''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, ,
) is the most commonly accepted name of
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
's oldest existing school.
[ The school's adherents, termed Theravādins, have preserved their version of ]Gautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
's teaching or '' Buddha Dhamma'' in the Pāli Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school.
During th ...
for over two millennia.
The Pāli Canon is the most complete Buddhist canon surviving in a classical Indian language, Pāli
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
, which serves as the school's sacred language
A sacred language, holy language or liturgical language is any language that is cultivated and used primarily in church service or for other religious reasons by people who speak another, primary language in their daily lives.
Concept
A sacre ...
and ''lingua franca
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
''.[Crosby, Kate (2013), ''Theravada Buddhism: Continuity, Diversity, and Identity'', p. 2.] In contrast to ''Mahāyāna
''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhism, Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BC ...
'' and ''Vajrayāna
Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...
'', Theravāda tends to be conservative in matters of doctrine (''pariyatti
''Pariyatti'' is a Pāli term referring to the study of Buddhism as contained within the ''suttas'' of the Pāli canon. It is related and contrasted with ''patipatti'' which means to put the theory into practice and ''pativedha'' which means pene ...
'') and monastic discipline (''vinaya
The Vinaya (Pali & Sanskrit: विनय) is the division of the Buddhist canon ('' Tripitaka'') containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist Sangha (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). Three parallel Vinaya traditions remai ...
''). One element of this conservatism is the fact that Theravāda rejects the authenticity of the Mahayana sutras
The Mahāyāna sūtras are a broad genre of Buddhist scriptures (''sūtra'') that are accepted as canonical and as ''buddhavacana'' ("Buddha word") in Mahāyāna Buddhism. They are largely preserved in the Chinese Buddhist canon, the Tibetan B ...
(which appeared c. 1st century BCE onwards).
Modern Theravāda derives from the Mahāvihāra order, a Sri Lankan branch of the Vibhajjavāda tradition, which is, in turn, a sect of the Indian Sthavira Nikaya. This tradition began to establish itself in Sri Lanka from the 3rd century BCE onwards. It was in Sri Lanka that the Pāli Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school.
During th ...
was written down and the school's commentary
Commentary or commentaries may refer to:
Publications
* ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee
* Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...
literature developed. From Sri Lanka, the Theravāda Mahāvihāra tradition subsequently spread to the rest of Southeast Asia. It is the official religion of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
and Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
, and the dominant religion in Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
and Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
and is practiced by minorities in India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
, China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
, North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
and Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. The diaspora
A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...
of all of these groups, as well as converts around the world, also embrace and practice Theravāda Buddhism.
During the modern era, new developments have included Buddhist modernism
Buddhist modernism (also referred to as modern Buddhism, modernist Buddhism, and Neo-Buddhism are new movements based on modern era reinterpretations of Buddhism. David McMahan states that modernism in Buddhism is similar to those found in other ...
, the Vipassana movement
The Vipassanā movement, also called (in the United States) the Insight Meditation Movement and American vipassana movement, refers to a branch of modern Burmese Theravāda Buddhism that promotes "bare insight" (''sukha-vipassana'') to attain s ...
which reinvigorated Theravāda meditation practice, the growth of the Thai Forest Tradition
The Kammaṭṭhāna Forest Tradition of Thailand (from pi, kammaṭṭhāna meaning Kammaṭṭhāna, "place of work"), commonly known in the West as the Thai Forest Tradition, is a Parampara, lineage of Theravada Buddhist monasticism.
The ...
which reemphasized forest monasticism and the spread of Theravāda westward to places such as India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
, along with Buddhist immigrants and converts in the European Union and the United States.
History
Pre-Modern
The Theravāda school descends from the Vibhajjavāda, a division within the Sthāvira nikāya, one of the two major orders that arose after the first schism in the Indian Buddhist community.[Cousins, Lance (2001). ']
On the Vibhajjavādins"
'', Buddhist Studies Review 18 (2), 131–182. Theravāda sources trace their tradition to the Third Buddhist council when elder Moggaliputta-Tissa
Moggaliputtatissa (ca. 327–247 BCE), was a Buddhist monk and scholar who was born in Pataliputra, Magadha (now Patna, India) and lived in the 3rd century BCE. He is associated with the Third Buddhist council, the emperor Ashoka and the B ...
is said to have compiled the '' Kathavatthu'', an important work which lays out the Vibhajjavāda doctrinal position.[Berkwitz, Stephen C. (2012). ''South Asian Buddhism: A Survey'', Routledge, pp. 44-45.]
Aided by the patronage of Mauryan kings like Ashoka
Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...
, this school spread throughout India and reached Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
through the efforts of missionary monks like Mahinda. In Sri Lanka, it became known as the Tambapaṇṇiya (and later as Mahāvihāravāsins) which was based at the Great Vihara (Mahavihara) in Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...
(the ancient Sri Lankan capital). According to Theravāda sources, another one of the Ashokan missions was also sent to ''Suvaṇṇabhūmi'' ("The Golden Land"), which may refer to Southeast Asia.
By the first century BCE, Theravāda Buddhism was well established in the main settlements of the Kingdom of Anuradhapura
The Anuradhapura Kingdom ( Sinhala: , translit: Anurādhapura Rājadhāniya, Tamil: ), named for its capital city, was the first established kingdom in ancient Sri Lanka related to the Sinhalese people. Founded by King Pandukabhaya in 437 ...
. The Pali Canon, which contains the main scriptures of the Theravāda, was committed to writing in the first century BCE. Throughout the history of ancient and medieval Sri Lanka, Theravāda was the main religion of the Sinhalese people
Sinhalese people ( si, සිංහල ජනතාව, Sinhala Janathāva) are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group native to the island of Sri Lanka. They were historically known as Hela people ( si, හෙළ). They constitute about 75% of t ...
and its temples and monasteries were patronized by the Sri Lankan kings, who saw themselves as the protectors of the religion.
Over time, two other sects split off from the Mahāvihāra tradition, the Abhayagiri and Jetavana
Jetavana (Jethawanaramaya or Weluwanaramaya ''buddhist literature'') was one of the most famous of the Buddhist monasteries or viharas in India (present-day Uttar Pradesh). It was the second vihara donated to Gautama Buddha after the Venuvan ...
.[Warder, A.K. ''Indian Buddhism''. 2000. p. 280.] While the Abhayagiri sect became known for the syncretic
Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thu ...
study of Mahayana
''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...
and Vajrayana
Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...
texts, as well as the Theravāda canon, the Mahāvihāra tradition, did not accept these new scriptures. Instead, Mahāvihāra scholars like Buddhaghosa
Buddhaghosa was a 5th-century Indian Theravada Buddhist commentator, translator and philosopher. He worked in the Great Monastery (''Mahāvihāra'') at Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka and saw himself as being part of the Vibhajjavāda school and in t ...
focused on the exegesis of the Pali scriptures and on the Abhidhamma. These Theravāda sub-sects often came into conflict with each other over royal patronage. The reign of Parākramabāhu I (1153–1186) saw an extensive reform of the Sri Lankan sangha after years of warfare on the island. Parākramabāhu created a single unified sangha which came to be dominated by the Mahāvihāra sect.
Epigraphical evidence has established that Theravāda Buddhism became a dominant religion in the Southeast Asian kingdoms of Sri Ksetra
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Sri Ksetra
, common_name = Kingdom of Sri Ksetra
, era = Classical Antiquity
, status = City-state
, event_start = Founding of Kingdom
, year_start = c. 3rd to 9th century CE
, date_start =
, ...
and Dvaravati
The Dvaravati ( th, ทวารวดี ; ) was an ancient Mon kingdom from the 7th century to the 11th century that was located in the region now known as central Thailand. It was described by the Chinese pilgrim in the middle of the 7th ce ...
from about the 5th century CE onwards. The oldest surviving Buddhist texts in the Pāli language are gold plates found at Sri Ksetra dated circa the 5th to 6th century. Before the Theravāda tradition became the dominant religion in Southeast Asia, Mahāyāna, Vajrayana and Hinduism were also prominent.
Starting at around the 11th century, Sinhalese Theravāda monks and Southeast Asian elites led a widespread conversion of most of mainland Southeast Asia to the Theravādin Mahavihara
Mahavihara () is the Sanskrit and Pali term for a great vihara (centre of learning or Buddhist monastery) and is used to describe a monastic complex of viharas.
Mahaviharas of India
A range of monasteries grew up in ancient Magadha (modern Bihar ...
school. The patronage of monarchs such as the Burmese king Anawrahta
Anawrahta Minsaw ( my, အနော်ရထာ မင်းစော, ; 11 May 1014 – 11 April 1077) was the founder of the Pagan Empire. Considered the father of the Burmese nation, Anawrahta turned a small principality in the dry zone ...
(Pali: Aniruddha, 1044–1077) and the Thai king Ram Khamhaeng
Ram Khamhaeng ( th, รามคำแหง, ) or Pho Khun Ram Khamhaeng Maharat ( th, พ่อขุนรามคำแหงมหาราช, ), also spelled Ramkhamhaeng, was the third king of the Phra Ruang Dynasty, ruling the Sukhoth ...
(floruit
''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...
. late 13th century) was instrumental in the rise of Theravāda Buddhism as the predominant religion of Burma and Thailand.[Yoneo Ishii (1986). ''Sangha, State, and Society: Thai Buddhism in History'', p. 60. University of Hawaii Press.]
Burmese and Thai kings saw themselves as Dhamma Kings and as protectors of the Theravāda faith. They promoted the building of new temples, patronized scholarship, monastic ordinations and missionary works as well as attempted to eliminate certain non-Buddhist practices like animal sacrifices.[Harvey (1925), pp. 172–173.] During the 15th and 16th centuries, Theravāda also became established as the state religion in Cambodia and Laos. In Cambodia, numerous Hindu and Mahayana temples, most famously Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat (; km, អង្គរវត្ត, "City/Capital of Temples") is a temple complex in Cambodia and is the largest religious monument in the world, on a site measuring . Originally constructed as a Hinduism, Hindu temple dedicated ...
and Angkor Thom
Angkor Thom ( km, អង្គរធំ ; meaning "Great City"), alternatively Nokor Thom ( km, នគរធំ ) located in present-day Cambodia, was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire, Khmer Empire. It was established in ...
, were transformed into Theravādin monasteries.
Modern history
In the 19th and 20th centuries, Theravāda Buddhists came into direct contact with western ideologies, religions and modern science. The various responses to this encounter have been called "Buddhist modernism
Buddhist modernism (also referred to as modern Buddhism, modernist Buddhism, and Neo-Buddhism are new movements based on modern era reinterpretations of Buddhism. David McMahan states that modernism in Buddhism is similar to those found in other ...
". In the British colonies of Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
(modern Sri Lanka) and Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
(Myanmar), Buddhist institutions lost their traditional role as the prime providers of education (a role that was often filled by Christian schools). In response to this, Buddhist organizations were founded which sought to preserve Buddhist scholarship and provide a Buddhist education. Anagarika Dhammapala
Anagārika Dharmapāla (Pali: ''Anagārika'', ; Sinhala: Anagārika, lit., si, අනගාරික ධර්මපාල; 17 September 1864 – 29 April 1933) was a Sri Lankan Buddhist revivalist and a writer.
