that Theravada remained traditionalist. This contrasts with the relationship of Buddhism to states throughout most of Buddhism's history in India.
History of the tradition
According to Sinhalese tradition, Buddhism was first brought to Sri Lanka by
MahindaMahinda was a Buddhist monk depicted in Buddhist sources as bringing Buddhism to Sri Lanka...
, who is believed to have been the son of the Mauryan emperor Asoka, in the third century BCE, as a part of the missionary activities of the Asokan era. In Sri Lanka, Mahinda established the Mahavihara Monastery of
AnuradhapuraAnuradhapura, , is one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, famous for its well-preserved ruins of ancient Lankan civilization....
. Later it became divided into three subgroups, known after their monastic centers as the
MahaviharaThe Mahavihara was for several centuries the center of Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka. It was founded by king Devanampiya Tissa in his capital Anuradhapura. The Mahavihara was the place where Theravadin orthodoxy was established by monks such as Buddhaghosa...
, the Abhayagiri Vihara, and the Jetavanavihara. In 1164, with the guidance of two monks from a forest branch of the Mahavihara, the Sri Lankan King reunited all bhikkhus in Sri Lanka into the orthodox Mahavihara school.
A few years after the arrival of Sthavira
MahindaMahinda was a Buddhist monk depicted in Buddhist sources as bringing Buddhism to Sri Lanka...
,
SanghamittaSanghamitta was the daughter of Emperor Ashoka and his Buddhist queen Devi. Together with Venerable Mahinda, her twin brother, she entered an order of Buddhist monks. The two siblings later went to Sri Lanka to spread the teachings of Buddha...
, who is also believed to be the daughter of Emperor Asoka, came to Sri Lanka. She started the first nun order in Sri Lanka, but the nun order died out in Sri Lanka in the 11th century and in Burma in the 13th. In 429 CE, by request of China's emperor, nuns from
AnuradhapuraAnuradhapura, , is one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, famous for its well-preserved ruins of ancient Lankan civilization....
were sent to China to establish the Nun Order. The order was then spread to
KoreaKorea is a civilization and formerly unified nation currently divided into two states. Located on the Korean Peninsula, it borders China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait....
. In 1996, 11 selected Sri Lankan nuns were ordained fully as
BhikkhuniA Bhikkhuni is a fully ordained female Buddhist monastic. Male monastics are called Bhikkhus. Both Bhikkunis and Bhikkhus live by the vinaya...
s by a team of Theravada monks in concert with a team of Korean Nuns in India. There is disagreement among Theravada
vinayaThe Vinaya is the regulatory framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha, based in the canonical texts called Vinaya Pitaka. The teachings of the Buddha, or Buddhadharma can be divided into two broad categories: 'Dharma' or doctrine, and 'Vinaya', or discipline...
authorities as to whether such ordinations are valid. In the last few years the head of the
DambullaThe city of Dambulla is situated in the Central Province of Sri Lanka, situated 148 km north-east of Colombo and 72 km north of Kandy.Major attractions of the city include the largest and best preserved cave temple complex of Sri Lanka, and the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, famous for...
chapter of the Siyam Nikaya in Sri Lanka has carried out ordination ceremonies for hundreds of nuns. This has been criticized by some other leading figures in the Siyam Nikaya and
Amarapura NikayaThe Amarapura Nikaya is a Sri Lankan monastic fraternity founded in 1800. It is named after the city of Amarapura, Myanmar , the former capital of the Burmese kingdom...
, and the governing council of Burmese Buddhism has declared that there can be no valid ordination of nuns in modern times, though some Burmese monks disagree with this.
According to
MahavamsaThe Mahavamsa is a historical poem written in the Pali language, of the kings of Sri Lanka. It covers the period from the coming of King Vijaya of Kalinga in 543 BCE to the reign of King Mahasena ....
the Sri Lanka chronical, after the conclusion of the
Third Buddhist CouncilThe Third Buddhist council was convened in about 250 BCE at Asokarama in Patiliputta, supposedly under the patronage of Emperor Asoka. The reason for convening the Third Buddhist Council is reported to have been to rid the Sangha of corruption and bogus monks who held heretical views. It was...
, a missionary was also sent to Suvannabhumi where two monks Sona and Uttara, are said to have proceeded. Scholar opinions differ as to where exactly this land of Suvannabhumi is located, but Suvannabhumi is believed to be located somewhere in the area which now includes lower Burma,
ThailandThe Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
,
Malay PeninsulaThe Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a major peninsula located in Southeast Asia, with its narrowest point at the Isthmus of Kra. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its teminus, is the most southern point of the Asian mainland...
and
SumatraSumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world .-Etymology:Sumatra was known in ancient times by the Sanskrit...
Island.
The Mon and
PyuPyu refers to a collection of city-states and their language found in the central and northern regions of modern-day Burma from about 100 BCE to 840 CE...
were one of the earliest people to inhabit Burma. Recent archaeological findings at Pyu settlement at Samon Valley (around 100 km south-east of Bagan) have shown that they have trade links with India at around 500 BC-400 BC and with China at around 200 BC. Chinese sources which have been dated to around 240 A.D. have mentioned a Buddhist kingdom by the name of Lin-Yang, which some scholars have identified as the ancient
PyuPyu refers to a collection of city-states and their language found in the central and northern regions of modern-day Burma from about 100 BCE to 840 CE...
kingdom of Beikthano. which is 300 km north of
YangonYangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Division. Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
. The Burmese slowly become Theravadan when they come into contact with the Pyu and Mon civilization. The Mon were also one of the earliest people to inhabit Thailand. The Thai slowly become Theravadan when they come into contact with the Mon civilization.
Despite its success in Southeast Asia, Theravada Buddhism in China has generally been limited to areas bordering Theravada countries. In Chinese historiography, it is normally referred to as
HinayanaHīnayāna is a Sanskrit and Pāli term literally meaning: "the low vehicle", "the inferior vehicle", or "the deficient vehicle".The term appeared around the 1st or 2nd century CE. Its use in scholarly publications is controversial...
, a term used in Mahayana texts to denigrate Buddhists who did not accept the
Mahayana sutrasMahayana sutras are a very broad genre of Buddhist scriptures of which the Mahayana Buddhist tradition claim that they are original teachings of the Buddha...
; this usage is increasingly regarded as derogatory within the Buddhist community.
Modern developments
The following modern trends or movements have been identified.
- modernism: attempts to adapt to the modern world and adopt some of its ideas; includes among other things
- green movement
- syncretism with other Buddhist traditions
- women's rights
- gay rights
- reformism: attempts to restore a supposed earlier, ideal state of Buddhism; includes in particular the adoption of Western scholars' theories of original Buddhism (in recent times the "Western scholarly interpretation of Buddhism" is the official Buddhism prevailing in Sri Lanka and Thailand.)
