Mahayana and Vajrayana have included teachings that appeared later than the Pāli Canon, the authenticity of which is disputed by Theravada and accredited scholars and researchers. Theravada is the most ancient school and only accepts the teachings of the Pāli Canon as authentic, approaching the Buddha without attributing metaphysical and theological qualities to him, as happened subsequently. All the schools of Buddhism accept that the Pāli Canon contains the authentic written teachings of the Buddha, although some of these schools do not grant them the necessary importance, but rely on controversial and subsequent teachings influenced by Hinduism, tandra and shamanism, attributing metaphysical and theological qualities to the Buddha. The Dalai Lama is the most well-known Vajrayana representative in the world. The main reason is that following the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1959, many Tibetans took refuge in exile in India and then various Lama and monks ended up in the West, gaining thousands of followers. Although Vajrayana accounts for only 5% of Buddhists worldwide, it is very popular and better known than the other two schools in the West. It includes occult inner (Tantric) teachings and other forms of devotion through music, chanting, mantras, mudras, mystical charts, worship of deities, etc. Vajrayana is a form of Buddhism found in Tibet, Mongolia, Bhutan, Sikkim and Nepal and is strongly influenced by Hinduism, Tantrism and Shamanism – a system of doctrines and magic rituals based on the faith in the power of shamans. Theravada has mainly predominated in South Asian countries such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, while Mahayana has predominated in China – where the Chan tradition is also present – in Vietnam, Indonesia, Korea and Japan – where the Zen tradition also exists. Mahayana and Vajrayana were developed several centuries after Theravada. Theravada means “School of the Elders”, Mahayana means “Grand Vehicle” and Vajrayana means “Diamond Vehicle”.
The main types of Buddhism are Theravada (Theravāda), Mahayana (Mahāyāna) and Vajrayana (Vajrayāna). Today, there are many different types of Buddhism due to the misrepresentation, falsification and distortion of the original Teaching of the historical Buddha Gautama (Gotama) by the subsequent generations, as the Buddha himself, the founder of Buddhism, predicted in Sutta SN Saddhammappatirūpakasuttaṃ. Man is the master of himself and only he, by his actions in the present, can determine and rule his future. Man achieves this only through his own effort, without relying on supernatural or metaphysical forces outside of him. Thus, according to the teachings of the Buddha, Buddhism is a contemplative and practically attainable way of life that leads man to realise true knowledge and the supreme Truth, thus leading him to liberation from all forms of existential misery. Philosophy primarily deals with theoretical knowledge rather than practice whereas Buddhism places particular emphasis on the direct realisation of knowledge through practice. In fact, Buddhism is more akin to philosophy, but it is much more complete. Buddhism is treated as a religion by those who perceive it as a religion and as a philosophy by those who perceive it as a philosophy. Many people are wondering what Buddhism is. He taught for forty-five years and died at the age of eighty. The founder of Buddhism was Siddhattha Gotama, known as the Buddha, who was awakened (enlightened) about 2,500 years ago at the age of 35. However, it mostly refers to the intelligence and supreme knowledge that a Buddha possesses due to the understanding of the Four Noble Truths.īuddhism is usually metaphorically translated as “enlightenment” or “awakening”, and the word Buddha as “enlightened” or “awakened”. In the ancient Indian language Pāli and Sanskrit, this word literally means “intellect”, “intelligence”, “wisdom” or “supreme knowledge”. The word “Buddhism” comes from the word “Buddha”, which in turn comes from the words “buddhi” and “bodhi”. It counts around 520 million followers worldwide. Buddhism was the largest religion in the world before the First World War however, especially following the shift in the political system of China and its neighbouring countries, it became the fourth largest religion after Christianity, Hinduism and Islam.
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