Theravada

The Theravāda school is ultimately derived from the Vibhajjavāda grouping[2] which emerged amongst the older Sthavira group at the time of the Third Buddhist Council (circa 250 BCE), during the reign of Emperor Asoka in India. After the Third Council, the Vibhajjavādins gradually evolve into four groups: the Mahīśāsaka, Kāśyapīya, Dharmaguptaka and the Tāmraparnīya. Theravada is descended from the Tāmraparnīya, which means 'the Sri Lankan lineage'. On the other hand, some sources claimed that Mahīśāsaka, Kāśyapīya and Dharmaguptaka did not evolve directly from Vibhajjavādins.

The name of Tamraparniya was given to the Sri Lankan lineage in India, and there is no indication that this referred to any change in doctrine or scripture, since the name points only to geographical location. The Theravadin accounts of its origins mention that it received the teachings that were agreed upon during the Third Buddhist Council, and these teachings were known as the Vibhajjavada.

Vibhajjavadins see themselves as the continuation of orthodox Sthaviras and after the Third Council continued to refer to their school as the Sthaviras/Theras ('The Elders'), although their doctrines is probably similar with the older Sthaviras but it is likely not identical. In the 7th century, Chinese pilgrims Xuanzang and Yi Jing refer to the Buddhist school in Sri Lanka as ‘Sthaviravada’. As the usage of Pali re-emerge to prominence, around the 11th century the Pali name ‘Theravada’ is used instead of their Sanskrit name.

[edit] History of the Tradition

According to Sinhalese tradition, Buddhism was first brought to Sri Lanka in 246 BCE by Mahinda, who is believed to have been the son of the Mauryan emperor Asoka, as a part of the missionary activities of the Asokan era. In Sri Lanka, Mahinda established the Mahavihara Monastery of Anuradhapura. Later it became divided into three subgroups, known after their monastic centers as the Mahavihara, the Abhayagirivihara, and the Jetavanavihara. In 1164, with the guidance of two monks from a forest branch of the Mahavihara, Sri Lanka King reunited all bhikkhus in Sri Lanka into the Mahavihara school.

A few years after the arrival of Mahinda, Sanghamitta, who is also believed to be the daughter of Emperor Asoka, came to Sri Lanka. She started the first nun order in Sri Lanka, but the nun order died out around the middle of first millennium CE. In 429 CE, on the request of China Han Dynasty emperor the nun from Anuradhapura was sent to China to establish the Nun Order. The order was then spread to Korea. In 1996, 11 selected Sri Lanka nuns were ordained fully as Bhikkhunis by a team of Theravada monks in concert with a team of Korean Nuns in India.

During the Asoka reign period, a missionary was also sent to Suvannabhumi where two monks Sona and Uttara, are said to have proceeded. Scholar opinions differ as to where exactly this land of Suvannabhumi is located, but Suvannabhumi is believed to be located somewhere in the area which now includes lower Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Malay peninsula.

The Mon were one of the earliest people to inhabit lower Myanmar and are believed to have been Theravadin since 3rd century BCE. Archaeological findings have shown that the Mon had close contact with South India and Sri Lanka. The Burmese adopted the Mon religion and writing script (which is Pali) when they conquered Thaton the Mon Kingdom in 1057. According to the local traditions, this was the area of Suvarnabhumi that was visited by missionaries from the Asokan court. The Mon were also one of the earliest people to inhabit Thailand. The Thai adopted the Mon religion when they conquered Haripunjaya, the Mon Kingdom in 1292.
Buddhists at the Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, near Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Buddhists at the Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, near Chiang Mai, Thailand.

[edit] Philosophy

Theravada promotes the concept of Vibhajjavada (Pali), literally "Teaching of Analysis." This doctrine says that insight must come from the aspirant's experience, critical investigation, and reasoning instead of by blind faith; however, the scriptures of the Theravadin tradition also emphasize heeding the advice of the wise, considering such advice and evaluation of one's own experiences to be the two tests by which practices should be judged.[3]

The Theravadin goal is liberation (or freedom) from suffering, according to the Four Noble Truths. This is attained in the achievement of Nibbana, or Unbinding,[4] which also ends the repeated cycle of birth, old age, sickness and death. Theravada teaches that Nibbana is most quickly attained as an enlightened noble disciple of Buddha: an Arhat (lit. "worthy one", "winner of Nibbana").