- ultimatism: tendency to concentrate on advanced teachings such as the Four Noble Truths
The Four Noble Truths is one of the most fundamental Buddhist teachings. In broad terms, these truths relate to suffering , its nature, its origin, its cessation and the path leading to its cessation...
at the expense of more elementary ones
- neotraditionalism; includes among other things
- revival of ritualism
- remythologization
- insight meditation
- social action
- devotional religiosity
- reaction to Buddhist nationalism
- renewal of forest monks
- revival of samatha meditation
Buddhist revivalism has also reacted against changes in Buddhism caused by colonialist regimes. Western colonialists and Christian missionaries deliberately imposed a particular type of Christian monasticism on Buddhist clergy in Sri Lanka and colonies in Southeast Asia, restricting monks' activities to individual purification and temple ministries. Prior to British colonial control, monks in both Sri Lanka and Burma had been responsible for the education of the children of lay people, and had produced large bodies of literature. After the British takeover, Buddhist temples were strictly administered and were only permitted to use their funds on strictly religious activities. Christian ministers were given control of the education system and their pay became state funding for missions. Foreign, especially British rule had an enervating effect on the sangha. According to
Walpola RahulaThe venerable Prof Walpola Sri Rahula Maha Thera was a Buddhist monk, scholar and writer. He is considered to be one of the top Sri Lankan intellectuals of the 20th century. In 1964, he became the Professor of History and Religions at Northwestern University, thus becoming the first bhikkhu to...
, Christian missionaries displaced and appropriated the educational, social, and welfare activities of the monks, and inculcated a permanent shift in views regarding the proper position of monks in society through their institutional influence upon the elite. Many monks in post-colonial times have been dedicated to undoing this paradigm shift. Movements intending to restore Buddhism's place in society have developed in both Sri Lanka and Burma.
Overview of Philosophy
Theravada promotes the concept of
VibhajjavadaVibhajjavāda is an umbrella classification for Buddhist denominations that promote analysis as a primary tool for developing 'insight'...
(
Pali
), literally "Teaching of Analysis." This doctrine says that insight must come from the aspirant's experience, critical investigation, and reasoning instead of by blind faith; however, the scriptures of the Theravadan tradition also emphasize heeding the advice of the wise, considering such advice and evaluation of one's own experiences to be the two tests by which practices should be judged.
In Theravada, the cause of human existence and suffering (
dukkhaDukkha is a Pali term roughly corresponding to a number of terms in English including suffering, pain, unsatisfactoriness, sorrow, affliction, anxiety, dissatisfaction, discomfort, anguish, stress,...
) is identified as craving (
tanha' or ' literally means "thirst," figuratively denotes "desire" or "craving," and is traditionally juxtaposed with "peace of mind" .Synonyms:*愛 Cn: ài; Jp: ai; Vi: ái...
), which carries with it the defilements (
kilesaThe Buddhist term kilesa is typically translated as "defilement" or "poison". In early Buddhist texts the kilesas generally referred to mental states which temporarily cloud the mind and manifest in unskillful actions...
s). Those defilements that bind human to the cycle of rebirth are classified into a set of ten "
FettersIn Buddhism, a mental fetter or "chain" or "bond" shackles a person to samsara, the cycle of endless birth and death...
", while those defilements that impede concentration (
samadhiIn Buddhism, samādhi is mental concentration or composing the mind.In the Pali literature, samadhi is found in the following contexts:...
) are presented in a fivefold set called the "
Five HindrancesIn Buddhism, the five hindrances are negative mental states that impede success with meditation and lead away from enlightenment...
". The level of defilement can be coarse, medium, and subtle. It is a phenomenon that frequently arises, remains temporarily and then vanishes. Theravadans believe defilements are not only harmful to oneself, but also harmful to others. They are the driving force behind all inhumanities a human being can commit.
Theravadian's believe these defilements are the habits born of ignorance (
avijja) which afflict the minds of all unenlightened beings. It is believed that unenlightened beings are under the influence of the defilements, unenlightened beings cling to them through ignorance of the truth. But in reality, those mental defilements are nothing more than taints that have afflicted the mind and create suffering and stress. It is also believed that unenlightened beings cling to the body, assuming it as their own "
Self", but in reality the body is an impermanent phenomenon formed from the
four basic elementsMahābhūta is Sanskrit and Pāli for "great element." In Hinduism, the five "great" or "gross" elements are ether, air, fire, water and earth. In Buddhism, the "four great elements" are earth, water, fire and air....
. Often characterized by earth, water, fire and air, in the early Buddhist texts these are defined to be abstractions representing the sensorial qualities solidity, fluidity, temperature, and mobility, respectively. The mental defilements' frequent instigation and manipulation of the mind is believed to have prevented the mind from seeing the true nature of reality. Unskillful behavior in turn can strengthen the defilements, but following the
Noble Eightfold PathThe Noble Eightfold Path is one of the principal teachings of the Buddha, who described it as the way leading to the cessation of suffering and the achievement of self-awakening. It is used to develop insight into the true nature of phenomena and to eradicate greed, hatred, and delusion...
can weaken or eradicate them.
It is also believed that unenlightened beings experience the world through their imperfect six sense doors (eye, ear, nose, tongue, tactile sense, and mind) and then use the mind clouded by defilements to form their own interpretation, perception and conclusion. In such a condition the perception or conclusion made will be based on that being's own illusion of reality. In the state of
jhana (deep concentration), the five physical sense doors will fade, the mental defilements will be suppressed, and wholesome mental traits will become strengthened. The mind can then be used to investigate and gain insight into the true nature of reality.
There are three stages of defilements. During the stage of passivity the defilements lies dormant at the base of the mental continuum as latent tendencies (
anusaya), but through the impact of sensory stimulus it will manifest (
pariyutthana) itself to the surface of consciousness in the form of unwholesome thoughts, emotions, and volitions. If they gather additional strength, the defilement will reach the dangerous stage of transgression (
vitikkama), which will then involve physical or vocal actions.
It is believed that in order to be free from suffering and stress these defilements need to be permanently uprooted. Initially the defilements are restrained through mindfulness to prevent them from taking over the mind and bodily action. They are then uprooted through internal investigation, analyzing, experiencing and understanding the true nature of those defilements by using
jhana. This process needs to be repeated for each and every defilement. The practice will then lead the meditator to realize the
Four Noble TruthsThe Four Noble Truths is one of the most fundamental Buddhist teachings. In broad terms, these truths relate to suffering , its nature, its origin, its cessation and the path leading to its cessation...
, Enlightenment, and
NirvanaIn sramanic thought, Nirvana is the state of being free from suffering. It is an important concept in Buddhism and Jainism....
. Nirvana is the ultimate goal of Theravadans.
Nirvana is said to be the perfect bliss and the person is liberated from the repeated cycle of birth, illness, aging and death.
Theravadans believe that every individual is personally responsible for their own self-awakening and liberation, as they are the ones that were responsible for their own actions and consequences (Sanskrit:
karma; Pali:
kamma). Simply learning or believing in the true nature of reality as expounded by the Buddha is not enough, the awakening can only be achieved through direct experience and personal realization. An individual will have to follow and practice the
Noble Eightfold PathThe Noble Eightfold Path is one of the principal teachings of the Buddha, who described it as the way leading to the cessation of suffering and the achievement of self-awakening. It is used to develop insight into the true nature of phenomena and to eradicate greed, hatred, and delusion...
as taught by the Buddha to discover the reality for themselves. In Theravada belief, Buddhas, gods or deities are incapable of giving a human being the awakening or lifting them from the state of repeated cycle of birth, illness, aging and death (
samsara or Sangsara , a Sanskrit and Pāli term which translates as "continuous movement" or "continuous flowing", refers in Buddhism to the concept of a cycle of birth and consequent decay and death , in which all beings in the universe participate and which can only be escaped through enlightenment...
). For Theravadans, Buddha is only a Teacher of the
Noble Eightfold PathThe Noble Eightfold Path is one of the principal teachings of the Buddha, who described it as the way leading to the cessation of suffering and the achievement of self-awakening. It is used to develop insight into the true nature of phenomena and to eradicate greed, hatred, and delusion...
