Theravada Buddhism

Theravada Buddhist monks.

Theravada (Pāli: theravāda; Sanskrit: स्थविरवाद sthaviravāda; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching") is the world's oldest surviving Buddhist school, with an uninterrupted lineage of thought and practice extending over two thousand years. The most distinctive characteristic of Theravadin practice is the central importance of monastic life, such that ultimate religious attainment is often seen as exclusive domain of the bhikkhus (religious renunciants). The tradition's ideal, the arhat, is a relatively uncomplicated figure, as he/she simply represents a monk/nun who has successfully followed the historical Buddha's teachings, which is understood to allow them to break the chains of dependent arising (pratitya-samutpada) and escape from the cycle of samsara. The particularized nature of this soteriology has led some to criticize the school as a Lesser Vehicle to salvation (Hinayana), though such criticism ignores the school's unimpeachable historical pedigree.

For many centuries, Theravada Buddhism has been the predominant religion of Sri Lanka (about 70% of the population) and most of continental Southeast Asia (including Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand). It is also a significant minority religion in many other Asian countries, as it is commonly practiced in Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as by the Shan and Tai peoples in parts of southwest China, the Khmer Krom people in Vietnam, and the Baruas, Chakma, and Magh minorities in Bangladesh. Today, Theravada Buddhists number over 100 million worldwide, and in recent decades Theravada has begun to take root in Singapore, Australia, India, and (to a lesser extent) elsewhere in the West.

History

Origin of the school

Early Buddhism

Scriptures

Pali Canon Agamas Gandharan texts

Councils

1st Council 2nd Council 3rd Council 4th Council

Schools

First Sangha ├ Mahāsāṃghika └ Sthaviravāda     ├ Sarvāstivāda     └ Vibhajjavāda         ├ Theravāda         └ Dharma-              guptaka

The Theravāda school is ultimately derived from the Vibhajjavāda grouping which emerged amongst the older Sthavira group at the time of the Third Buddhist Council (circa 250 B.C.E.), 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'.

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 ‘Sthavira’. In ancient India, those schools that use Sanskrit as their religious language will refer to this school as the 'Sthaviras', but those that use Pali as their religious language will refer to this school as the 'Theras'. Sthaviras (Sanskrit) and Theras (Pali) both literally mean 'The Elders'. The school used the name Theravada for itself at least from the fourth century.

History of the tradition

Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar

According to Sinhalese tradition, Buddhism was first brought to Sri Lanka by Mahinda, who is believed to have been the son of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka, in the third century B.C.E., as a part of the missionary activities of the Ashokan 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 orthodox 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 C.E., 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. There is disagreement among Theravada vinaya authorities as to whether such ordinations are valid.

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 B.C.E. 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.

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.

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 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 Arahant (lit. "worthy one", "winner of Nibbana").

In the Theravadin view, the Nibbana attained by Arahants is the same as that attained by the Buddha himself. The difference was that the Buddha was superior to Arahants because the Buddha had discovered the path all by himself, and was able to teach others. Arahants, on the other hand, experience Nibbana due in part to the Buddha's teachings. Theravadins revere the Buddha as a single supremely gifted person but do recognize the existence of other such Buddhas in the distant past and future. Maitreya (Pali: Metteyya), for example, is mentioned very briefly in the Pali Canon as a Buddha who will come in the distant future.

In Theravadin belief, some people who practice with earnestness and zeal can achieve Enlightenment (Nibbana) within a single lifetime, as did many of the first few generations of Buddha's disciples. For others, the process may take multiple lifetimes, with the individual reaching higher and higher states of awareness.

Levels of attainment

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

1. Stream-Enterers (Sotapanna) - Those who have destroyed the first three fetters (false view of self, doubt, and clinging to rites and rituals), will be safe from falling into the states of misery (they will not be born as an animal, peta (ghost), or hell being). At most they will have to be reborn only seven more times before attaining Nibbana.
2. Once-Returners (Sakadagami) - Those who have destroyed the three fetters (false view of self, doubt, and clinging to rites and rituals), and the lessening of lust and hatred. They will attain Nibbana after being born once more in the world.
3. Non-Returners (Anagami) - 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 (or Arhats) - 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.

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 B.C.E. 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 Chinese and partially in Sanskrit, Prakrit, 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, were finally committed to writing between 35 and 32 B.C.E., at what the Theravada reckons as the fourth council, in Matale, Sri Lanka. Theravada is one of the first Buddhist school to commit the whole complete set of it Buddhist canon into writing.

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.

Theravada Buddhists typically view the Mahayana sutras to be apocryphal, meaning that they are not authentic words of the Buddha.