Anagarika Dharmapāla is not ...
, Migettuwatte Gunananda Thera
Ven. Migettuwatte Gunananda Thera or Mohottiwatte Gunananda Thera ( si, පූජ්ය මිගෙට්ටුවත්තේ ගුණානන්ද හිමි) (9 February 1823, Balapitiya – 21 September 1890, Colombo) was a Sri ...
, Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera
Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera ( si, හික්කඩුවේ ශ්රි සුමංගල නාහිමි; 20 January 1827 – 29 April 1911) was a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk, who was one of the pioneers of Sri Lankan Buddhist revivalis ...
and Henry Steel Olcott
Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (2 August 1832 – 17 February 1907) was an American military officer, journalist, lawyer, Freemason and the co-founder and first president of the Theosophical Society.
Olcott was the first well-known American of Euro ...
(one of the first American western converts to Buddhism) were some of the main figures of the Sri Lankan Buddhist revival. Two new monastic orders were formed in the 19th century, the Amarapura Nikāya
The Amarapura Nikaya ( si, අමරපුර මහ නිකාය) was a Sri Lankan monastic fraternity ('' gaṇa'' or ''nikāya'') founded in 1800. It is named after the city of Amarapura, Burma, the capital of the Konbaung Dynasty of Bur ...
and the Rāmañña Nikāya
Rāmañña Nikāya ( pi, label=none, script=sinh, රාමඤ්ඤ නිකාය, also spelled Ramanya Nikaya) was one of the three major Buddhist orders in Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1864 when Ambagahawatte Saranankara, returned to Sr ...
.
In Burma, an influential modernist figure was king Mindon Min
Mindon Min ( my, မင်းတုန်းမင်း, ; 1808 – 1878), born Maung Lwin, was the penultimate King of Burma (Myanmar) from 1853 to 1878. He was one of the most popular and revered kings of Burma. Under his half brother King P ...
(1808–1878), known for his patronage of the Fifth Buddhist council
The Fifth Buddhist Council ( my, ပဉ္စမသင်္ဂါယနာ; pi, Pañcamasaṃgāyanā) took place in Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar) in 1871 CE under the auspices of King Mindon of Burma (Myanmar). The chief objective of this meeting ...
(1871) and the Tripiṭaka tablets at Kuthodaw Pagoda
Stone tablets inscribed with the ''Tripiṭaka'' (and other Buddhist texts) stand upright in the grounds of the Kuthodaw Pagoda ( means 'royal merit') at the foot of Mandalay Hill in Mandalay, Myanmar (Burma). The work was commissioned by King ...
(still the world's largest book) with the intention of preserving the Buddha Dhamma. Burma also saw the growth of the "Vipassana movement
The Vipassanā movement, also called (in the United States) the Insight Meditation Movement and American vipassana movement, refers to a branch of modern Burmese Theravāda Buddhism that promotes "bare insight" (''sukha-vipassana'') to attain s ...
", which focused on reviving Buddhist meditation and doctrinal learning. Ledi Sayadaw
Ledi Sayadaw U Ñaṇadhaja ( my, လယ်တီဆရာတော် ဦးဉာဏဓဇ, ; 1 December 1846 – 27 June 1923) was an influential Theravada Buddhist monk. He was recognized from a young age as being developed in both the theory ( ...
(1846–1923) was one of the key figures in this movement. After independence, Myanmar held the Sixth Buddhist council
The Sixth Buddhist Council ( pi, छट्ठ सॅगायना (); my, ဆဋ္ဌမသင်္ဂါယနာ; si, ඡට්ඨ සංගායනා) was a general council of Theravada Buddhism, held in a specially built cave and p ...
(Vesak
Vesak (Pali: ''Vesākha''; sa, Vaiśākha), also known as Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima and Buddha Day, is a holiday traditionally observed by Buddhism, Buddhists in South Asia and Southeast Asia as well as Tibet and Mongolia. The festival ...
1954 to Vesak 1956) to create a new redaction of the Pāli Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school.
During th ...
, which was then published by the government in 40 volumes. The Vipassana movement continued to grow after independence, becoming an international movement with centers around the world. Influential meditation teachers of the post-independence era include U Narada, Mahasi Sayadaw
Mahāsī Sayādaw U Sobhana ( my, မဟာစည်ဆရာတော် ဦးသောဘန, ; 29 July 1904 – 14 August 1982) was a Burmese Theravada Buddhist monk and meditation master who had a significant impact on the teaching of vipa ...
, Sayadaw U Pandita
Sayadaw U Paṇḍita ( my, ဆရာတော် ဦးပဏ္ဍိတ, ; also ''Ovādācariya Sayādo Ū Paṇḍitābhivaṁsa''; 28 July 1921 – 16 April 2016) was one of the foremost masters of Vipassanā. He trained in the Theravada ...
, Nyanaponika Thera
Nyanaponika Thera or Nyanaponika Mahathera (July 21, 1901 – 19 October 1994) was a German-born Theravada Buddhist monk and scholar who, after ordaining in Sri Lanka, later became the co-founder of the Buddhist Publication Society and autho ...
, Webu Sayadaw
Webu Sayadaw ( my, ဝေဘူ ဆရာတော်, ; 17 February 1896 – 26 June 1977) was a Theravada Buddhist monk, and vipassanā master, best known for giving all importance to diligent practice, rather than scholastic achievement ...
, U Ba Khin
Sayagyi U Ba Khin ( my, ဘခင်, ; 6 March 1899 – 19 January 1971) was the first Accountant General of the Union of Burma. He was the founder of the International Meditation Centre in Yangon, Myanmar and is principally known as a leading ...
and his student S.N. Goenka.
Meanwhile, in Thailand (the only Theravāda nation to retain its independence throughout the colonial era), the religion became much more centralized, bureaucratized
The term bureaucracy () refers to a body of non-elected governing officials as well as to an Administration (government), administrative policy-making group. Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments s ...
and controlled by the state after a series of reforms promoted by Thai kings of the Chakri dynasty
The Chakri dynasty ( th, ราชวงศ์ จักรี, , , ) is the current reigning dynasty of the Kingdom of Thailand, the head of the house is the king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of the ...
. King Mongkut
Mongkut ( th, มงกุฏ; 18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth monarch of Siam (Thailand) under the House of Chakri, titled Rama IV. He ruled from 1851 to 1868. His full title in Thai was ''Phra Bat Somdet Phra Menthora Ramathibod ...
(r. 1851–1868) and his successor Chulalongkorn
Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร ...
(1868–1910) were especially involved in centralizing sangha reforms. Under these kings, the sangha was organized into a hierarchical bureaucracy led by the Sangha Council of Elders (Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
: ''Mahāthera Samāgama''), the highest body of the Thai sangha.[Yoneo Ishii (1986). ''Sangha, State, and Society: Thai Buddhism in History'', p. 69. University of Hawaii Press.] Mongkut also led the creation of a new monastic order, the Dhammayuttika
Dhammayuttika Nikāya (Pali language, Pali; th, ธรรมยุติกนิกาย; ; km, ធម្មយុត្តិកនិកាយ, ), or Dhammayut Order ( th, คณะธรรมยุต) is an Buddhist monasticism, order of ...
Nikaya, which kept a stricter monastic discipline than the rest of the Thai sangha (this included not using money, not storing up food and not taking milk in the evening).[Patit Paban Mishra (2010). ''The History of Thailand,'' p. 77. Greenwood History of Modern Nations Series.] The Dhammayuttika movement was characterized by an emphasis on the original Pali Canon and a rejection of Thai folk beliefs which were seen as irrational.[Yoneo Ishii (1986). ''Sangha, State, and Society: Thai Buddhism in History'', p. 156. University of Hawaii Press.] Under the leadership of Prince Wachirayan Warorot, a new education and examination system was introduced for Thai monks.[Yoneo Ishii (1986). ''Sangha, State, and Society: Thai Buddhism in History'', p. 76. University of Hawaii Press.]
The 20th century also saw the growth of "forest traditions" which focused on forest living and strict monastic discipline. The main forest movements of this era are the Sri Lankan Forest Tradition and the Thai Forest Tradition
The Kammaṭṭhāna Forest Tradition of Thailand (from pi, kammaṭṭhāna meaning Kammaṭṭhāna, "place of work"), commonly known in the West as the Thai Forest Tradition, is a Parampara, lineage of Theravada Buddhist monasticism.
The ...
, founded by Ajahn Mun
(หลวงปู่มั่น)Ajahn Mun ( th, อาจารย์มั่น)
, dharma_names = Bhuridatto
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Ban Khambong, Khong Chiam, Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand
, death_date =
, death_place = Wat Pa Sutth ...
(1870–1949) and his students.
Theravāda Buddhism in Cambodia and Laos went through similar experiences in the modern era. Both had to endure French colonialism, destructive civil wars and oppressive communist governments. Under French Rule, French indologists of the École française d'Extrême-Orient
The French School of the Far East (french: École française d'Extrême-Orient, ), abbreviated EFEO, is an associated college of PSL University dedicated to the study of Asian societies. It was founded in 1900 with headquarters in Hanoi in wh ...
became involved in the reform of Buddhism, setting up institutions for the training of Cambodian and Lao monks, such as the Ecole de Pali which was founded in Phnom Penh in 1914''.'' While the Khmer Rouge effectively destroyed Cambodia's Buddhist institutions, after the end of the communist regime the Cambodian Sangha was re-established by monks who had returned from exile.[Harris, Ian (August 2001), ''"Sangha Groupings in Cambodia",'' Buddhist Studies Review, UK Association for Buddhist Studies, 18 (I): 73–106.] In contrast, communist rule in Laos was less destructive since the Pathet Lao sought to make use of the sangha for political ends by imposing direct state control. During the late 1980s and 1990s, the official attitudes toward Buddhism began to liberalise in Laos and there was a resurgence of traditional Buddhist activities such as merit-making and doctrinal study.
The modern era also saw the spread of Theravāda Buddhism around the world and the revival of the religion in places where it remains a minority faith. Some of the major events of the spread of modern Theravāda include:
*The 20th-century Nepalese Theravāda movement which introduced Theravāda Buddhism to Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
and was led by prominent figures such as Dharmaditya Dharmacharya
Dharmaditya Dharmacharya ( ne, धर्मादित्य धर्माचार्य) (born Jagat Man Vaidya) (1902–1963) was a Nepalese author, Buddhist scholar and language activist. He worked to develop Nepal Bhasa and revive Therava ...
, Mahapragya, Pragyananda and Dhammalok Mahasthavir
Dhammalok Mahasthavir ( ne, धम्मालोक महास्थविर) (born Das Ratna Tuladhar) (16 January 1890 – 17 October 1966) was a Nepalese Buddhist monk who worked to revive Theravada Buddhism in Nepal in the 1930s and 1 ...
.
*The establishment of some of the first Theravāda Viharas in the Western world, such as the London Buddhist Vihara
The London Buddhist Vihara ( Sinhala:ලන්ඩන් බෞද්ධ විහාරය ''Landan Bauddha Viharaya'') is one of the main Theravada Buddhist temples in the United Kingdom. The Vihara was the first Sri Lankan Buddhist monastery to ...