, while gods or deities are still subject to anger, jealousy, hatred, vengeance, craving, greed, delusion, and death.
It is believed that some people who practice with earnestness and zeal can attain Nirvana within a single lifetime, as did many of the first few generations of Buddha's disciples. For others, the process may take multiple lifetimes, with the individual reaching higher and higher states of realization. One who has attained Nirvana is called an
Arahant. It is believed that the Nirvana is most quickly attained as a disciple of Buddha, since Lord Buddha is believed to have possessed the ultimate knowledge on how to guide a person through the process of enlightenment.
According to the early scriptures, the Nirvana attained by
Arahants is identical to that attained by the Buddha himself, as there is only one type of Nirvana. Buddha was superior to
Arahants because the Buddha had discovered the path all by himself, and has taught it to others (i,e., metaphorically turning the wheel of Dhamma).
Arahants, on the other hand, attained Nirvana due in part to the Buddha's teachings. Theravadans revere the Buddha as a single supremely gifted person but do recognize the existence of other such Buddhas in the distant past and future.
MaitreyaMaitreya or Metteyya is a future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. In some Buddhist literature, such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he is referred to as Ajita Bodhisattva....
(Pali: Metteyya), for example, is mentioned very briefly in the Pali Canon as a Buddha who will come in the distant future.
Traditionally Theravadans can either have the conviction (or "faith") in the Buddha's teaching and practice the minor precepts in the hope of gaining some minor benefits or they can investigate and verify by direct experience the truth of the Buddha's teaching by practicing the
jhana which is part of the
Noble Eightfold PathThe Noble Eightfold Path is one of the principal teachings of the Buddha, who described it as the way leading to the cessation of suffering and the achievement of self-awakening. It is used to develop insight into the true nature of phenomena and to eradicate greed, hatred, and delusion...
for their own Enlightenment.
Fundamentals of Theravada
One thing that should be expressed first and foremost is that the Theravada philosophy is a continuous analytical process of life, not a mere set of ethics and rituals.
The ultimate theory of Theravada uses the Four Noble Truths, also known as the Four Sublime Truths. In the simplest form these can be described as the problem, the cause, the solution and the pathway to solution (implementation).
The Four Noble Truths
A formal description of the Four Noble Truths follows:
1.
Dukkha (suffering) - This can be somewhat broadly classified into three categories. Inherent suffering, or the suffering one undergoes in all the worldly activities, what one suffers in day-to-day life: birth, aging, diseases, death, sadness, etc. In short, all that one feels from separating from 'loving' attachments and/or associating with 'hating' attachments is encompassed into the term. The second class of suffering, called Suffering due to Change, implies that things suffer due to attaching themselves to a momentary state which is held to be 'good'; when that state is changed, things are subjected to suffering. The third, termed 'Sankhara Dukkha', is the most subtle. Beings suffer simply by not realizing that they are mere aggregates with no definite, unchanging identity.
2.
Dukkha Samudaya (cause of suffering) - Craving, which leads to Attachment and Bondage, is the cause of suffering. Formally, this is termed 'Tanha'. It can be classified into three instinctive drives. 'Kama Tanha' is the Craving for any pleasurable sense object (which involves sight, sound, touch, taste, smell and mental perceptives). 'Bhava Tanha' is the Craving for attachment to an ongoing process, which appears in various forms, including the longing for existence. 'Vibhava Tanha' is the Craving for detachment from a process, which includes non-existence and causes the longing for self-annihilation.
3.
Dukkha Nirodha (cessation of suffering) - One cannot possibly adjust the whole world to one's taste in order to eliminate suffering and hope that it will remain so forever. This would violate the chief principle of Change. Instead, one adjusts one's own mind through detachment so that the Change, of whatever nature, has no effect on one's peace of mind. Briefly stated, the third Noble Truth implies that elimination of the cause (craving) eliminates the result (suffering). This is inferred in the scriptural quote by The Buddha, 'Whatever may result from a cause, shall be eliminated by the elimination of the cause'.
4.
Dukkha Nirodha Gamini Patipada (pathway to freedom from suffering) - This is the
Noble Eightfold PathThe Noble Eightfold Path is one of the principal teachings of the Buddha, who described it as the way leading to the cessation of suffering and the achievement of self-awakening. It is used to develop insight into the true nature of phenomena and to eradicate greed, hatred, and delusion...
way towards freedom or
NirvanaIn sramanic thought, Nirvana is the state of being free from suffering. It is an important concept in Buddhism and Jainism....
. The path can roughly be rendered into English as right view, right intention, right speech, right actions, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.
The Three Characteristics
These are the three characteristics of all
conditioned phenomena' or ' is a term figuring prominently in the teaching of the Buddha. The word means 'that which has been put together' and 'that which puts together'. In the first sense, refers to conditioned phenomena generally but specifically to all mental "dispositions"...
in Theravada thought.
1.
Anicca (impermanence): Change is. All conditioned phenomena are subject to Change, including physical characteristics, qualities, assumptions, theories, knowledge, etc. Nothing is permanent, because, for something to be permanent, there has to be an unchanging cause behind it. Since all causes are recursively bound together, there can be no ultimate unchanging cause.
2.
DukkhaDukkha is a Pali term roughly corresponding to a number of terms in English including suffering, pain, unsatisfactoriness, sorrow, affliction, anxiety, dissatisfaction, discomfort, anguish, stress,...
(suffering) - Craving causes suffering, since what is craved is transitory, changing, and perishing. The craving for impermanent things causes disappointment and sorrow. There is a tendency to label practically everything in the world, as either 'good', 'comfortable' or 'satisfying', as opposed to 'bad', 'uncomfortable', and 'unsatisfying'. Since we label things in terms of 'like' or 'dislike', we create suffering for ourselves. If one succeeds in giving up the tendency to label things and free himself from the instincts that drive him towards attaining what he himself labels collectively as 'liking', he attains the ultimate freedom. The problem, the cause, the solution and the implementation, all of these are within oneself, not outside.
3.
AnattaIn Buddhism, anattā or anātman refers to the notion of "not-self". One scholar describes it as "meaning non-selfhood, the absence of limiting self-identity in people and things."...
(not-self) - The concept 'Anatta' can be rendered as
lack of fixed, unchanging identity; there is no permanent, essential
SelfThe Ātman is a philosophical term used within Hinduism and Vedanta to identify the soul. It is one's true self beyond identification with the phenomenal reality of worldly existence.-Etymology:The word ātman is connected with the Indo-European root *ēt-men and is cognate with Old English "æþm",...
. A living being is a composite of the five aggregates (
khandhas), which is the physical forms (
rupa), feelings or sensations (
vedana), perception (
sanna), mental formations (
sankhara), and consciousness (
vinnana), none of which can be identified as one's
Self. From the moment of conception, all entities (including all living beings) are subject to a process of continuous change. A practitioner should, on the other hand, develop and refine his or her mind to a state so as to see through this phenomenon.
Direct realization of these three characteristics leads to freedom from worldly bonds and attachments, thus leading to the state where one is completely, ultimately free, the state which is termed
NirvanaIn sramanic thought, Nirvana is the state of being free from suffering. It is an important concept in Buddhism and Jainism....
, which literally means 'Freedom'.