Lay and monastic Life

A Buddhist Monk in Sri Lanka

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.

Thai monks on pilgrimage.

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 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.

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.

Ordination

The minimum age for ordaining as a Buddhist monk is 20 years, reckoned from conception. However, boys under that age are allowed to ordain as novices (samanera), performing a ceremony such as Shinbyu in Myanmar. Novices shave their heads, wear the yellow robes, and observe ten basic precepts. Although no specific minimum age for novices is mentioned in the scriptures, traditionally boys as young as seven are accepted. This tradition follows the story of the Lord Buddha’s son, Rahula, who was allowed to become a novice at the age of seven. Monks follow 227 rules of discipline, while nuns follow 311 rules.

In most Theravada countries, it is a common practice for young men to ordain as monks for a fixed period of time. In Thailand and Myanmar, young men typically ordain for the 3 month Rain Retreat (vassa), though shorter or longer periods of ordination are not rare. Traditionally, temporary ordination was even more flexible among Laotians. Once they had undergone their initial ordination as young men, Laotian men were permitted to temporarily ordain again at any time, though married men were expected to seek their wife's permission. Throughout Southeast Asia, there is little stigma attached to leaving the monastic life. Monks regularly leave the robes after acquiring an education, or when compelled by family obligations or ill-health.

Ordaining as a monk, even for a short period, is seen as having many virtues. In many Southeast Asian cultures, it is seen as a means for a young man to 'repay' his parents for their work and effort in raising him, because the merit from his ordination accrues to them as well. Thai men who have ordained as a monk may be seen as more fit husbands by Thai women, who refer to men who have served as monks with a colloquial term meaning 'cooked' to indicate that they are more mature and ready for marriage. Particularly in rural areas, temporary ordination of boys and young men traditionally gave peasant boys an opportunity to gain an education in temple schools without committing to a permanent monastic life.

In Sri Lanka, temporary ordination is not practiced, and a monk leaving the order is frowned upon. The continuing influence of the caste system in Sri Lanka may play a role in the taboo against temporary ordination and leaving the monkhood. Though Sri Lankan monastic nikayas are often organized along caste lines, men who ordain as monks temporarily pass outside of the conventional caste system, and as such during their time as monks may act (or be treated) in a way that would not be in line with the expected duties and privileges of their caste.

Monastic practices

A Buddhist Monk chants evening prayers inside a monastery located near the town of Kantharalak, Thailand (January 2005).

The practices usually vary in different sub-schools and monasteries within Theravada. But in the most orthodox forest monastery, the monk usually models his practice and lifestyle on that of the Buddha and his first generation of disciples by living close to nature in forest, mountains and caves. Forest monasteries still keep alive the ancient traditions through following the Buddhist monastic code of discipline in all its detail and developing meditation in secluded forests.

In a typical daily routine at the monastery during the 3 month vassa period, the monk will wake up before dawn and will begin the day with group chanting and meditation. At dawn the monks will go out to surrounding villages bare-footed on alms-round and will have the only meal of the day before noon by eating from the bowl by hand. Most of the time is spent on Dharma study and meditation. Sometimes the abbot or a senior monk will give a Dharma talk to the visitors. Laity who stay at the monastery will have to abide by the traditional eight Buddhist precepts.

After the end of the Vassa period, many of the monks will go out far away from the monastery to find a remote place (usually in the forest) where they can hang their umbrella tents and where it is suitable for the work of self-development. When they go wandering, they walk barefoot, and go wherever they feel inclined, and those requisites which are necessary will be carried along. These generally consist of the bowl, the three robes, a bathing cloth, an umbrella tent, a mosquito net, a kettle of water, a water filter, razor, sandals, some small candles, and a candle lantern.

The monks do not fix their times for walking and sitting meditation, for as soon as they are free they just start doing it; nor do they determine for how long they will go on to meditate. Some of them sometimes walk from dusk to dawn whereas at other times they may walk from between two to seven hours. Some may decide to fast for days or stay at dangerous places where ferocious animals live in order to aid their meditation.

Those monks who have been able to achieve a high level of attainment will be able to guide the junior monks and lay Buddhists toward the four degrees of spiritual attainment.

Lay devotee

In Pali, the terms for lay devotees are "Upasaka" (male) and "Upasika" (female). One of the duties of the lay followers, as taught by the Buddha, is to look after the needs of the monk/nuns. They are to see that the monk/nuns do not suffer from lack of the four requisites: food, clothing, shelter and medicine. As neither monks nor nuns are allowed to have an occupation, they depend entirely on the laity for their sustenance. In return for this charity, they are expected to lead exemplary lives.