In the Theravadin view, the Nibbana attained by Arahats is the same as that attained by the Buddha himself. The difference was that the Buddha was superior to Arahats because the Buddha had discovered the path and was able to teach the path he had discovered to others which required omniscience and supreme compassion. Theravadins revere the Buddha as a single supremely gifted yet mortal teacher.

In Theravadin belief, someone who practices with earnestness and zeal can achieve Enlightenment (Nibbana) within a single lifetime, as did many of the first few generations of Lord Buddha disciples.

[edit] Scriptures

The Theravada school upholds the Pali Canon or Tipitaka as the most authoritative collection of texts on the teachings of Gautama Buddha. The Tipitaka is the oldest historical collection of texts on Buddhism, having its roots in the First Buddhist Council of the 5th century BCE. The Sutta and Vinaya portion of the Tipitaka shows considerable overlap in content to the Agamas, the parallel collections used by non-Theravada schools in India which are preserved in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Chinese and Tibetan, and the various non-Theravada Vinayas. On this basis, both these sets of texts are generally believed to be the oldest and most authoritative texts on Buddhism by scholars. It is also believed that the Pali Canon, which is still used by Theravāda communities, was transmitted to Sri Lanka during the reign of Asoka. After being orally transmitted (as was the custom in those days for religious texts) for about 4 centuries, it was written down in about 30 BCE, in Sri Lanka.

The Pali Tipitaka consists of three parts: the Vinaya Pitaka, Sutta Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka. Of these, the Abhidhamma Pitaka is believed to be a later addition to the first two pitakas, which, in the opinion of many scholars, were the only two pitakas at the time of the First Buddhist Council. The Pali Abhidhamma was not recognized outside the Theravada school.

In the 4th or 5th century CE Buddhaghosa Thera wrote the first Pali commentaries to much of the Tipitaka (which were based on much older manuscripts), and after him many other monks wrote various commentaries, which have become part of the Theravada heritage. These texts, however, do not enjoy the same authority as the Tipitaka does. The Tipitaka is composed of 45 volumes in the Thai edition, 40 in the Burmese and 58 in the Sinhalese, and a full set of the Tipitaka is usually kept in its own (medium-sized) cupboard.

The commentaries, together with the Abhidhamma, define the specific Theravada heritage. Related versions of the Sutta Pitaka and Vinaya Pitaka were common to all the early Buddhist schools, and therefore do not define only Theravada, but also the other early Buddhist schools, and the teaching of Gautama Buddha himself.

[edit] Praxis

[edit] Lay and Monastic Life
Young Burmese monk
Young Burmese monk

Traditionally, Theravada Buddhism has observed a distinction between the practices suitable for a lay person and the practices undertaken by ordained monks (and, in ancient times, nuns). While the possibility of significant attainment by laymen is not entirely disregarded by the Theravada, it occupies a position of significantly less prominence than in the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions. This distinction - as well as the distinction between those practices advocated by the Pali Canon, and the folk religious elements embraced by many monks - have motivated some scholars to consider Theravada Buddhism to be composed of multiple separate traditions, overlapping though still distinct. Most prominently, the anthropologist Melford Spiro in his work Buddhism and Society separated Burmese Theravada into three groups: apotropaic Buddhism (concerned with providing protection from evil spirits), kammatic Buddhism (concerned with making merit for a future birth), and Nibbanic Buddhism (concerned with attaining the liberation of nibbana, as described in the Tipitaka). These categories are not accepted by all scholars, and are usually considered non-exclusive by those who employ them.

The role of lay people has traditionally been primarily occupied with activities that are commonly termed 'merit making' (falling under Spiro's category of kammatic Buddhism). Merit making activities include offering food and other basic necessities to monks, making donations to temples and monasteries, burning incense or lighting candles before images of the Buddha, and chanting protective or merit-making verses from the Pali Canon. Some lay practitioners have always chosen to take a more active role in religious affairs, while still maintaining their lay status. Dedicated lay men and women sometimes act as trustees or custodians for their temples, taking part in the financial planning and management of the temple. Others may volunteer significant time in tending to the mundane needs of local monks (by cooking, cleaning, maintaining temple facilities, etc.). Lay activities have traditionally not extended to study of the Pali scriptures, nor the practice of meditation, though in the 20th Century these areas have become more accessible to the lay community, especially in Thailand.