The Three Noble Disciplines
The pathway towards
NirvanaIn sramanic thought, Nirvana is the state of being free from suffering. It is an important concept in Buddhism and Jainism....
, or the
Noble Eightfold PathThe Noble Eightfold Path is one of the principal teachings of the Buddha, who described it as the way leading to the cessation of suffering and the achievement of self-awakening. It is used to develop insight into the true nature of phenomena and to eradicate greed, hatred, and delusion...
way is sometimes stated in a more concise manner, known as the Three Noble Disciplines. These are known as discipline (
sīlaŚīla or sīla is usually rendered into English as "virtue"; other translations include "good conduct," "morality," "moral discipline" and "precept." It is an action that is an intentional effort. It is one of the three practices and the second pāramitā. It refers to moral purity of thought, word,...
), training of mind (
samādhiIn Buddhism, samādhi is mental concentration or composing the mind.In the Pali literature, samadhi is found in the following contexts:...
) and wisdom (
paññāPanna can refer to:* Aam panna, an Indian drink made from mangoes* Panna, India, a city in the state of Madhya Pradesh* Panna , a genus of fish in the family Sciaenidae...
).
Meditation
Meditation (Pali:
Bhavana) means the positive reinforcement of one's mind. Broadly categorized into Samatha and Vipassana, Meditation is the key tool implemented in attaining jhana. Samatha literally means "to make skillful", and has other renderings also, among which are "tranquilizing, calming", "visualizing", and "achieving". Vipassana means "insight", or "abstract understanding". In this context, Samatha Meditation makes a person skillful in concentration of mind. Once the mind is sufficiently concentrated, Vipassana allows one to see through the veil of ignorance.
In the
Pali CanonThe Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pali language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
discourses, the Buddha frequently instructs his disciples to practice
samadhiIn Buddhism, samādhi is mental concentration or composing the mind.In the Pali literature, samadhi is found in the following contexts:...
(concentration) in order to establish and develop jhana (full concentration). Jhana is the instrument used by the Buddha himself to penetrate the true nature of phenomena (through investigation and direct experience) and to reach Enlightenment. Right Concentration (
samma-samadhi) is one of the elements in the
Noble Eightfold PathThe Noble Eightfold Path is one of the principal teachings of the Buddha, who described it as the way leading to the cessation of suffering and the achievement of self-awakening. It is used to develop insight into the true nature of phenomena and to eradicate greed, hatred, and delusion...
.
SamadhiIn Buddhism, samādhi is mental concentration or composing the mind.In the Pali literature, samadhi is found in the following contexts:...
can be developed from mindfulness with breathing (
anapanasatiĀnāpānasati , meaning 'mindfulness of breathing' , is a fundamental form of meditation taught by the Buddha...
), from visual objects (
kasinaIn Buddhism, kasiṇa is the Pali word for class of basic visual objects of meditation. There are ten kasiṇa mentioned in the Pali Tipitaka:# earth ,# water ,# air, wind ,# fire ,...
), and repetition of phrases. The traditional list contains 40 objects of meditation (
) to be used for Samatha Meditation. Every object has a specific goal; for example, meditation on the parts of the body (
kayanupassana or
kayagathasathi) will result in a lessening of attachment to our own bodies and those of others, resulting in a reduction of sensual desires.
MettāMettā or maitrī has been translated as "loving-kindness," "friendliness," "benevolence," "amity," "friendship," "good will," "kindness," "love," "sympathy," and "active interest in others." It is one of the ten pāramitās of the Theravāda school of Buddhism, and the first of the four Brahmavihāras...
(loving kindness) generates the feelings of goodwill and happiness toward ourselves and other beings; metta practice serves as an antidote to ill-will, wrath and fear.
Levels of attainment
Through practice, (Theravadan) practitioners can achieve four stages of enlightenment:
- Stream-Enterers
In Buddhism, Sotapanna or Śrotāpanna means "stream-winner" and refers to a person, who has eradicated the first three fetters of the mind. Sotapanna literally means "one who entered the stream", after a simile that compares attaining nibbāna with crossing a stream and reaching the furthest shore...
- Those who have destroyed the first three fetterIn Buddhism, a mental fetter or "chain" or "bond" shackles a person to samsara, the cycle of endless birth and death...
s (false viewView or position is a central concept in Buddhism. In Buddhist thought, in contrast with the commonsense understanding, a view is not a simple, abstract collection of propositions, but a charged interpretation of experience which intensely shapes and effects thought, sensation, and action...
of Self, doubt, and clinging to rites and rituals) will be safe from falling into the states of misery (they will not be born as an animal, petaPreta, प्रेत or Peta , Tibetan yi.dvags, is the name for a type of supernatural being described in Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, and Jain texts that undergoes more than human suffering, particularly an extreme degree of hunger and thirst...
(ghost), or hell being). At most they will have to be reborn only seven more times before attaining NirvanaIn sramanic thought, Nirvana is the state of being free from suffering. It is an important concept in Buddhism and Jainism....
.
- Once-Returners
In Buddhism, the Sakadagami is a partially-enlightened person, who has cut off the first three chains with which the ordinary mind is bound, and significantly weakened the fourth and fifth. Sakadagamiship is the second stage of the four stages of enlightenment.The Sakadagami will be reborn into...
- Those who have destroyed the first three fetters and have lessened the fetters of lust and hatred will attain NirvanaIn sramanic thought, Nirvana is the state of being free from suffering. It is an important concept in Buddhism and Jainism....
after being born once more in the world.
- Non-Returners
In Buddhism, an anāgāmi is a partially-enlightened person who has cut off the first five chains that bind the ordinary mind. Anagami-ship is the third of the four stages of enlightenment....
- Those who have destroyed the five lower fetters, which bind beings to the world of the senses. Non-returners will never again return to the human world and after they die, they will be born in the high heavenly worlds, there to attain Nirvana. Attaining the state of non-returner is portrayed in the early texts as the ideal goal for laity.
- Arahants - Those who have reached Enlightenment
Bodhi is both a Pāli and Sanskrit word traditionally translated into English as enlightenment, but frequently translated as "awakening"...
, realized Nirvana, and have reached the quality of deathlessness are free from all the fermentations of defilement. Their ignorance, craving and attachments have ended. Attaining the state of arahant is portrayed in the early texts as the ideal goal for monastics.
Scriptures
The Theravada school upholds the
Pali CanonThe Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pali language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
or Tipitaka as the most authoritative collection of texts on the teachings of Gautama Buddha. The Sutta and
VinayaThe Vinaya is the regulatory framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha, based in the canonical texts called Vinaya Pitaka. The teachings of the Buddha, or Buddhadharma can be divided into two broad categories: 'Dharma' or doctrine, and 'Vinaya', or discipline...
portion of the Tipitaka shows considerable overlap in content to the Agamas, the parallel collections used by non-Theravada schools in India which are preserved in
ChineseChinese or the Sinitic language is a language family consisting of languages mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
and partially in
SanskritSanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. It is also declared as a classical language by the government of India....
,
PrakritPrakrit is the name for a group of Middle Indic, Indo-Aryan languages, derived from Classical Sanskrit and other Old Indic dialects. The word itself has a flexible definition, being defined sometimes as, "original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual", or "vernacular", in contrast to the...
, and
TibetanThe Tibetan languages are a cluster of mutually unintelligible Tibeto-Burman languages spoken primarily by Tibetan peoples who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering South Asia, including the Tibetan Plateau and the northern Indian subcontinent in Baltistan, Ladakh, Nepal,...