(1926), Das Buddhistische Haus
Das Buddhistische Haus (English: Berlin Buddhist Vihara, literally ''the Buddhist house'') is a Theravada Buddhist temple complex ( Vihara) in Frohnau, Berlin, Germany. It is considered to be the oldest and largest Theravada Buddhist center in Eu ...
in Berlin (1957) and the Washington Buddhist Vihara in Washington, DC (1965).
*The founding of the Bengal Buddhist Association (1892) and the Dharmankur Vihar (1900) in Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
by the Bengali monk Kripasaran
Venerable Kripasaran Mahathera (Bengali:- কৃপাশরণ মহাস্থবির, Kṛpāśôrôṇô Môhāsthôbirô) was a 19th and 20th century Bengali Buddhist monk and Indian yogi, best known for reviving Buddhism in British Indi ...
Mahasthavir, which were key events in the Bengali Theravāda revival.
*The founding of the Maha Bodhi Society
The Maha Bodhi Society is a South Asian Buddhist society presently based in Kolkata, India. Founded by the Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala and the British journalist and poet Sir Edwin Arnold, its first office was in Bodh Gaya. Th ...
in 1891 by Anagarika Dharmapala
Anagārika Dharmapāla (Pali: ''Anagārika'', ; Sinhala: Anagārika, lit., si, අනගාරික ධර්මපාල; 17 September 1864 – 29 April 1933) was a Sri Lankan Buddhist revivalist and a writer.
Anagarika Dharmapāla is not ...
which focused on the conservation and restoration of important Indian Buddhist sites, such as Bodh Gaya
Bodh Gaya is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous as it is the place where Gautama Buddha is said to have attained Enlightenment ( pi, ...
and Sarnath
Sarnath (Hindustani pronunciation: aːɾnaːtʰ also referred to as Sarangnath, Isipatana, Rishipattana, Migadaya, or Mrigadava) is a place located northeast of Varanasi, near the confluence of the Ganges and the Varuna rivers in Uttar Pr ...
.[Jerryson, Michael K. (ed.) ''The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism'', p. 41.]
*The introduction of Theravāda to other Southeast Asian nations like Singapore, Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
and Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. Especially with Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda
K. Sri Dhammananda (born Martin Gamage, 18 March 1919 – 31 August 2006) was a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk and scholar.
Early life
Born in the village of Kirinde in Matara, Sri Lanka, Dhammananda spent most of his life and career in Malaysia. He ...
missionary efforts among English-speaking Chinese communities.
*The return of Western Theravādin monks trained in the Thai Forest Tradition to western countries and the subsequent founding of monasteries led by western monastics, such as Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery
Abhayagiri is a Theravadin Buddhist monastery of the Thai Forest Tradition in Redwood Valley, California. Its chief priorities are the teaching of Buddhist ethics, together with traditional concentration and insight meditation (also known as ...
, Chithurst Buddhist Monastery, Metta Forest Monastery
Metta may refer to:
Buddhism
* Maitrī
''Maitrī'' (Sanskrit; Pali: ''mettā'') means benevolence, loving-kindness,Warder (2004), pp. 63, 94. friendliness,Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 540, entry for "Mettā," retrieved 2008-04-29 from ...
, Amaravati Buddhist Monastery
Amaravati is a Theravada Buddhist monastery at the eastern end of the Chiltern Hills in South East England. Established in 1984 by Ajahn Sumedho as an extension of Chithurst Buddhist Monastery, the monastery has its roots in the Thai Forest ...
, Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery
Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery, or Sītavana (Pali: "Cool Forest"), is a Theravada Buddhist monastery in the Thai Forest Tradition near Kamloops, British Columbia. It serves as a training centre for monastics and also a retreat facility for l ...
, Bodhinyana Monastery
Bodhinyana is a Theravada Buddhist monastery in the Thai Forest Tradition located in Serpentine, about 60 minutes' drive south-east of Perth, Australia.
History
The monastery was built in the 1980s and gained interest from Perth media over tim ...
and Santacittarama.
*The spread of the Vipassana movement
The Vipassanā movement, also called (in the United States) the Insight Meditation Movement and American vipassana movement, refers to a branch of modern Burmese Theravāda Buddhism that promotes "bare insight" (''sukha-vipassana'') to attain s ...
around the world by the efforts of people like S.N. Goenka, Anagarika Munindra
Anagarika Shri Munindra (1915 – October 14, 2003), also called Munindraji by his disciples, was an Indian Vipassanā meditation teacher, who taught many notable meditation teachers including Dipa Ma, Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, and Sur ...
, Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield
Jack Kornfield (born 1945) is an American writer and teacher in the Vipassana movement in American Theravada Buddhism. He trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma and India, first as a student of the Thai forest master Ajahn Chah and Maha ...
, Sharon Salzberg
Sharon Salzberg (born August 5, 1952) is a ''New York Times'' bestselling author and teacher of Buddhist meditation practices in the West. In 1974, she co-founded the Insight Meditation Society at Barre, Massachusetts, with Jack Kornfield and Jos ...
, Dipa Ma
Nani Bala Barua (March 25, 1911 - September 1, 1989), better known as Dipa Ma, was an Indian meditation teacher of Theravada Buddhism and was of Barua descent. She was a prominent Buddhist master in Asia and also taught in the United States where ...
, and Ruth Denison Ruth Denison (September 29, 1922 – February 26, 2015) was the first Buddhist teacher in the United States to lead an all-women's retreat for Buddhist meditation and instruction. Her center, Dhamma Dena Desert Vipassana Center is located in the Mo ...
.
*The Vietnamese Theravāda movement, led by figures such as Ven. Hộ-Tông (Vansarakkhita).
Texts
Pāli Tipiṭaka
According to Kate Crosby, for Theravāda, the Pāli Tipiṭaka
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school.
During t ...
, also known as the Pāli Canon is "the highest authority on what constitutes the Dhamma (the truth or teaching of the Buddha) and the organization of the Sangha (the community of monks and nuns)."
The language of the Tipiṭaka, Pāli
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
, is a middle-Indic language which is the main religious and scholarly language in Theravāda. This language may have evolved out of various Indian dialects, and is related to, but not the same as, the ancient language of Magadha
Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...
.
An early form of the Tipiṭaka may have been transmitted to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
during the reign of Ashoka
Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...
, which saw a period of Buddhist missionary activity. After being orally transmitted (as was the custom for religious texts in those days) for some centuries, the texts were finally committed to writing in the 1st century BCE. Theravāda is one of the first Buddhist schools to commit its Tipiṭaka to writing. The recension Recension is the practice of editing or revising a text based on critical analysis. When referring to manuscripts, this may be a revision by another author. The term is derived from Latin ''recensio'' ("review, analysis").
In textual criticism (as ...
of the Tipiṭaka which survives today is that of the Sri Lankan Mahavihara sect.
The oldest manuscripts of the Tipiṭaka from Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia date to the 15th Century, and they are incomplete.[Skilling, Peter. "Reflections on the Pali Literature of Siam". From Birch Bark to Digital Data: Recent Advances in Buddhist Manuscript Research: Papers Presented at the Conference Indic Buddhist Manuscripts: The State of the Field. Stanford, 15–19 June 2009, edited by Paul Harrison and Jens-Uwe Hartmann, 1st ed., Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, Wien, 2014, pp. 347–366. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1vw0q4q.25. Accessed 7 May 2020.] Complete manuscripts of the four Nikayas are only available from the 17th Century onwards.[Anālayo. "The Historical Value of the Pāli Discourses". Indo-Iranian Journal, vol. 55, no. 3, 2012, pp. 223–253. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/24665100. Accessed 7 May 2020.] However, fragments of the Tipiṭaka have been found in inscriptions from Southeast Asia, the earliest of which have been dated to the 3rd or 4th century.[Wynne, Alexander. ''Did the Buddha exist?'' JOCBS. 2019(16): 98–148.] According to Alexander Wynne, "they agree almost exactly with extant Pāli manuscripts. This means that the Pāli Tipiṭaka has been transmitted with a high degree of accuracy for well over 1,500 years."
There are numerous editions of the Tipiṭaka, some of the major modern editions include the Pali Text Society
The Pali Text Society is a text publication society founded in 1881 by Thomas William Rhys Davids "to foster and promote the study of Pāli texts".
Pāli is the language in which the texts of the Theravada school of Buddhism are preserved. The Pā ...
edition (published in Roman script), the Burmese Sixth Council edition (in Burmese script
Burmese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia
* Burmese people
* Burmese language
* Burmese alphabet
* Burmese cuisine
* Burmese culture
Animals
* Burmese cat
* Burmese chicken
* Burmese (horse), a ...
, 1954–56) and the Thai Tipiṭaka edited and published in Thai script
The Thai script ( th, อักษรไทย, ) is the abugida used to write Thai, Southern Thai and many other languages spoken in Thailand. The Thai alphabet itself (as used to write Thai) has 44 consonant symbols ( th, พยัญชน ...
after the council held during the reign of Rama VII
Prajadhipok ( th, ประชาธิปก, RTGS: ''Prachathipok'', 8 November 1893 – 30 May 1941), also Rama VII, was the seventh monarch of Siam of the Chakri dynasty. His reign was a turbulent time for Siam due to political and ...
(1925–35). There is also a Khmer edition, published in Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...
(1931–69).
The Pāli Tipitaka consists of three parts: the Vinaya Pitaka
The Vinaya ( Pali & Sanskrit: विनय) is the division of the Buddhist canon ('' Tripitaka'') containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist Sangha (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). Three parallel Vinaya traditions rem ...
, Sutta Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka. Of these, the Abhidhamma Pitaka is believed to be a later addition to the collection, its composition dating from around the 3rd century BCE onwards. The Pāli Abhidhamma was not recognized outside the Theravāda school. There are also some texts which were late additions that are included in the fifth Nikaya, the ''Khuddaka Nikāya
The Khuddaka Nikāya () is the last of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka, the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. This nikaya consists of fifteen (Thailand) ...
'' ('Minor Collection'), such as the '' Paṭisambhidāmagga'' (possibly c. 3rd to 1st century BCE) and the ''Buddhavaṃsa
The ''Buddhavaṃsa'' (also known as the ''Chronicle of Buddhas'') is a hagiographical Buddhist text which describes the life of Gautama Buddha and of the twenty-four Buddhas who preceded him and prophesied his attainment of Buddhahood. It is ...
'' (c. 1st and 2nd century BCE).
The main parts of the Sutta Pitaka and some portions of the Vinaya
The Vinaya (Pali & Sanskrit: विनय) is the division of the Buddhist canon ('' Tripitaka'') containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist Sangha (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). Three parallel Vinaya traditions remai ...
show considerable overlap in content with the Agamas
Religion
*Āgama (Buddhism), a collection of Early Buddhist texts
*Āgama (Hinduism), scriptures of several Hindu sects
*Jain literature (Jain Āgamas), various canonical scriptures in Jainism
Other uses
* ''Agama'' (lizard), a genus of lizards ...
, the parallel collections used by non-Theravāda schools in India which are preserved in Chinese and partially in Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
, Prakrit
The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...
, and Tibetan
Tibetan may mean:
* of, from, or related to Tibet
* Tibetan people, an ethnic group
* Tibetan language:
** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard
** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...
, as well as the various non-Theravāda Vinayas. On this basis, these Early Buddhist texts
Early Buddhist texts (EBTs), early Buddhist literature or early Buddhist discourses are parallel texts shared by the early Buddhist schools. The most widely studied EBT material are the first four Pali Nikayas, as well as the corresponding Chines ...