In Myanmar and Thailand, the monastery was and is still regarded as a seat of learning. In fact today about half of the primary schools in Thailand are located in monasteries. Religious rituals and ceremonies held in monastery are always accompanied by social activities. In times of crisis, it is to the monks that people bring their problems for counsel.

Traditionally, a ranking monk will deliver a sermon four times a month: when the moon waxes and wanes and the day before the new and full moons. The laity also have a chance to learn meditation from the monks during these times.

It is also possible for a lay disciple to become enlightened. As Bhikkhu Bodhi notes, "The Suttas and commentaries do record a few cases of lay disciples attaining the final goal of Nibbana. However, such disciples either attain Arahantship on the brink of death or enter the monastic order soon after their attainment. They do not continue to dwell at home as Arahant householders, for dwelling at home is incompatible with the state of one who has severed all craving."

Influences

According to the linguist Zacharias P. Thundy the word "Theravada" may have been Hellenized into "Therapeutae", which was the name of a cenobitic order near Alexandria in the 1st century CE. The similarities between the Therapeutae and Buddhist monasticism, combined with Indian evidence of Buddhist missionary activity to the Mediterranean around 250 B.C.E. (the Edicts of Ashoka), have been pointed out. The Therapeutae would have been the descendants of Ashoka's emissaries to the West, and would have influenced the early formation of Christianity.

Buddhist orders within Theravada

Different orders, which are referred to as nikayas, has not resulted in the development of separate doctrines. Historically, the Supreme Patriarch of the Sangha, the highest ranking monk in a country, may come from any of these Nikayas, and is appointed by the king. The demise of monarchies has resulted in the suspension of these posts in some countries, but there is still a supreme Patriarch in the Kingdom of Thailand.

• Bangladesh:
  • Sangharaj Nikaya
  • Mahasthabir Nikaya
• Myanmar (Burma):
  • Thudhamma Nikaya
    • Vipassana tradition of Mahasi Sayadaw and disciples
  • Shwekyin Nikaya
  • Dvara Nikaya
• Sri Lanka:
  • Siam Nikaya
    • Waturawila (or Mahavihara Vamshika Shyamopali Vanavasa Nikaya)
  • Amarapura Nikaya
    • Kanduboda (or Swejin Nikaya)
    • Tapovana (or Kalyanavamsa)
  • Ramañña Nikaya
    • Galduwa (or Kalyana Yogashramaya Samsthava)
    • Delduwa
• Thailand
  • Maha Nikaya
    • Tradition of Ajahn Chah (Forest Tradition)
    • Vijja Dhammakaya
  • Thammayut Nikaya
    • Forest Tradition of Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta, Luang Ta Maha Bua

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Corless, Roger J. The Vision of Buddhism. New York: Paragon House, 1989. ISBN 1557782008.
• Cousins, Lance. "On the Vibhajjavādins." Buddhist Studies Review 18:2 (2001).
• Beal, Samuel. Si-Yu-Ki - Buddhist Records of the Western World - Translated from the Chinese of Hiuen Tsiang AD 629. London: Tuebner and Co, 1884. Digital version: Chung-hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies, Taipei.
• Bhikkhu Bodhi. In the Buddha's Words. Wisdom Publications, 2005. ISBN 0861714911.
• Gruber, Elmar R; Kersten, Holger. The Original Jesus. Shaftesbury: Element Books, 1995. ISBN 1852308354.
• Harvey, Peter. Introduction to Buddhist Ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. ISBN 0521553946.
• Koller, John M. The Indian Way. New York: Macmillan, 1982. ISBN 0023658002.
• Noss, David S. A History of the World's Religions. Eleventh Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003. ISBN 0130991651.
• Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli; Moore, Charles A. (editors). A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1957. ISBN 0691019584.
• Shuhmacher, Stephan and Gert Woerner. The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Boston: Shambala, 1994. ISBN 0877739803.

External links

All Links Retrieved November 21, 2007

• Access to Insight - A Collection of Theravada Resources
• BuddhaNet - World Buddhist directory & information resource
• BuddhaSasana - A Collection of Theravada Resources
• Nibbana.com - A Collection of Theravada Resources
• What-Buddha-Taught.net - A Collection of Theravada Resources
• The Buddhist Society of Western Australia - A Collection of Dhamma Talks
• Tipitaka Network - Dhamma Studies
• TripleGem.net - Buddhist Directory
• Vipassana and Theravada site
• Buddhist Meditation in the Theravada tradition - Vipassana Meditation
• TheravadaBuddhism.org - TheravadaBuddhism.org
• Wats of Cambodia

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