, and the various non-Theravada Vinayas. On this basis, both these sets of texts are generally believed to be the oldest and most authoritative texts on Buddhism by scholars. It is also believed that much of the Pali Canon, which is still used by Theravāda communities, was transmitted to Sri Lanka during the reign of Asoka. After being orally transmitted (as was the custom in those days for religious texts) for some centuries, were finally committed to writing in the last century BCE, at what the Theravada usually reckons as the fourth council, in
Sri LankaSri Lanka , officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka , is an island country in South Asia, located about off the southern coast of India...
. Theravada is one of the first Buddhist schools to commit the whole complete set of its Buddhist canon into writing.
Much of the material in the Canon is not specifically "Theravadan", but is instead the collection of teachings that this school preserved from the early, non-sectarian body of teachings. According to Peter Harvey:
The Theravadans, then, may have added texts to the Canon for some time, but they do not appear to have tampered with what they already had from an earlier period.
The Pali Tipitaka consists of three parts: the
Vinaya PitakaThe ' is a Buddhist scripture, one of the three parts that make up the Tripitaka. Its primary subject matter is the monastic rules for monks and nuns...
,
Sutta PitakaThe Sutta Pitaka is the second of the three divisions of the Tipitaka or Pali Canon, the great Pali collection of Buddhist writings, the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism...
and
Abhidhamma PitakaThe Abhidhamma Pitaka is the last of the three pitakas, that is, baskets, constituting the Pali Canon, the scriptures of Theravāda Buddhism....
. Of these, the Abhidhamma Pitaka is believed to be a later addition to the first two pitakas, which, in the opinion of many scholars, were the only two pitakas at the time of the
First Buddhist CouncilThe First Buddhist council was convened in the year following the Buddha's Parinibbana, which would be 499/8 BCE according to Theravada tradition, at various earlier dates according to various Mahayana traditions, and various later dates according to various Western estimates. According to late...
. The Pali Abhidhamma was not recognized outside the Theravada school.
In the 4th or 5th century CE
BuddhaghosaBhadantācariya Buddhaghosa（Chinese: 覺音）was a 5th-century Indian Theravadin Buddhist commentator and scholar. His name means "Voice of the Buddha" in the Pāli language. His best-known work is the Visuddhimagga, or Path of Purification, a comprehensive summary and analysis of the Theravada...
Thera wrote the first
Pali commentariesAtthakatha refers to Pali-language Theravadin Buddhist commentaries to the canonical Theravadin Tipitaka. These commentaries give the traditional interpretations of the scriptures. The major commentaries were based on earlier ones, now lost, in Old Sinhalese, which were written down at the same...
to much of the Tipitaka (which were based on much older manuscripts, mostly in old Sinhalese), and after him many other monks wrote various commentaries, which have become part of the Theravada heritage. These texts, however, do not enjoy the same authority as the Tipitaka does. The Tipitaka is composed of 45 volumes in the Thai edition, 40 in the Burmese and 58 in the Sinhalese, and a full set of the Tipitaka is usually kept in its own (medium-sized) cupboard.
The commentaries, together with the Abhidhamma, define the specific Theravada heritage. Related versions of the Sutta Pitaka and Vinaya Pitaka were common to all the
early Buddhist schoolsThe Early Buddhist schools are those schools into which, according to most scholars, the Buddhist monastic Sangha initially split, due originally to differences in Vinaya, and later also due to doctrinal differences and geographical separateness of groups of monks.The original Sangha split into the...
, and therefore do not define only Theravada, but also the other early Buddhist schools, and perhaps the teaching of
Gautama BuddhaSiddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher in the north eastern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. He is regarded by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddha of our age. The time of his birth and death are uncertain: most early 20th-century historians dated his lifetime as c...
himself.
Theravada Buddhists consider much of what is found in the Chinese and Tibetan scriptural collections to be apocryphal, meaning that they are not authentic words of the Buddha.
Lay and monastic Life
Traditionally, Theravada Buddhism has observed a distinction between the practices suitable for a
lay personIn English translations of Buddhist literature, householder denotes a variety of terms. Most broadly, it refers to any layperson, and most narrowly, to a wealthy and prestigious familial patriarch...
and the practices undertaken by ordained
monksA Bhikku , Bhikṣu is a fully ordained male Buddhist monastic. Female monastic is called Bhikkhuni . Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis keep many precepts: they live by the vinaya's framework of monastic discipline, the basic rules of which are called the patimokkha...
(and, in ancient times, nuns). While the possibility of significant attainment by laymen is not entirely disregarded by the Theravada, it occupies a position of significantly less prominence than in the
MahayanaMahayana is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice. It was founded in India...
and
VajrayanaVajrayāna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle. The period of Vajrayana Buddhism has been classified as the fifth or final period of Indian Buddhism...
traditions. This distinction - as well as the distinction between those practices advocated by the Pali Canon, and the folk religious elements embraced by many monks - have motivated some scholars to consider Theravada Buddhism to be composed of multiple separate traditions, overlapping though still distinct. Most prominently, the anthropologist
Melford SpiroMelford Elliot Spiro is an American cultural anthropologist specializing in psychological anthropology. He is known for his work on the Westermarck effect, and for his studies of the kibbutz. He has conducted fieldwork among the Ojibwa, on Ifaluk atoll in the South Pacific, in Israel, and in Burma...
in his work
Buddhism and Society separated Burmese Theravada into three groups:
Apotropaic Buddhism (concerned with providing protection from evil spirits),
Kammatic Buddhism (concerned with making merit for a future birth), and
Nibbanic Buddhism (concerned with attaining the liberation of
NirvanaIn sramanic thought, Nirvana is the state of being free from suffering. It is an important concept in Buddhism and Jainism....
, as described in the Tipitaka). He stresses that all three are firmly rooted in the Pali Canon. These categories are not accepted by all scholars, and are usually considered non-exclusive by those who employ them.
The role of lay people has traditionally been primarily occupied with activities that are commonly termed '
merit makingMerit is a concept in Buddhism. It is that which accumulates as a result of good deeds, acts or thoughts and that carries over to later in life or to a person's next life. Such merit contributes to a person's growth towards liberation. Merit can be gained in a number of ways...
' (falling under Spiro's category of kammatic Buddhism). Merit making activities include offering food and other basic necessities to monks, making donations to temples and monasteries, burning incense or lighting candles before images of the Buddha, and chanting protective or merit-making verses from the Pali Canon. Some lay practitioners have always chosen to take a more active role in religious affairs, while still maintaining their lay status. Dedicated lay men and women sometimes act as trustees or custodians for their temples, taking part in the financial planning and management of the temple. Others may volunteer significant time in tending to the mundane needs of local monks (by cooking, cleaning, maintaining temple facilities, etc.). Lay activities have traditionally not extended to study of the Pali scriptures, nor the practice of
meditationBuddhist meditation encompasses a variety of meditation techniques that develop mindfulness, concentration, tranquility and insight. Core meditation techniques are preserved in ancient Buddhist texts and have proliferated and diversified through the millennia of teacher-student...
, though in the 20th Century these areas have become more accessible to the lay community, especially in Thailand.
A number of senior monastics in the Thai Forest Tradition, including
Ajahn BuddhadasaBuddhadasa Bhikkhu was an ascetic-philosopher of the 20th century. Known as an innovative reinterpreter of Buddhist doctrine and Thai folk beliefs, Buddhadasa fostered a reformation in conventional religious perceptions in his home country Thailand as well as abroad...