(i.e. the Nikayas and parts of the Vinaya) are generally believed to be some of the oldest and most authoritative sources on the doctrines of pre-sectarian Buddhism
Pre-sectarian Buddhism, also called early Buddhism, the earliest Buddhism, original Buddhism, and primitive Buddhism, is Buddhism as theorized to have existed before the various Early Buddhist schools developed, around 250 BCE (followed by later ...
by modern scholars.
Much of the material in the earlier portions is not specifically "Theravādan", but the collection of teachings that this school's adherents preserved from the early, non-sectarian body of teachings. According to Peter Harvey
Peter Michael St Clair Harvey (16 September 19442 March 2013) was an Australian journalist and broadcaster. Harvey was a long-serving correspondent and contributor with the Nine Network from 1975 to 2013.
Career
Harvey studied his journalism c ...
, while the Theravādans may have added texts to their Tipiṭaka (such as the Abhidhamma texts and so on), they generally did not tamper with the earlier material.
The historically later parts of the canon, mainly the Abhidhamma and some parts of the Vinaya, contain some distinctive elements and teachings which are unique to the Theravāda school and often differ from the Abhidharmas or Vinayas of other early Buddhist schools
The early Buddhist schools are those schools into which the Buddhist monastic saṅgha split early in the history of Buddhism. The divisions were originally due to differences in Vinaya and later also due to doctrinal differences and geographic ...
. For example, while the Theravāda Vinaya contains a total of 227 monastic rules for bhikkhu
A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics ("nun", ''bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhist ...
s, the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (used in East Asian Buddhism
East Asian Buddhism or East Asian Mahayana is a collective term for the schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed across East Asia which follow the Chinese Buddhist canon. These include the various forms of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vi ...
) has a total of 253 rules for bhikkhus (though the overall structure is the same). These differences arose from the systematization and historical development of doctrines and monasticism in the centuries after the death of the Buddha.
The Abhidhamma-pitaka contains "a restatement of the doctrine of the Buddha in strictly formalized language." Its texts present a new method, the Abhidhamma method, which attempts to build a single consistent philosophical system (in contrast with the suttas, which present numerous teachings given by the Buddha to particular individuals according to their needs). Because the Abhidhamma focuses on analyzing the internal lived experience of beings and the intentional structure of consciousness, it has often been compared to a kind of phenomenological psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
by numerous modern scholars such as Nyanaponika
Nyanaponika Thera or Nyanaponika Mahathera (July 21, 1901 – 19 October 1994) was a German-born Theravada Buddhist monk and scholar who, after ordaining in Sri Lanka, later became the co-founder of the Buddhist Publication Society and auth ...
, Bhikkhu Bodhi
Bhikkhu Bodhi (born December 10, 1944), born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk, ordained in Sri Lanka and currently teaching in the New York and New Jersey area. He was appointed the second president of the Buddhist Publica ...
and Alexander Piatigorsky
Alexander Moiseyevich Piatigorsky (russian: Алекса́ндр Моисе́евич Пятиго́рский; 30 January 192925 October 2009) was a Soviet dissident, Russian philosopher, scholar of Indian philosophy and culture, historian, phi ...
.
The Theravāda school has traditionally held the doctrinal position that the canonical Abhidhamma Pitaka was actually taught by the Buddha himself. Modern scholarship in contrast, has generally held that the Abhidhamma texts date from the 3rd century BCE onwards. However some scholars, such as Frauwallner, also hold that the early Abhidhamma texts developed out of exegetical
Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...
and catechetical
Catechesis (; from Greek language, Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of Conversion to Christian ...
work which made use of doctrinal lists which can be seen in the suttas, called ''matikas.''
Non-canonical literature
There are numerous Theravāda works which are important for the tradition even though they are not part of the Tipiṭaka. Perhaps the most important texts apart from the Tipiṭaka are the works of the influential scholar Buddhaghosa
Buddhaghosa was a 5th-century Indian Theravada Buddhist commentator, translator and philosopher. He worked in the Great Monastery (''Mahāvihāra'') at Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka and saw himself as being part of the Vibhajjavāda school and in t ...
(4th–5th century CE), known for his Pāli commentaries (which were based on older Sri Lankan commentaries of the Mahavihara tradition). He is also the author of a very important compendium of Theravāda doctrine, the ''Visuddhimagga
The ''Visuddhimagga'' (Pali; English: ''The Path of Purification''), is the 'great treatise' on Buddhist practice and Theravāda Abhidhamma written by Buddhaghosa approximately in the 5th century in Sri Lanka. It is a manual condensing and syst ...
''.[Crosby, 2013, p. 86.] Other figures like Dhammapala and Buddhadatta Buddhadatta Thera was a 5th-century Theravada Buddhist writer from the town of Uragapura in the Chola kingdom
The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history ...
also wrote Theravāda commentaries and other works in Pali during the time of Buddhaghosa. While these texts do not have the same scriptural authority in Theravāda as the Tipiṭaka, they remain influential works for the exegesis
Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (logic), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern usage, ...
of the Tipiṭaka.
An important genre of Theravādin literature is shorter handbooks and summaries, which serve as introductions and study guides for the larger commentaries. Two of the more influential summaries are Sariputta Thera's ''Pālimuttakavinayavinicchayasaṅgaha,'' a summary of Buddhaghosa's Vinaya commentary and Anuruddha's '' Abhidhammaṭṭhasaṅgaha'' (a "Manual of Abhidhamma").[Crosby, 2013, 86.]
Throughout the history of Theravāda, Theravāda monks also produced other works of Pāli literature such as historical chronicles (like the '' Dipavamsa'' and the '' Mahavamsa''), hagiographies
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...
, poetry, Pāli grammars, and " sub-commentaries" (that is, commentaries on the commentaries).
While Pāli texts are symbolically and ritually important for many Theravādins, most people are likely to access Buddhist teachings through vernacular literature, oral teachings, sermons, art and performance as well as films and Internet media. According to Kate Crosby, "there is a far greater volume of Theravāda literature in vernacular languages than in Pāli."
An important genre of Theravādin literature, in both Pāli and vernacular languages, are the Jataka tales
The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. According to Peter Skilling, this genre is ...
, stories of the Buddha's past lives. They are very popular among all classes and are rendered in a wide variety of media formats, from cartoons to high literature. The Vessantara Jātaka
The ''Vessantara Jātaka'' is one of the most popular jātakas of Theravada Buddhism. The ''Vessantara Jātaka'' tells the story of one of Gautama Buddha's past lives, about a very compassionate and generous prince, Vessantara, who gives away ev ...
is one of the most popular of these.
Most Theravāda Buddhists generally consider Mahāyāna Buddhist scriptures to be apocrypha
Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...
l, meaning that they are not authentic words of the Buddha.
Doctrine
Core teachings
The core of Theravāda Buddhist doctrine is contained in the Pāli Canon, the only complete collection of Early Buddhist Texts
Early Buddhist texts (EBTs), early Buddhist literature or early Buddhist discourses are parallel texts shared by the early Buddhist schools. The most widely studied EBT material are the first four Pali Nikayas, as well as the corresponding Chines ...
surviving in a classical Indic language. These basic Buddhist ideas are shared by the other Early Buddhist schools as well as by Mahayana traditions. They include central concepts such as:
*A doctrine of Karma
Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...
(action), which is based on intention ('' cetana'') and a related doctrine of rebirth
Rebirth may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Film
* ''Rebirth'' (2011 film), a 2011 Japanese drama film
* ''Rebirth'' (2016 film), a 2016 American thriller film
* ''Rebirth'', a documentary film produced by Project Rebirth
* ''The Re ...
which holds that after death, sentient beings which are not fully awakened will transmigrate to another body, possibly in another realm of existence. The type of realm one will be reborn in is determined by the being's past karma. This cyclical universe filled with birth and death is named samsara.
*A rejection of other doctrines and practices found in Brahmanical Hinduism
The historical Vedic religion (also known as Vedicism, Vedism or ancient Hinduism and subsequently Brahmanism (also spelled as Brahminism)), constituted the religious ideas and practices among some Indo-Aryan peoples of northwest Indian Subco ...
, including the idea that the Vedas
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
are a divine authority. Any form of sacrifices to the gods (including animal sacrifices
Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing and offering of one or more animals, usually as part of a religious ritual or to appease or maintain favour with a deity. Animal sacrifices were common throughout Europe and the Ancient Near East until the spr ...
) and ritual purification
Ritual purification is the ritual prescribed by a religion by which a person is considered to be free of ''uncleanliness'', especially prior to the worship of a deity, and ritual purity is a state of ritual cleanliness. Ritual purification may ...
by bathing are considered useless and spiritually corrupted. The Pāli texts also reject the idea that castes
Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
are divinely ordained.
*A set of major teachings called the ''bodhipakkhiyādhammā
In Buddhism, the ''bodhipakkhiyā dhammā'' (Pali; variant spellings include ''bodhipakkhikā dhammā'' and ''bodhapakkhiyā dhammā''; Skt.: ''bodhipaka dharma'') are qualities (''dhammā'') conducive or related to (''pakkhiya'') awakening/unde ...
'' (factors conducive to awakening).
*Descriptions of various meditative practices or states, namely the four ''jhanas'' (meditative absorptions) and the formless dimensions (''arupāyatana'').
* Ethical training (''sila'') including the ten courses of wholesome action and the five precepts
The Five precepts ( sa, pañcaśīla, italic=yes; pi, pañcasīla, italic=yes) or five rules of training ( sa, pañcaśikṣapada, italic=yes; pi, pañcasikkhapada, italic=yes) is the most important system of morality for Buddhist lay peo ...
.
*Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
(Pali: ''nibbana''), the highest good and final goal in Theravāda Buddhism. It is the complete and final end of suffering, a state of perfection. It is also the end of all rebirth, but it is ''not'' an annihilation ('' uccheda'').
*The corruptions or influxes ('' āsavas''), such as the corruption of sensual pleasures (''kāmāsava''), existence-corruption (''bhavāsava''), and ignorance-corruption (''avijjāsava'').
*The doctrine of impermanence (''anicca
Impermanence, also known as the philosophical problem of change, is a philosophical concept addressed in a variety of religions and philosophies. In Eastern philosophy it is notable for its role in the Buddhist three marks of existence. It is ...
''), which holds that all physical and mental phenomena are transient, unstable and inconstant.
*The doctrine of not-self ('' anatta''), which holds that all the constituents of a person, namely, the five aggregates
(Sanskrit) or (Pāḷi) means "heaps, aggregates, collections, groupings". In Buddhism, it refers to the five aggregates of clinging (), the five material and mental factors that take part in the rise of craving and clinging. They are also ...
( physical form, feelings
Feelings are subjective self-contained phenomenal experiences. According to the ''APA Dictionary of Psychology'', a feeling is "a self-contained phenomenal experience"; and feelings are "subjective, evaluative, and independent of the sensations ...
, perceptions
Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system ...
, intentions
Intentions are mental states in which the agent commits themselves to a course of action. Having the plan to visit the zoo tomorrow is an example of an intention. The action plan is the ''content'' of the intention while the commitment is the ''a ...
and consciousness
Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...