A number of senior monastics in the Thai Forest Tradition, including Ajahn Buddhadasa, Luang Ta Maha Bua, Ajahn Pasanno, and Ajahn Jayasaro, have begun teaching meditation retreats outside of the monastery for lay disciples. Amongst westerners it is very common for the focus to be more to the actual practice and theory of Theravada Buddhism, and this attitude is spreading amongst Asians as well.

In the UK, Ajahn Chah a disciple of Ajahn Mun, set up a monastic lineage at Chithurst in West Sussex, "Cittivivieka", with his disciple Ajahn Sumedho, then "Amaravati" in Herts was founded which caters for lay retreats. Ajahn Sumedho extended this to Harnham in Northumberland as "Aruna Ratanagiri" - see www.ratanagiri.org under the present guidance of Ajahan Munindo, another disciple of Ajahn Chah.

Nibbana, the highest goal of Theravada Buddhism, is attained through study and the practice of morality, meditation and wisdom (sila, samadhi, panna). The goal of Nibbana (and its associated techniques) have traditionally been seen as the domain of the fully ordained monastic, whereas many of the same techniques can be used by laypeople to generate happiness in their lives, without focusing on Nibbana. Monastic roles in the Theravada can be broadly described as being split between the role of the (often urban) scholar monk and the (often rural or forest) meditation monk. Both types of monks serve their communities as religious teachers and officiants by presiding over religious ceremonies and providing instruction in basic Buddhist morality and teachings.

Scholar monks undertake the path of studying and preserving the Pali literature of the Theravada. They may devote little time to the practice of meditation, but may attain great respect and renown by becoming masters of a particular section of the Pali Canon or its commentaries. Masters of the Abhidhamma, called Abhidhammika, are particularly respected in the scholastic tradition.
Monk in meditation in Angkor, Cambodia
Monk in meditation in Angkor, Cambodia

Meditation monks, often called forest monks because of their association with certain wilderness-dwelling traditions, are considered to be specialists in meditation. While some forest monks may undertake significant study of the Pali Canon, in general meditation monks are expected to learn primarily from their meditation experiences and personal teachers, and may not know more of the Tipitaka than is necessary to participate in liturgical life and to provide a foundation for fundamental Buddhist teachings. More so than the scholastic tradition, the meditation tradition is associated with the attainment of certain supernatural powers described in both Pali sources and folk tradition. These powers include the attainment of Nibbana, mind-reading, supernatural power over material objects and their own material bodies, seeing and conversing with gods and beings living in hell, and remembering their past lives. These powers are called the abhinyanas.

[edit] Meditation

By meditating, a practitioner can gain valuable insight on himself/herself as well as understanding the concepts of Dhamma better. Meditation terms include:

* Jhana
* Anapana
* Vipassana
* Metta

[edit] Levels of Attainment

Main article: Four stages of enlightenment

Through practice, (Theravadin) practitioners can achieve four degrees of spiritual attainment, which reflect on the state of mind:

1. Stream-Enterers - Those who have destroyed the first three fetters (self-belief, doubt, and faith in the efficacy of rituals and observances), will be safe from falling into the states of misery (they will not be born as an animal, peta (hungry ghost), or hell being). At most they will have to be reborn only seven more times before attaining Nibbana.
2. Once-Returners - Those who have destroyed the three fetters (self-belief, doubt, and faith in the efficacy of rituals and observances), and the lessening of lust and hatred. They will attain Nibbana after being born once more in the world.
3. Non-Returners - Those who have destroyed the five lower fetters (that bind beings to the world of the senses). They will never again return to the human world and after they die, they will be born in the high heavenly worlds, there to attain Nibbana.
4. Arahants - Those who have reached Enlightenment, attained Nibbana, and have reached the quality of deathlessness, free from all the fermentations of defilement; whose ignorance, craving and attachments have ended.