,
Luang Ta Maha BuaVenerable Ajahn Maha Bua , is the common name for Pra Dharma Visuthimongkol , a revered Buddhist monk...
, Ajahn Plien Panyapatipo, Ajahn Pasanno, and
Ajahn JayasaroAjahn Jayasaro is a Buddhist monk that joined the Ajahn Sumedho’s community in 1978. From 1997 until 2002 he was the Abbot of Wat Pa Nanachat. He is now currently living in an hermitage at the foot of Kow Yai mountains....
, have begun teaching meditation retreats outside of the monastery for lay disciples.
In the UK,
Ajahn ChahVenerable Ajahn Chah Subhaddo was an influential teacher of the Buddhadharma and a founder of two major monasteries in the Thai Forest Tradition.Respected and loved in his own country as a man of great wisdom, he...
a disciple of Ajahn Mun, set up a monastic lineage at Chithurst in West Sussex, "Cittaviveka", with his disciple
Ajahn SumedhoLuang Por Ajahn Sumedho is the most senior Western representative of the Thai Forest Tradition of Theravada Buddhism. The word "Ajahn" is not a proper name, but a title which means "Teacher" in Thai. He is also affectionately known among his students as "หลวงพ่อ" which means "Venerable Father"...
, then "Amaravati" in Hertfordshire was founded which has a retreat center for lay retreats. Ajahn Sumedho extended this to Harnham in Northumberland as
Aruna Ratanagiri under the present guidance of Ajahn Munindo, another disciple of Ajahn Chah.
NirvanaIn sramanic thought, Nirvana is the state of being free from suffering. It is an important concept in Buddhism and Jainism....
, the highest goal of Theravada Buddhism, is attained through study and the practice of morality, meditation and wisdom (
silaŚīla or sīla is usually rendered into English as "virtue"; other translations include "good conduct," "morality," "moral discipline" and "precept." It is an action that is an intentional effort. It is one of the three practices and the second pāramitā. It refers to moral purity of thought, word,...
,
samadhiIn Buddhism, samādhi is mental concentration or composing the mind.In the Pali literature, samadhi is found in the following contexts:...
,
pannaPrajñā or paññā has been translated as "wisdom," "understanding," "discernment," "cognitive acuity," or "know-how." In some sects of Buddhism, it especially refers to the wisdom that is based on the direct realization of the Four Noble Truths, impermanence, interdependent origination, non-self,...
). The goal of Nirvana (and its associated techniques) have traditionally been seen as the domain of the fully ordained monastic, whereas many of the same techniques can be used by laypeople to generate happiness in their lives, without focusing on Nirvana. Monastic roles in the Theravada can be broadly described as being split between the role of the (often urban) scholar monk and the (often rural or forest) meditation monk. Both types of monks serve their communities as spiritual teachers and officiants by presiding over spiritual ceremonies and providing instruction in basic Buddhist morality and teachings.
Scholar monks undertake the path of studying and preserving the Pali literature of the Theravada. They may devote little time to the practice of meditation, but may attain great respect and renown by becoming masters of a particular section of the Pali Canon or its commentaries. Masters of the
AbhidhammaAbhidharma or Abhidhamma are ancient Buddhist works which contain detailed scholastic reworkings of doctrinal material appearing in the Buddhist Sutras, according to schematic classifications...
, called Abhidhammika, are particularly respected in the scholastic tradition.
Meditation monks, often called forest monks because of their association with certain wilderness-dwelling traditions, are considered to be specialists in meditation. While some forest monks may undertake significant study of the Pali Canon, in general meditation monks are expected to learn primarily from their meditation experiences and personal teachers, and may not know more of the Tipitaka than is necessary to participate in liturgical life and to provide a foundation for fundamental Buddhist teachings. More so than the scholastic tradition, the meditation tradition is associated with the attainment of certain supernatural powers described in both Pali sources and folk tradition. These powers include the attainment of
NirvanaIn sramanic thought, Nirvana is the state of being free from suffering. It is an important concept in Buddhism and Jainism....
, mind-reading, supernatural power over material objects and their own material bodies, seeing and conversing with gods and beings living in hell, and remembering their past lives. These powers are called abhiñña. Sometimes the remain of the cremated bone fragment of an accomplished forest monk is believed able to transfom itself into crystal-like relics (
sārira-dhātuSārira-dhātu , is the special bodily relics found amongst the bone remains after the cremation of Buddha and most Arahant. The extreme heat of the fire usually causes the larger bone segments to disintegrate and break up, leaving many small, often porous and ashen white colored fragments...
).
Ordination
The minimum age for ordaining as a Buddhist monk is 20 years, reckoned from conception. However, boys under that age are allowed to ordain as novices (samanera), performing a ceremony such as
ShinbyuShinbyu is the Burmese term for a novitiation ceremony in the tradition of Theravada Buddhism.It is deemed the most important duty that parents owe to their son by letting him go forth and embrace the legacy of the Buddha, join the Sangha and become immersed in the teachings of the Buddha, the...
in Burma. Novices shave their heads, wear the yellow robes, and observe ten basic precepts. Although no specific minimum age for novices is mentioned in the scriptures, traditionally boys as young as seven are accepted. This tradition follows the story of the Lord Buddha’s son, Rahula, who was allowed to become a novice at the age of seven. Monks follow 227 rules of discipline, while nuns follow 311 rules.
In most Theravada countries, it is a common practice for young men to ordain as monks for a fixed period of time. In Thailand and Burma, young men typically ordain for the 3 month Rain Retreat (
vassaVassa , also called Rains Retreat, is the traditional retreat during the rainy season lasting for three lunar months from July to October. During this time Buddhist monks remain in a single place, generally in their temples...
), though shorter or longer periods of ordination are not rare. Traditionally, temporary ordination was even more flexible among Laotians. Once they had undergone their initial ordination as young men, Laotian men were permitted to temporarily ordain again at any time, though married men were expected to seek their wife's permission. Throughout Southeast Asia, there is little stigma attached to leaving the monastic life. Monks regularly leave the robes after acquiring an education, or when compelled by family obligations or ill-health.
Ordaining as a monk, even for a short period, is seen as having many virtues. In many Southeast Asian cultures, it is seen as a means for a young man to 'repay' his parents for their work and effort in raising him, because the merit from his ordination accrues to them as well. Thai men who have ordained as a monk may be seen as more fit husbands by Thai women, who refer to men who have served as monks with a colloquial term meaning 'cooked' to indicate that they are more mature and ready for marriage. Particularly in rural areas, temporary ordination of boys and young men traditionally gave peasant boys an opportunity to gain an education in temple schools without committing to a permanent monastic life.
In Sri Lanka, temporary ordination is not practiced, and a monk leaving the order is frowned upon. The continuing influence of the caste system in Sri Lanka may play a role in the taboo against temporary ordination and leaving the monkhood. Though Sri Lankan monastic nikayas are often organized along caste lines, men who ordain as monks temporarily pass outside of the conventional caste system, and as such during their time as monks may act (or be treated) in a way that would not be in line with the expected duties and privileges of their caste.
Some well-known Theravadan monks are:
Ajahn Mun BhuridattaAjahn Mun Bhuridatta Thera , 1870-1949, was a Thai Buddhist monk who is credited, along with his mentor, Phra Ajahn Sao Kantasilo Mahathera, with establishing the Thai Forest Tradition that subsequently spread throughout Thailand and to several countries abroad.-Early years:Ajahn Mun was born on...