), are empty of a self (''atta Atta or ATTA may refer to:
* Atta Halilintar, Indonesian YouTuber, singer and entrepreneur
* ''Atta'' (ant), a genus of ants in the family Formicidae
* ''Atta'' (novel), a 1953 novel by Francis Rufus Bellamy
* Atta flour, whole wheat flour made f ...
''), since they are impermanent and not always under our control. Therefore, there is no unchanging substance, permanent self, soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
, or essence.
*The Five hindrances
In the Buddhist tradition, the five hindrances ( Sinhala: ''පඤ්ච නීවරණ pañca nīvaraṇa''; Pali: ') are identified as mental factors that hinder progress in meditation and in our daily lives. In the Theravada tradition, thes ...
(''pañca nīvaraṇāni''), which are obstacles to meditation: (1) sense desire, (2) hostility, (3) sloth and torpor, (4) restlessness and worry and (5) doubt.
*The Four Divine Abodes (''brahmavihārā''), also known as the four immeasurables (''appamaññā'')
* The Four Noble Truths, which state, in brief: (1) There is ''dukkha'' (suffering, unease); (2) There is a cause of dukkha, mainly craving ('' tanha''); (3) The removal of craving leads to the end (''nirodha
In Buddhism, nirodha, "cessation," "extinction," or "suppression," refers to the cessation or renouncing of craving and desire. It is the third of the Four Noble Truths, stating that suffering ( dukkha) ceases when craving and desire are renoun ...
'') of suffering, and (4) there is a path (''magga'') to follow to bring this about.
*The framework of Dependent Arising (''paṭiccasamuppāda''), which explains how suffering arises (beginning with ignorance
Ignorance is a lack of knowledge and understanding. The word "ignorant" is an adjective that describes a person in the state of being unaware, or even cognitive dissonance and other cognitive relation, and can describe individuals who are unaware o ...
and ending in birth, old age and death) and how suffering can be brought to an end.
*The Middle Way
The Middle Way ( pi, ; sa, ) as well as "teaching the Dharma by the middle" (''majjhena dhammaṃ deseti'') are common Buddhist terms used to refer to two major aspects of the Dharma, that is, the teaching of the Buddha.; my, အလယ် ...
, which is seen as having two major facets. First, it is a middle path between extreme asceticism and sensual indulgence. It is also seen as a middle view between the idea that at death beings are annihilated and the idea that there is an eternal self (Pali: ''atta'').
* The Noble Eightfold Path, one of the main outlines of the Buddhist path to awakening. The eight factors are: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Conduct, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Samadhi
''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga ...
.
*The practice of taking refuge in the "Triple Gems": the Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
, the Dhamma
Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for ''d ...
and the Saṅgha
Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...
.
*The Seven Aids to Awakening (''satta bojjhaṅgā''): mindfulness (''sati
Sati or SATI may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi
* ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike
*Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer
*Sati, a character in ''Th ...
''), investigation (''dhamma vicaya
In Buddhism, ''dhamma vicaya'' (Pali; sa, dharma-) has been variously translated as the "analysis of qualities," "discrimination of ''dhammas''," "discrimination of states," "investigation of doctrine,"
and "searching the Truth." The meaning is ...
''), energy ('' viriya''), bliss (''pīti
''Pīti'' in Pali (Sanskrit: ''Prīti'') is a mental factor (Pali:''cetasika'', Sanskrit: ''caitasika'') associated with the development of '' jhāna'' (Sanskrit: ''dhyāna'') in Buddhist meditation. According to Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, ''piti'' i ...
'')'','' relaxation (''passaddhi
''Passaddhi'' is a Pali noun (Sanskrit: prasrabhi, Tibetan: ཤིན་ཏུ་སྦྱང་བ་,Tibetan Wylie: shin tu sbyang ba) that has been translated as "calmness", "tranquillity", "repose" and "serenity." The associated verb is ''pa ...
''), samādhi
''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditation, meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ash ...
, and equanimity ('' upekkha'').
*The six sense bases (''saḷāyatana'') and a corresponding theory of Sense
A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of Stimulus (physiology), stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the cen ...
impression ( ''phassa'') and consciousness ( ''viññana'').
*Various frameworks for the practice of mindfulness
Mindfulness is the practice of purposely bringing one's attention to the present-moment experience without evaluation, a skill one develops through meditation or other training. Mindfulness derives from ''sati'', a significant element of Hind ...
(''sati''), mainly, the four ''satipatthanas'' (establishments of mindfulness) and the 16 elements of ''anapanasati'' (mindfulness of breathing).
Abhidhamma philosophy
Theravāda scholastics developed a systematic exposition of the Buddhist doctrine called the Abhidhamma. In the Pāli Nikayas, the Buddha teaches through an analytical method in which experience is explained using various conceptual groupings of physical and mental processes, which are called "dhammas". Examples of lists of dhammas taught by the Buddha include the twelve sense 'spheres' or ayatanas, the five aggregates
(Sanskrit) or (Pāḷi) means "heaps, aggregates, collections, groupings". In Buddhism, it refers to the five aggregates of clinging (), the five material and mental factors that take part in the rise of craving and clinging. They are also ...
or khandha and the eighteen elements of cognition or dhatus.
Theravāda traditionally promotes itself as the ''Vibhajjavāda'' "teaching of analysis" and as the heirs to the Buddha's analytical method. Expanding this model, Theravāda Abhidhamma scholasticism concerned itself with analyzing " ultimate truth" (''paramattha-sacca'') which it sees as being composed of ''all possible'' dhammas and their relationships. The central theory of the Abhidhamma is thus known as the "dhamma theory
The Abhidharma are ancient (third century BCE and later) Buddhist texts which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the Buddhist ''sutras''. It also refers to the scholastic method itself as well as the f ...
".[Y. Karunadasa (1996), ]
The Dhamma Theory Philosophical Cornerstone of the Abhidhamma
'', Buddhist Publication Society Kandy, Sri Lanka. "Dhamma" has been translated as "factors" (Collett Cox), "psychic characteristics" (Bronkhorst), "psycho-physical events" (Noa Ronkin) and "phenomena" (Nyanaponika Thera
Nyanaponika Thera or Nyanaponika Mahathera (July 21, 1901 – 19 October 1994) was a German-born Theravada Buddhist monk and scholar who, after ordaining in Sri Lanka, later became the co-founder of the Buddhist Publication Society and autho ...
).
According to the Sri Lankan scholar Y. Karunadasa
Yakupitiyage Karunadasa is a Sri Lankan scholar in Buddhist Studies. His main areas of specialization are Early Buddhism and Theravada Abidhamma.
Education and career
Y. Karunadasa obtained a First Class Bachelor of Arts degree from the Univer ...
, a dhammas ("principles" or "elements") are "those items that result when the process of analysis is taken to its ultimate limits". However, this does not mean that they have an independent existence, for it is "only for the purposes of description" that they are postulated.[Karunadasa, Y (2015). ''Buddhist Analysis of Matter'', p. 14.] Noa Ronkin defines dhammas as "the constituents of sentient experience; the irreducible 'building blocks' that make up one's world, albeit they are not static mental contents and certainly not substances." Thus, while in Theravāda Abhidhamma, dhammas are the ultimate constituents of experience, they are not seen as substances, essence
Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...
s or independent particulars, since they are empty ( ''suñña'') of a self ( ''attā'') and conditioned. This is spelled out in the ''Patisambhidhamagga'', which states that dhammas are empty of svabhava
Svabhava ( sa, स्वभाव, svabhāva; pi, सभाव, sabhāva; ; ) literally means "own-being" or "own-becoming". It is the intrinsic nature, essential nature or essence of beings.
The concept and term ''svabhāva'' are frequently enco ...
(''sabhavena suññam'').
According to Ronkin, the canonical Pāli Abhidhamma remains pragmatic and psychological, and "does not take much interest in ontology
In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality.
Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exis ...
" in contrast with the Sarvastivada
The ''Sarvāstivāda'' (Sanskrit and Pali: 𑀲𑀩𑁆𑀩𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀺𑀯𑀸𑀤, ) was one of the early Buddhist schools established around the reign of Ashoka (3rd century BCE).Westerhoff, The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy ...
tradition. Paul Williams also notes that the Abhidhamma remains focused on the practicalities of insight meditation and leaves ontology "relatively unexplored". Ronkin does note however that later Theravāda sub-commentaries (''ṭīkā'') do show a doctrinal shift towards ontological realism
Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to:
In the arts
*Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts
Arts movements related to realism include:
*Classical Realism
*Literary realism, a move ...
from the earlier epistemic and practical concerns.
On the other hand, Y. Karunadasa contends that the tradition of realism goes back to the earliest discourses, as opposed to developing only in later Theravada sub-commentaries:
If we base ourselves on the Pali Nikayas, then we should be compelled to conclude that Buddhism is realistic. There is no explicit denial anywhere of the external world. Nor is there any positive evidence to show that the world is mind-made or simply a projection of subjective thoughts. That Buddhism recognizes the extra-mental existence of matter and, the external world is clearly suggested by the texts. Throughout the discourses it is the language of realism that one encounters. The whole Buddhist practical doctrine and discipline, which has the attainment of Nibbana as its final goal, is based on the recognition of the material world and the conscious living beings living therein.
The Theravāda Abhidhamma holds that there is a total of 82 possible types of dhammas, 81 of these are conditioned (''sankhata
Sankhata is an adjective or noun for any phenomena conditioned by other phenomena, as in produced by a cause, for it does not arise on its own. It also denotes mental creations in the Pāli, Pali language. As explained by the dependent origination ...
''), while one is unconditioned, which is ''nibbana''. The 81 conditioned dhammas are divided into three broad categories: consciousness (''citta
''Citta'' (Pali and Sanskrit: चित्त; pronounced ''chitta''; IAST: ''citta)'' is one of three overlapping terms used in the '' nikaya'' to refer to the mind, the others being '' manas'' and '' viññāṇa''. Each is sometimes used in ...
''), associated mentality ( ''cetasika'') and materiality, or physical phenomena (''rupa'').[Ronkin, Noa; ''Early Buddhist Metaphysics'', p. 47.] Since no dhamma exists independently, every single dhamma of consciousness, known as a ''citta'', arises associated (''sampayutta'') with at least seven mental factors (''cetasikas'').[Crosby, 2013, 187.] In Abhidhamma, all awareness events are thus seen as being characterized by intentionality
''Intentionality'' is the power of minds to be about something: to represent or to stand for things, properties and states of affairs. Intentionality is primarily ascribed to mental states, like perceptions, beliefs or desires, which is why it ha ...
and never exist in isolation. Much of Abhidhamma philosophy deals with categorizing the different consciousnesses and their accompanying mental factors as well as their conditioned relationships (''paccaya'').
Cosmology
The Pāli Tipiṭaka outlines a hierarchical cosmological system with various planes existence (''bhava'') into which sentient beings may be reborn depending on their past actions. Good actions lead one to the higher realms, bad actions lead to the lower realms. However, even for the gods (''devas'') in the higher realms like Indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...
and Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
, there is still death, loss and suffering.
The main categories of the planes of existence are:[Sunthorn Na-Rangsi (2011). ]
The Four Planes of Existence in Theravada Buddhism.
'' The Wheel Publication No. 462. Buddhist Publication Society.[Gethin, Rupert. ''Cosmology and Meditation: From the Aggañña-Sutta to the Mahāyāna'', in "History of Religions" Vol. 36, No. 3 (Feb. 1997), pp. 183-217. The University of Chicago.]
*''Arūpa-bhava'', the formless or incorporeal plane. These are associated with the four formless meditations, that is: infinite space, infinite consciousness, infinite nothingness and neither perception nor non-perception. Beings in these realms live extremely long lives (thousands of kappas).
*''Kāma-bhava'', the plane of desires. This includes numerous realms of existence such as: various hell
In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...
s ( ''niraya'') which are devoid of happiness, the realms of animals, the hungry ghosts ( ''peta''), the realm of humans, and various heaven
Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...
realms where the devas
Devas may refer to:
* Devas Club, a club in south London
* Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter
* Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist
* Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club
* Devas (band), ...
live (such as Tavatimsa and Tusita).
*''Rūpa-bhava'', the plane of form. The realms in this plane are associated with the four meditative absorptions (''jhanas'') and those who attain these meditations are reborn in these divine realms.
These various planes of existence can be found in countless world systems (''loka-dhatu''), which are born, expand, contract and are destroyed in a cyclical nature across vast expanses of time (measures in kappas). This cosmology is similar to other ancient Indian systems, such as the Jain cosmology
Jain cosmology is the description of the shape and functioning of the Universe (''loka'') and its constituents (such as living beings, matter, space, time etc.) according to Jainism. Jain cosmology considers the universe as an uncreated entity t ...
. This entire cyclical multiverse of constant birth and death is called samsara. Outside of this system of samsara is ''nibbana
Nirvana (Sanskrit: निर्वाण, '; Pali: ') is "blowing out" or "quenching" of the activities of the worldly mind and its related suffering. Nirvana is the goal of the Hinayana and Theravada Buddhist paths, and marks the soteriologica ...
'' (lit. "vanishing, quenching, blowing out"), a deathless (''amata'') and transcendent reality, which is a total and final release (''vimutti
''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriologica ...
'') from all suffering (''dukkha'') and rebirth.
Soteriology and Buddhology
According to Theravāda doctrine, release from suffering (i.e. ''nibbana'') is attained in four stages
Ye Tianshi (1667–1747) was a Chinese medical scholar who was the major proponent of the "school of warm diseases". His major work, ''Wen-re Lun'' (Discussion of Warm Diseases) published in 1746, divided the manifestations of diseases into four s ...
of awakening (''bodhi
The English term enlightenment is the Western translation of various Buddhist terms, most notably bodhi and vimutti. The abstract noun ''bodhi'' (; Sanskrit: बोधि; Pali: ''bodhi''), means the knowledge or wisdom, or awakened intellect ...
''):
# '' Stream-Enterers'': Those who have destroyed the first three fetters
Legcuffs are physical restraints used on the ankles of a person to allow walking only with a restricted stride and to prevent running and effective physical resistance. Frequently used alternative terms are leg cuffs, (leg/ankle) shackles, foot ...
(the false view of self, doubt/indecision, and clinging to ethics and vows);
Thanissaro Bhikkhu, ''Into the Stream A Study Guide on the First Stage of Awakening''
# '' Once-Returners'': Those who have destroyed the first three fetters and have weakened the fetters of desire and ill-will;
# '' Non-Returners'': Those who have destroyed the five lower fetters, which bind beings to the world of the senses;
# ''Arahants
In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...
'' (lit. "honorable" or "worthies"): Those who have realized ''Nibbana
Nirvana (Sanskrit: निर्वाण, '; Pali: ') is "blowing out" or "quenching" of the activities of the worldly mind and its related suffering. Nirvana is the goal of the Hinayana and Theravada Buddhist paths, and marks the soteriologica ...
'' and are free from all defilements. They have abandoned all ignorance, craving for existence, restlessness (''uddhacca
Auddhatya (Sanskrit; Pali: ''uddhacca''; Tibetan phonetic: ''göpa '') is a Buddhist term that is translated as "excitement", "restlessness", etc. In the Theravada tradition, ''uddhacca'' is defined as a mental factor that is characterized by disq ...
'') and subtle pride (''māna
Māna (Sanskrit, Pali; Tibetan: ''nga rgyal'') is a Buddhist term that may be translated as "pride", "arrogance", or "conceit". It is defined as an inflated mind that makes whatever is suitable, such as wealth or learning, to be the foundation of ...
'').
In Theravāda Buddhism, a Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
is a sentient being who has discovered the path out of samsara by themselves, has reached Nibbana and then makes the path available to others by teaching (known as "turning the wheel of the Dhamma"). A Buddha is also believed to have extraordinary powers and abilities ( ''abhiññā''), such as the ability to read minds and fly through the air.
The Theravāda canon depicts Gautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
as being the most recent Buddha in a line of previous Buddhas stretching back for aeons. They also mention the future Buddha, named Metteya. Traditionally, the Theravāda school also rejects the idea that there can be numerous Buddhas active in the world at the same time.
Regarding the question of how a sentient being becomes a Buddha, the Theravāda school also includes a presentation of this path. Indeed, according to Buddhaghosa
Buddhaghosa was a 5th-century Indian Theravada Buddhist commentator, translator and philosopher. He worked in the Great Monastery (''Mahāvihāra'') at Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka and saw himself as being part of the Vibhajjavāda school and in t ...
, there are three main soteriological paths: the path of the Buddhas (''buddhayāna''); the way of the individual Buddhas (''paccekabuddhayāna''); and the way of the disciples (''sāvakayāna'').
However, unlike in Mahayana Buddhism, the Theravāda holds that the Buddha path is not for everyone and that beings on the Buddha path ( ''bodhisattas'') are quite rare. While in Mahayana, bodhisattas refers to beings who have developed the wish to become Buddhas, Theravāda (like other early Buddhist schools), defines a bodhisatta as someone who has made a resolution (''abhinīhāra'') to become a Buddha in front of a living Buddha, and has also received a confirmation from that Buddha that they will reach Buddhahood.[Drewes, David, ]
Mahāyāna Sūtras and Opening of the Bodhisattva Path
'', Paper presented at the XVIII the IABS Congress, Toronto 2017, Updated 2019. Dhammapala's ''Cariyāpiṭaka
The Cariyapitaka (; where ''cariya'' is Pali for "conduct" or "proper conduct" and ''pitaka'' is usually translated as "basket"; abbrev. Cp) is a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. It is included there in the Sut ...
'' is a Theravāda text which focuses on the path of the Buddhas, while the ''Nidānakathā'' and the ''Buddhavaṃsa
The ''Buddhavaṃsa'' (also known as the ''Chronicle of Buddhas'') is a hagiographical Buddhist text which describes the life of Gautama Buddha and of the twenty-four Buddhas who preceded him and prophesied his attainment of Buddhahood. It is ...
'' are also Theravāda texts which discuss the Buddha path.
Main doctrinal differences with other Buddhist traditions
The orthodox standpoints of Theravāda in comparison to other Buddhist schools
The schools of Buddhism are the various institutional and doctrinal divisions of Buddhism that have existed from ancient times up to the present. The classification and nature of various doctrinal, philosophical or cultural facets of the schools ...
are presented in the ''Kathāvatthu
Kathāvatthu (Pāli) (abbreviated Kv, Kvu; ) is a Buddhist scripture, one of the seven books in the Theravada Abhidhamma Pitaka. The text contrasts the orthodox Theravada position on a range of issues to the heterodox views of various interlocuto ...
'' ("Points of Controversy"), as well as in other works by later commentators like Buddhaghosa.
Traditionally, the Theravāda maintains the following key doctrinal positions, though not all Theravādins agree with the traditional point of view:
*On the philosophy of time
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
, the Theravāda tradition follows philosophical presentism
Philosophical presentism is the view that only present entities exist (or, equivalently, that everything is present). According to presentism, then, there are no wholly past or merely future entities whatsoever. In a sense, the past and the futur ...
, the view that only present moment phenomena (dhamma) exist, against the eternalist view of the Sarvāstivādin tradition, which held that dhammas exist in all three times – past, present, future.
*The arahant is never a layperson, for they have abandoned the fetters of a layperson, including married life, using money, etc.
*The power (''bala'') of a Buddha is unique and not common to the disciples (''savaka'') or arahants.
*Theravāda Abhidhamma holds that a single thought (''citta'') cannot last as long as a day.
*Theravāda Abhidhamma holds that insight into the four noble truths happens in one moment (''khaṇa''), rather than gradually (''anupubba''), as was held by Sarvastivada. The defilements (''kilesa
Kleshas ( sa, क्लेश, kleśa; pi, किलेस ''kilesa''; bo, ཉོན་མོངས། ''nyon mongs''), in Buddhism, are mental states that cloud the mind and manifest in unwholesome actions. ''Kleshas'' include states of mind su ...
'') are also abandoned in a single moment, not gradually.
*Theravāda Abhidhamma traditionally rejects the view that there is an intermediate or transitional state ( ''antarabhāva'') between rebirths, they hold that rebirth happens instantaneously (in one mind moment). However, as has been noted by various modern scholars like Bhikkhu Sujato
Bhante Sujato, known as Ajahn Sujato or Bhikkhu Sujato (born Anthony Best), is an Australian Theravada Buddhist monk ordained into the Thai forest lineage of Ajahn Chah.
Life
Bhante Sujato identifies as an anarchist. A former musician with t ...
, there are canonical passages which support the idea of an intermediate state (such as the ''Kutuhalasāla Sutta'').[Bhikkhu Sujato (2008). ]
Rebirth and the in-between state in early Buddhism.
'' Some Theravāda scholars (such as Balangoda Ananda Maitreya
Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero ( si, අග්ග මහා පණ්ඩිත බලංගොඩ ආනන්ද මෛත්රෙය මහා නා හිමි;23 August 1896 – 18 July 1998; was a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk who was on ...
) have defended the idea of an intermediate state and it is also a very common belief among some monks and laypersons in the Theravāda world (where it is commonly referred to as the '' gandhabba'' or ''antarabhāva'').
*Theravāda also does not accept the Mahayana notion that there are two forms of nibbana, an inferior "localized" or "abiding" (''pratiṣṭhita'') nirvana and a non-abiding (''apratiṣṭhita'') nirvana. Such a dual nirvana theory is absent in the suttas. According to the ''Kathāvatthu'', there can be no divining line separating the unconditioned element and there is no superiority or inferiority in the unity of nibbana.
*Theravāda exegetical works consider nibbana to be a real existent, instead of just a conceptual or nominal existent ('' prajñapti'') referring to the mere destruction (''khayamatta'') of the defilements or non-existence of the five aggregates, as was held by some in the Sautrantika school for example. In Theravāda scholasticism, nibbana is defined as the cessation (''nirodha'') consisting in non-arising and exists separately from the mere destruction of passion, hatred and delusion.
*Theravāda exegetical works, mental phenomena last for a very short moment or instant (''khaṇa''), but physical phenomena do not.