,
Ajahn ChahVenerable Ajahn Chah Subhaddo was an influential teacher of the Buddhadharma and a founder of two major monasteries in the Thai Forest Tradition.Respected and loved in his own country as a man of great wisdom, he...
,
Ledi SayadawLedi Sayādaw was a famous Theravadin Buddhist monk in Burma . He was recognized from a young age as being developed in both the theory and practice of Buddhism and so was revered as being both scholarly and saintly...
, Ajahn Plien Panyapatipo,
Ajahn SumedhoLuang Por Ajahn Sumedho is the most senior Western representative of the Thai Forest Tradition of Theravada Buddhism. The word "Ajahn" is not a proper name, but a title which means "Teacher" in Thai. He is also affectionately known among his students as "หลวงพ่อ" which means "Venerable Father"...
,
Ajahn BrahmAjahn Brahmavamso Mahathera was born Peter Betts in London, United Kingdom on 7 August 1951. Currently Ajahn Brahm is the Abbot of , in Serpentine, Western Australia, the Spiritual Director of the , Spiritual Adviser to the , Spiritual Adviser to the Buddhist Society of South Australia, Spiritual...
,
Bhikkhu BodhiBhikkhu Bodhi , born Jeffrey Block, is an American Buddhist monk, ordained in Sri Lanka and currently teaching in the New York/New Jersey area. He was appointed the second president of the Buddhist Publication Society and has edited and authored several publications grounded in the Theravada...
,
BuddhadasaBuddhadasa Bhikkhu was an ascetic-philosopher of the 20th century. Known as an innovative reinterpreter of Buddhist doctrine and Thai folk beliefs, Buddhadasa fostered a reformation in conventional religious perceptions in his home country Thailand as well as abroad...
,
Mahasi SayadawMahāsi Sayādaw was a famous Burmese Buddhist monk and meditation master who had a significant impact on the teaching of Vipassana meditation in the West and throughout Asia...
,
Nyanaponika TheraNyanaponika Thera or Nyaniponika Mahathera was a German-born Sri-Lanka-ordained Theravada monk, co-founder of the Buddhist Publication Society, contemporary author of numerous seminal Theravada books, and teacher of contemporary Western Buddhist leaders such as Bhikkhu...
,
Preah Maha GhosanandaMaha Ghosananda, , was a highly revered Cambodian Buddhist monk in the Theravada tradition, who served as the Patriarch of Cambodian Buddhism during the Khmer Rouge period and post-communist transition period of Cambodian history...
,
Sayadaw U PanditaU Pandita is one of the foremost living masters of Vipassana meditation. He was originally trained in the Burmese Theravāda Buddhist tradition. A successor to the late Mahāsi Sayādaw, he has taught many of the Western teachers and students of the Mahāsi style of Vipassana meditation...
,
Ajahn AmaroAjahn Amaro is a Theravadin teacher and co-abbot of the Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in California's Redwood Valley. The center, in practice as much for ordinary people as for monastics, is inspired by the Thai Forest Tradition and the teachings of the late Ajahn Chah...
,
Thanissaro BhikkhuThanissaro Bhikkhu is an American Buddhist monk of the Thai forest kammatthana tradition. He was born Geoffrey DeGraff and converted to Buddhism in high school. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1971 with a degree in European Intellectual History, he traveled to Thailand, where he studied...
and
Walpola RahulaThe venerable Prof Walpola Sri Rahula Maha Thera was a Buddhist monk, scholar and writer. He is considered to be one of the top Sri Lankan intellectuals of the 20th century. In 1964, he became the Professor of History and Religions at Northwestern University, thus becoming the first bhikkhu to...
.
Monastic practices
The practices usually vary in different sub-schools and monasteries within Theravada. But in the most orthodox forest monastery, the monk usually models his practice and lifestyle on that of the Buddha and his first generation of disciples by living close to nature in forest, mountains and caves. Forest monasteries still keep alive the ancient traditions through following the Buddhist monastic code of discipline in all its detail and developing meditation in secluded forests.
In a typical daily routine at the monastery during the 3 month vassa period, the monk will wake up before dawn and will begin the day with group chanting and meditation. At dawn the monks will go out to surrounding villages bare-footed on alms-round and will have the only meal of the day before noon by eating from the bowl by hand. Most of the time is spent on Dhamma study and meditation. Sometimes the abbot or a senior monk will give a Dhamma talk to the visitors. Laity who stay at the monastery will have to abide by the traditional eight Buddhist precepts.
After the end of the Vassa period, many of the monks will go out far away from the monastery to find a remote place (usually in the forest) where they can hang their umbrella tents and where it is suitable for the work of self-development. When they go wandering, they walk barefoot, and go wherever they feel inclined. Only those requisites which are necessary will be carried along. These generally consist of the bowl, the three robes, a bathing cloth, an umbrella tent, a mosquito net, a kettle of water, a water filter, razor, sandals, some small candles, and a candle lantern.
The monks do not fix their times for walking and sitting meditation, for as soon as they are free they just start doing it; nor do they determine for how long they will go on to meditate. Some of them sometimes walk from dusk to dawn whereas at other times they may walk from between two to seven hours. Some may decide to fast for days or stay at dangerous places where ferocious animals live in order to aid their meditation.
Those monks who have been able to achieve a high level of attainment will be able to guide the junior monks and lay Buddhists toward the four degrees of spiritual attainment.
Lay devotee
In Pali the word for a male lay devotee is
UpasakaUpāsaka or Upāsikā are from the Sanskrit and Pāli words for "attendant". This is the title of followers of Buddhism who are not monks, nuns or novices in a Buddhist order and who undertake certain vows...
. Upasika is its female equivalent. One of the duties of the lay followers, as taught by the Buddha, is to look after the needs of the monk/nuns. They are to see that the monk/nuns do not suffer from lack of the four requisites: food, clothing, shelter and medicine. As neither monks nor nuns are allowed to have an occupation, they depend entirely on the laity for their sustenance. In return for this charity, they are expected to lead exemplary lives.
In Burma and Thailand, the monastery was and is still regarded as a seat of learning. In fact today about half of the primary schools in Thailand are located in monasteries. Religious rituals and ceremonies held in a monastery are always accompanied by social activities. In times of crisis, it is to the monks that people bring their problems for counsel.
Traditionally, a ranking monk will deliver a sermon four times a month: when the moon waxes and wanes and the day before the new and full moons. The laity also have a chance to learn meditation from the monks during these times.
It is also possible for a lay disciple to become enlightened. As Bhikkhu Bodhi notes, "The Suttas and commentaries do record a few cases of lay disciples attaining the final goal of Nirvana. However, such disciples either attain Arahantship on the brink of death or enter the monastic order soon after their attainment. They do not continue to dwell at home as Arahant householders, for dwelling at home is incompatible with the state of one who has severed all craving."
Influences
According to the linguist Zacharias P. Thundy the word "Theravada" may have been Hellenized into "
TherapeutaeThe Therapeutae and Therapeutrides , according to the account in De vita contemplativa by the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria who appears to have been personally acquainted with them, were "philosophers" that lived on a low hill by the Lake Mareotis close to Alexandria in circumstances...