*Theravāda holds that the Buddha resided in the human realm (''manussa-loka''). It rejects the docetic view found in Mahayana, which says that the Buddha's physical body was a mere manifestation, emanation or magical creation (''nirmāṇa'') of a transcendental being, and thus, that his birth and death a mere show and unreal. Also, the Theravāda school rejects the view that there are currently numerous Buddhas in all directions.
*Theravāda holds that there is a ground level of consciousness called the bhavaṅga, which conditions the rebirth consciousness.
*Theravāda rejects the Pudgalavada
The Pudgalavāda (Sanskrit; English: "Personalism"; Pali: Puggalavāda; ) was a Buddhist philosophical view and also refers to a group of Nikaya Buddhist schools (mainly known as Vātsīputrīyas) that arose from the Sthavira nikāya.Williams, P ...
doctrine of the ''pudgala'' ("person" or "personal entity") as being more than a conceptual designation imputed on the five aggregates.
*Theravāda rejects the view of the Lokottaravada schools which held that the all acts done by the Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
(including all speech, defecation and urination, etc.) were supramundane or transcendental (''lokuttara''). Also, for Theravāda, a Buddha does not have the power to stop something that has arisen from ceasing, they cannot stop a being from getting old, sick or dying, and they cannot create a permanent thing (like a flower that doesn't die).
*Theravāda traditionally defends the idea that the Buddha himself taught the ''Abhidhamma Pitaka''. This is now being questioned by some modern Theravādins in light of modern Buddhist studies scholarship.
*Theravāda, nibbana
Nirvana (Sanskrit: निर्वाण, '; Pali: ') is "blowing out" or "quenching" of the activities of the worldly mind and its related suffering. Nirvana is the goal of the Hinayana and Theravada Buddhist paths, and marks the soteriologica ...
is the only unconstructed phenomenon (''asankhata-dhamma, asankhatadhatu).'' Unlike in the Sarvāstivāda
The ''Sarvāstivāda'' (Sanskrit and Pali: 𑀲𑀩𑁆𑀩𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀺𑀯𑀸𑀤, ) was one of the early Buddhist schools established around the reign of Ashoka (3rd century BCE).Westerhoff, The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy ...
school, space
Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...
('' akasa''), is seen as a constructed dhamma in Theravāda. Even the four noble truths are not unconstructed phenomena, neither is the domain of cessation (''nirodhasamapatti''). "Thatness" ('' tathatā'') is also a constructed phenomenon. According to the '' Dhammasangani'', nibbana, the unconstructed element, is 'without condition' (''appaccaya'') and is different from the five aggregates which are 'with condition' (''sappaccaya'').
*In Theravāda, the bodhisatta path is suitable only for a few exceptional people (like Sakyamuni and Metteya). Theravāda also defines a bodhisatta as someone who has made a vow in front of a living Buddha.
*In Theravāda, there is a physical sensory organ (''indriya'') that conditions the mental consciousness (''manovinñāna'') and is the material support for consciousness. Some later Theravāda works like the ''Visuddhimagga'' locate this physical basis for consciousness at the heart
The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...
(''hadaya-vatthu''), the Pali Canon itself is silent on this issue.[Suwanda H. J. Sugunasiri. ''The Whole Body, Not Heart, as 'Seat of Consciousness': The Buddha's View.'' Vol. 45, No. 3 (Jul. 1995), pp. 409-430.][Jayasuriya, W. F. (1963) ''The Psychology and Philosophy of Buddhism.'' (Colombo, YMBA Press), Appendix A, pp. 288-292.] Some modern Theravāda scholars propose alternative notions. For example, Suwanda H. J. Sugunasiri proposes that the basis for consciousness is the entire physical organism, which he ties with the canonical concept of ''jīvitindriya
Jīvitindriya (Sanskrit and Pali) is a Buddhist term translated as "life faculty" or "vitality". ''Jīvitindriya'' is identified as one of the seven universal mental factors within the Theravada abhidharma teachings. In this context, ''jīvitindri ...
'' or life faculty. W. F. Jayasuriya meanwhile, argues that "''hadaya''" is not meant literally (it can also mean "essence", "core"), but refers to the entire nervous system
In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The nervous system detects environmental changes th ...
(including the brain), which is dependent on the heart and blood.
*Theravādins generally reject the Mahayana sutras
The Mahāyāna sūtras are a broad genre of Buddhist scriptures (''sūtra'') that are accepted as canonical and as ''buddhavacana'' ("Buddha word") in Mahāyāna Buddhism. They are largely preserved in the Chinese Buddhist canon, the Tibetan B ...
as ''Buddhavacana
Buddhist texts are those religious texts which belong to the Buddhist tradition. The earliest Buddhist texts were not committed to writing until some centuries after the death of Gautama Buddha. The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts a ...
'' (word of the Buddha), and do not study or see these texts (or Mahayana doctrines) as reliable sources. They reject the view that the ''Tipitaka'' is incomplete or inferior (i.e. "Hinayana
Hīnayāna (, ) is a Sanskrit term literally meaning the "small/deficient vehicle". Classical Chinese and Tibetan teachers translate it as "smaller vehicle". The term is applied collectively to the ''Śrāvakayāna'' and ''Pratyekabuddhayāna'' pa ...
") and that Mahayana texts are somehow more advanced.[Karen Pechilis, Selva J. Raj (2013). ''South Asian Religions: Tradition and Today'', p. 115. Routledge.]
*Theravādins traditionally believe that an awakened arahant
In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...
has an "incorruptible nature" and are thus morally perfect. They have no ignorance or doubts. According to Theravāda doctrine, arahants (as well as the other three lesser ariyas: stream enterers etc.) cannot fall back or regress from their state.
Modern developments
The modern era saw new developments in Theravāda scholarship due to the influence of Western thought. As Donald K. Swearer writes: Although monastic education is still grounded in the study of Buddhist texts, doctrine, and the Pali language, the curricula of monastic colleges and universities also reflect subject matter and disciplines associated with Western education.[Swearer, Donald K. The Buddhist World of Southeast Asia: Second Edition, p. 164.]
Buddhist modernist trends can be traced to figures like Anagarika Dhammapala
Anagārika Dharmapāla (Pali: ''Anagārika'', ; Sinhala: Anagārika, lit., si, අනගාරික ධර්මපාල; 17 September 1864 – 29 April 1933) was a Sri Lankan Buddhist revivalist and a writer.
Anagarika Dharmapāla is not ...
, King Mongkut
Mongkut ( th, มงกุฏ; 18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth monarch of Siam (Thailand) under the House of Chakri, titled Rama IV. He ruled from 1851 to 1868. His full title in Thai was ''Phra Bat Somdet Phra Menthora Ramathibod ...
, and the first prime minister of Burma U Nu
Nu ( my, ဦးနု; ; 25 May 1907 – 14 February 1995), commonly known as U Nu also known by the honorific name Thakin Nu, was a leading Burmese statesman and nationalist politician. He was the first Prime Minister of Burma under the pr ...
. They promoted a form of Buddhism that was compatible with rationalism
In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosophy' ...
and science, and opposed to superstition and certain folk practices. Walpola Rahula
Walpola Rahula Thero (1907–1997) was a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk, scholar and writer. In 1964, he became the Professor of History and Religions at Northwestern University, thus becoming the first bhikkhu to hold a professorial chair in the Weste ...
's, ''What the Buddha Taught
''What the Buddha Taught'', by Theravadin Walpola Rahula, is a widely used introductory book on Buddhism. Using quotes from the sutras, Rahula gives his personal interpretation of what he regards to be Buddhism's essential teachings, including the ...
'' is seen by scholars as an introduction to modernist Buddhist thought and the book continues to be widely used in universities.
Another modern phenomenon is Buddhist philosophers who received an education in the West, such as K. N. Jayatilleke
Kulatissa Nanda Jayatilleke (1 November 1920 – 23 July 1970) was an internationally recognised authority on Buddhist philosophy whose book ''Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge'' has been described as "an outstanding philosophical interpretatio ...
(a student of Wittgenstein
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrians, Austrian-British people, British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy o ...
at Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
) and Hammalawa Saddhatissa
Hammalawa Saddhatissa Maha Thera (1914–1990) was an ordained Buddhist monk, missionary and author from Sri Lanka, educated in Varanasi, London, and Edinburgh. He was a contemporary of Walpola Rahula, also of Sri Lanka.
Early life
Saddhati ...
(who received his Phd at Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
), going on to write modern works on Buddhist philosophy
Buddhist philosophy refers to the philosophical investigations and systems of inquiry that developed among various schools of Buddhism in India following the parinirvana of The Buddha and later spread throughout Asia. The Buddhist path combi ...
(''Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge'', 1963 and ''Buddhist Ethics'', 1987 respectively). Henepola Gunaratana
Bhante Henepola Gunaratana is a Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhist monk. He is affectionately known as Bhante G. Bhante Gunaratana is currently the abbot of the Bhavana Society, a monastery and meditation retreat center that he founded in High Vie ...
is another modern Theravāda scholar who studied philosophy in the west (at the American University
The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...
). The modern encounter with Christian missionaries also led to new debates (such as the Panadura debate) and doctrinal works written in defense of Buddhism or attacking Christian ideas, such as Gunapala Dharmasiri's ''A Buddhist critique of the Christian concept of God'' (1988).
There have also been several modern Theravāda scholars which have taken a historical critical perspective on Theravāda literature and doctrine, attempting to understand its historical development. Some of these figures, such as David Kalupahana
David J. Kalupahana (1936–2014) was a Buddhist scholar from Sri Lanka. He was a student of the late K.N. Jayatilleke, who was a student of Wittgenstein. He wrote mainly about epistemology, theory of language, and compared later Buddhist philoso ...
, Buddhadasa
Phra Dharmakosācārya (Nguam Indapañño) ( th, พระธรรมโกศาจารย์ (เงื่อม อินฺทปญฺโญ); ), also known as Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu ( th, พุทธทาสภิกขุ; , 27 May 1906 ...
, and Bhikkhu Sujato
Bhante Sujato, known as Ajahn Sujato or Bhikkhu Sujato (born Anthony Best), is an Australian Theravada Buddhist monk ordained into the Thai forest lineage of Ajahn Chah.
Life
Bhante Sujato identifies as an anarchist. A former musician with t ...
, have criticized traditional Theravāda commentators like Buddhaghosa for their doctrinal innovations which differ in significant ways from the early Buddhist texts.
The modern era also saw new Buddhist works on topics which pre-modern Buddhists avoided, such as socially engaged Buddhism
Engaged Buddhism, also known as socially engaged Buddhism, refers to a Buddhist social movement that emerged in Asia in the 20th century, composed of Buddhists who are seeking ways to apply the Buddhist ethics, insights acquired from meditation ...
and Buddhist economics
Buddhist economics is a spiritual and philosophical approach to the study of economics. It examines the psychology of the human mind and the emotions that direct economic activity, in particular concepts such as anxiety, aspirations and self-ac ...
. Thinkers such as Buddhadasa, Sulak Sivaraksa, Prayudh Payutto, Neville Karunatilake H. Neville Sepala Karunatilake (1930 – 24 January 2010) was a Sri Lankan economist and civil servant. He was the former Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
Born to Ariyaratna Karunatileke and Neeta Freeda Karunatileke, his father was a lan ...
and Padmasiri de Silva have written on these topics. Modern scholarship in western languages by western Buddhist monks such as Nyanatiloka
Ven. Nyanatiloka Mahathera (19 February 1878, Wiesbaden, Germany – 28 May 1957, Colombo, Ceylon), born as Anton Walther Florus Gueth, was one of the earliest Westerners in modern times to become a Bhikkhu, a fully ordained Buddhist monk.