", to name a coenobitic order near
AlexandriaAlexandria , with a population of 4.1 million, is the second-largest city in Egypt, and is the country's largest seaport, serving about 80% of Egypt's imports and exports...
described around the 1st century CE. The similarities between the Therapeutae and Buddhist monasticism, combined with Indian evidence of Buddhist missionary activity to the Mediterranean around 250 BC (the Edicts of Asoka), have been pointed out. The Therapeutae would have been the descendants of Asoka's emissaries to the West, and would have influenced the early formation of Christianity. However, the Macmillan
Encyclopedia of Buddhism states that theories of influences of Buddhism on early Christianity are without historical foundation.
Monastic Orders within Theravada
Theravada monks typically belong to a particular
nikayaNikāya is a word of meaning "collection", "assemblage", "class" or "group" in both Pali and Sanskrit. It is most commonly used in reference to the Buddhist texts of the Sutta Pitaka, but can also refer to the monastic divisions of Theravada Buddhism....
, variously referred to as monastic orders or fraternities. These different orders do not typically develop separate doctrines, but may differ in the manner in which they observe monastic rules. These monastic orders represent lineages of ordination, typically tracing their origin to a particular group of monks that established a new ordination tradition within a particular country or geographic area. In Sri Lanka caste plays a major role in the division into nikayas. Some Theravada Buddhist countries appoint or elect a
sangharajaSangharaja is the title given in many Theravada Buddhist countries to a senior monk who is the titular head either of a monastic fraternity , or of the Sangha throughout the country...
, or Supreme Patriarch of the Sangha, as the highest ranking or seniormost monk in a particular area, or from a particular nikaya. The demise of monarchies has resulted in the suspension of these posts in some countries, but patriarchs have continued to be appointed in Thailand. Burma and Cambodia ended the practice of appointing a sangharaja for some time, but the position was later restored, though in Cambodia it lapsed again.
- Bangladesh
, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
:
- Sangharaj Nikaya
The Sangharaja Nikaya is a tradition of Theravada Buddhism, located in Bangladesh.The word Nikaya is Pali and literally means "volume". It refers to the sections of the Tipitaka. However, an alternate usage is practiced in South-East Asia, in which the word "Nikaya" is a respectful term for a...
- Mahasthabir Nikaya
The Mahasthabir Nikaya is a Bengali order of Buddhist monks. They were anti-reformists who attempted to stifle the movement led by Saramitra Mahasthabir , which led to the formation of the Sangharaj Nikaya in 1864....
- Burma (Myanmar):
- Thudhamma Nikaya
- Shwekyin Nikaya
- Dvara Nikaya
- Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka , officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka , is an island country in South Asia, located about off the southern coast of India...
:
- Siam Nikaya
The Siam Nikaya is a monastic order within Sri Lanka, founded by Upali Thera and located predominantly around the city of Kandy. It is so named because it originated within Thailand...
- Malwaththa
- Asgiriya
- Waturawila (or Mahavihara Vamshika Shyamopali Vanavasa Nikaya)
- Amarapura Nikaya
The Amarapura Nikaya is a Sri Lankan monastic fraternity founded in 1800. It is named after the city of Amarapura, Myanmar , the former capital of the Burmese kingdom...
Many Sub orders including
- Dharmarakshitha
- Kanduboda (or Swejin Nikaya)
- Tapovana (or Kalyanavamsa)
- Ramañña Nikaya
Ramanna Nikaya is one of the most orthodox Buddhist orders in Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1864 when Ambagahawatte Saranankara, a member of the Salagama caste, returned to Sri Lanka after being ordained by Ven. Gneiyadharma Sangharaja of Ratnapunna Vihara in Burma.-Similar orders:Ramanna Nikaya is...
- Galduwa (or Kalyana Yogashramaya Samsthava)
- Delduwa
- Thailand
The Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
and CambodiaThe Kingdom of Cambodia , formerly known as Kampuchea , is a country in South East Asia with a population of over 14 million people. The kingdom's capital and largest city is Phnom Penh...
- Maha Nikaya
The Maha Nikaya is the largest order of Theravada Buddhist monks in Thailand.The identification of the Maha Nikaya as a single, discrete, entity may be seen as questionable: after the founding of the Dhammayuttika Nikaya in 1833, all recognized monks not ordained in the Dhammayuttika order were...
- Dhammayuttika Nikaya
Festivals and customs
Theravada Spiritual festivals:
- Magha Puja
Māgha Pūjā or Makha Bucha is an important religious festival celebrated by Buddhists in Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos on the full moon day of the third lunar month . The full moon of the third lunar month, a month known in the Thai language as Makha...
- Vesakha Puja
- Asalha Puja
Asalha Puja is a Theravada Buddhist festival which typically takes place in July, on the fifteenth day of the waxing moon of the eighth lunar month. It commemorates the Buddha’s first sermon in the Deer Park in Benares and the founding of the Buddhist sangha...
- Uposatha
The Uposatha is Buddhist Sabbath day, in existence from the Buddha's time , and still being kept today in Buddhist countries. The Buddha taught that the Uposatha day is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind," resulting in inner calm and joy...
- Vassa
Vassa , also called Rains Retreat, is the traditional retreat during the rainy season lasting for three lunar months from July to October. During this time Buddhist monks remain in a single place, generally in their temples...
(Rain Retreat)
See also
- Therapeutae
The Therapeutae and Therapeutrides , according to the account in De vita contemplativa by the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria who appears to have been personally acquainted with them, were "philosophers" that lived on a low hill by the Lake Mareotis close to Alexandria in circumstances...
(ascetic group in Hellenistic Egypt, whose name might be a helleization of "Theravada")
- Early Buddhist Schools
The Early Buddhist schools are those schools into which, according to most scholars, the Buddhist monastic Sangha initially split, due originally to differences in Vinaya, and later also due to doctrinal differences and geographical separateness of groups of monks.The original Sangha split into the...
- Schools of Buddhism
Schools of Buddhism are classified in various ways. Normal English-language usage divides Buddhism into Theravada and Mahayana...
- Buddhism in Cambodia
Buddhism has existed in Cambodia since at least the 5th century CE, with some sources placing its origin as early as the 3rd century BCE...
- Buddhism in Thailand
Buddhism in Thailand is largely of the Theravada school. Nearly 95% of Thailand's population is Buddhist of the Theravada school, though Buddhism in this country has become integrated with folk beliefs as well as Chinese religions from the large Thai-Chinese population.Buddhist temples in Thailand...
- Buddhism in Sri Lanka
- Buddhism in Burma
- Thai Forest Tradition
The Thai Forest Tradition is a tradition of Buddhist monasticism within Thai Theravada Buddhism. It uses remote wilderness and forest dwellings as training grounds for spiritual practice. Maha Nikaya and Dhammayuttika Nikaya are the two major monastic orders in Thailand that have their own Forest...
- Supreme Patriarch of Thailand
The Supreme Patriarch or Sangharaja is the head of the order of Buddhist monks in Thailand. The position is formally appointed by the King of Thailand, although the actual selection is made by senior clergymen...
- Buddhahood
- Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher in the north eastern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. He is regarded by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddha of our age. The time of his birth and death are uncertain: most early 20th-century historians dated his lifetime as c...
- Buddhist Pilgrimage
The most important places of pilgrimage in Buddhism are located the Gangetic plains of Northern India and Southern Nepal, in the area between New Delhi and Rajgir. This is the area where Gautama Buddha lived and taught, and the main sites connected to his life are now important places of pilgrimage...
- Therapeutae
External links