E ...
, Nyanaponika
Nyanaponika Thera or Nyanaponika Mahathera (July 21, 1901 – 19 October 1994) was a German-born Theravada Buddhist monk and scholar who, after ordaining in Sri Lanka, later became the co-founder of the Buddhist Publication Society and auth ...
, Nyanamoli, Bhikkhu Bodhi
Bhikkhu Bodhi (born December 10, 1944), born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk, ordained in Sri Lanka and currently teaching in the New York and New Jersey area. He was appointed the second president of the Buddhist Publica ...
and Analayo
Bhikkhu Anālayo is a bhikkhu (Buddhist monk), scholar, and meditation teacher. He was born in Germany in 1962, and went forth in 1995 in Sri Lanka. He is best known for his comparative studies of Early Buddhist Texts as preserved by the variou ...
is another recent development in the Theravāda world.
Practice (''paṭipatti'')
Textual basis
In the Pāli Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school.
During th ...
, the path (''magga'') or way (''patipada'') of Buddhist practice is described in various ways, one of the most widely used frameworks in Theravāda is the Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path (Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana.
The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices: ri ...
:
The Noble Eightfold Path can also be summarized as the Three Noble Disciplines of sīla
Buddhist ethics are traditionally based on what Buddhists view as the enlightened perspective of the Buddha. The term for ethics or morality used in Buddhism is ''Śīla'' or ''sīla'' (Pāli). ''Śīla'' in Buddhism is one of three sections of ...
(moral conduct or discipline), Samādhi
''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditation, meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ash ...
(meditation or concentration) and Paññā (understanding or wisdom).
Theravāda orthodoxy takes the seven stages of purification as outlined in the ''Visuddhimagga
The ''Visuddhimagga'' (Pali; English: ''The Path of Purification''), is the 'great treatise' on Buddhist practice and Theravāda Abhidhamma written by Buddhaghosa approximately in the 5th century in Sri Lanka. It is a manual condensing and syst ...
'' as the basic outline of the path to be followed. The ''Visuddhimagga
The ''Visuddhimagga'' (Pali; English: ''The Path of Purification''), is the 'great treatise' on Buddhist practice and Theravāda Abhidhamma written by Buddhaghosa approximately in the 5th century in Sri Lanka. It is a manual condensing and syst ...
'', a Sinhala Theravāda doctrinal '' summa'' written in the fifth century by Buddhaghosa
Buddhaghosa was a 5th-century Indian Theravada Buddhist commentator, translator and philosopher. He worked in the Great Monastery (''Mahāvihāra'') at Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka and saw himself as being part of the Vibhajjavāda school and in t ...
, became the orthodox account of the Theravāda path to liberation in Sri Lanka after the 12th century and this influence spread to other Theravāda nations. It gives the sequence of seven purifications, in three sections:
*The first section (part 1) explains the rules of discipline, and the method for finding a correct temple to practice, or how to meet a good teacher.
*The second section (part 2) describes Samatha
''Samatha'' (Pāli; sa, शमथ ''śamatha''; ), "calm," "serenity," "tranquillity of awareness," and ''vipassanā'' (Pāli; Sanskrit ''vipaśyanā''), literally "special, super (''vi-''), seeing (''-passanā'')", are two qualities of the ...
(calming) practice, object by object (see Kammaṭṭhāna
In Buddhism, ' is a Pali word (Sanskrit: ''karmasthana'') which literally means ''place of work''. Its original meaning was someone's occupation (farming, trading, cattle-tending, etc.) but this meaning has developed into several distinct but r ...
for the list of the forty traditional objects). It mentions different stages of Samādhi
''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditation, meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ash ...
.
*The third section (parts 3–7) is a description of the five khandhas, ayatanas, the Four Noble Truths
In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: ; pi, cattāri ariyasaccāni; "The four Arya satyas") are "the truths of the Noble Ones", the truths or realities for the "spiritually worthy ones"., Pratītyasamutpāda">dependent origination
A dependant is a person who relies on another as a primary source of income. A common-law spouse who is financially supported by their partner may also be included in this definition. In some jurisdictions, supporting a dependant may enabl ...
, and the practise of Vipassanā
''Samatha'' (Pāli; sa, शमथ ''śamatha''; ), "calm," "serenity," "tranquillity of awareness," and ''vipassanā'' (Pāli; Sanskrit ''vipaśyanā''), literally "special, super (''vi-''), seeing (''-passanā'')", are two qualities of the ...
(insight) through the development of wisdom. It emphasizes Vipassanā-ñāṇa, different forms of knowledge emerging because of the practice. This part shows a great analytical effort specific to Buddhist philosophy
Buddhist philosophy refers to the philosophical investigations and systems of inquiry that developed among various schools of Buddhism in India following the parinirvana of The Buddha and later spread throughout Asia. The Buddhist path combi ...
.
This basic outline is based on the threefold discipline. The emphasis is on understanding the three marks of existence
In Buddhism, the three marks of existence are three characteristics (Pali: tilakkhaṇa; Sanskrit: त्रिलक्षण trilakṣaṇa) of all existence and beings, namely ''Impermanence#Buddhism, aniccā'' (impermanence), ''Duḥkha, dukkh ...
, which removes ignorance
Ignorance is a lack of knowledge and understanding. The word "ignorant" is an adjective that describes a person in the state of being unaware, or even cognitive dissonance and other cognitive relation, and can describe individuals who are unaware o ...
. Understanding destroys the ten fetters
Legcuffs are physical restraints used on the ankles of a person to allow walking only with a restricted stride and to prevent running and effective physical resistance. Frequently used alternative terms are leg cuffs, (leg/ankle) shackles, foot ...
and leads to Nibbana
Nirvana (Sanskrit: निर्वाण, '; Pali: ') is "blowing out" or "quenching" of the activities of the worldly mind and its related suffering. Nirvana is the goal of the Hinayana and Theravada Buddhist paths, and marks the soteriologica ...
.
Theravādins believe that every individual is personally responsible for achieving his or her own self-awakening and liberation, each being responsible for his or her own kamma
Kamma may refer to:
*Kamma (caste), a caste or social group found largely in Southern India
*Kamma, India, village in Punjab, India
*The Pali and Ardhamagadhi term for karma
*Bava Kamma, a traditional Jewish civil law procedure (1st volume of Nezi ...
(actions and consequences). Applying knowledge acquired through direct experience and personal realization is more heavily emphasized than beliefs about the nature of reality as revealed by the Buddha.
Moral conduct
Giving (Dana) is an important Buddhist virtue. The community of monastics is seen as the most meritorious field of karmic fruitfulness.
Sīla
Buddhist ethics are traditionally based on what Buddhists view as the enlightened perspective of the Buddha. The term for ethics or morality used in Buddhism is ''Śīla'' or ''sīla'' (Pāli). ''Śīla'' in Buddhism is one of three sections of ...
, meaning moral conduct, is mainly defined as right speech
The Noble Eightfold Path (Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana.
The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices: ri ...
, right action, and right livelihood
The Noble Eightfold Path (Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana.
The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices: ri ...
. It is primarily understood through the doctrine of kamma
Kamma may refer to:
*Kamma (caste), a caste or social group found largely in Southern India
*Kamma, India, village in Punjab, India
*The Pali and Ardhamagadhi term for karma
*Bava Kamma, a traditional Jewish civil law procedure (1st volume of Nezi ...
. In Theravāda, one's previous intentional actions strongly influence one's present experience. Whatever intended actions are carried out will have future consequences, whether in this life or subsequent lives. Intention is central to the idea of kamma. Actions done with good intentions, even if they have bad results, will not have negative kammic consequences.
Several sets of precepts or moral trainings (''sikkhāpada'') guide right action. After taking Refuge in the Triple Gems, lay Theravādin Buddhists traditionally take the Five precepts
The Five precepts ( sa, pañcaśīla, italic=yes; pi, pañcasīla, italic=yes) or five rules of training ( sa, pañcaśikṣapada, italic=yes; pi, pañcasikkhapada, italic=yes) is the most important system of morality for Buddhist lay peo ...
(whether for life or for a limited time) in the presence of Sangha. Laypeople also sometimes take an extended set of Eight precepts, which includes chastity during sacred days of observance such as Uposatha
The Uposatha ( sa, Upavasatha) is a Buddhist day of observance, in existence from the Buddha's time (600 BCE), and still being kept today by Buddhist practitioners. The Buddha taught that the Uposatha day is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind ...
.
Performing good deeds is another important feature of Theravādin Buddhist ethics. Doing so is said to make "merit" ( puñña), which results in a better rebirth. The "ten wholesome actions" is a common list of good deeds:
# Generosity (Dāna); This typically involves providing monks with "the four requisites"; food, clothing, shelter, and medicine; however, giving to charity and the needy is also considered dāna.
# Moral conduct (Sīla); Keeping the five precepts and generally refraining from doing harm.
# Meditation (Bhāvanā).
# Dedication of merit; doing good deeds in the name of someone who has passed away or in the name of all sentient beings.
# Rejoicing in merit of good deeds done by others, this is common in communal activities.
# Rendering service to others; looking after others or needy.
# Honoring others; showing appropriate deference, particularly to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, and to seniors and parents. Usually done by placing the hands together in Añjali Mudrā
Añjali Mudrā ( sa, अञ्जलि मुद्रा), is a hand gesture mainly associated with Indian religions and arts, encountered throughout Asia and beyond. It is a part of Indian classical dance postures such as Bharatanatyam, yoga p ...
, and sometimes bowing.
# Preaching or sharing the Dhamma; the gift of Dhamma is seen as a form of highest gift. (Dhammapada 354)
# Listening to Dhamma
# Having right view or Sammādiṭṭhi; mainly the Four Noble Truths
In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: ; pi, cattāri ariyasaccāni; "The four Arya satyas") are "the truths of the Noble Ones", the truths or realities for the "spiritually worthy ones". three_marks_of_existence_
In_Buddhism,_the_three_marks_of_existence_are_three_characteristics_(Pali:_tilakkhaṇa;_Sanskrit:_त्रिलक्षण_trilakṣaṇa)_of_all_existence_and_beings,_namely_''Impermanence#Buddhism,_aniccā''_(impermanence),_''Duḥkha,_dukkh_...
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_Meditation
Meditation_(Pāli:_''Bhāvanā,''_literally_"causing_to_become"_or_cultivation)_means_the_positive_cultivation_of_one's_mind.
_Forms
Theravāda_Buddhist_meditation_practice_varies_considerably_in_technique_and_objects._Currently,_there_are_also_various_traditions_of_Theravāda_meditation_practice,_such_as_the_Vipassana_movement.html" ;"title="Four Noble Truths: BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY Encycl ...
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Meditation (Pāli: ''Bhāvanā,'' literally "causing to become" or cultivation) means the positive cultivation of one's mind.
Theravāda Buddhist meditation practice varies considerably in technique and objects. Currently, there are also various traditions of Theravāda meditation practice, such as the