In our newest picture collection we organized into one gallery all the covers of the books we recommended so far on the history, art and architecture of Buddhism. Some of these books give great general introductions to broader topics, but we tried to choose more specific books as well, in the case you would like to deepen your knowledge.
Although the roots of Buddhism go back to India, over the centuries the religion spread across the whole of Asia. It’s really easy to get lost between the many different schools and sub-branches of Buddhism, but most commonly it is divided into two main branches: Theravāda and Mahāyāna Buddhism.
Golden Buddha photo by Dragan Maksimovic via Photopedia
Theravāda Buddhism
Years after the death of the Buddha, the Buddhist Sangha, the monastic community split into two mainstream schools called Sthavira and Mahāsanghika, mainly due to some differences in the religious practice and the interpretation of the teaching.
The Theravāda tradition is said to be the continuation of the more orthodox Sthavira school.
The ‘Theravada’ is a Sanskrit expression which means the ‘Doctrine of the Elders’.
The Theravāda is a conservatist current in the sense that the theravādins put great emphasis on the preservation of the doctrine and the tradition in its original and most authentic form.
The main sacred language of the school is Pāli (close relative of the Sanskrit language) and the most important scripture is the Pāli Canon called Tipitaka.
The Theravāda spread mainly in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and Southeast Asia, particularly in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar (Burma) and also had historical presence in Indonesia and Vietnam. Because of its geographical location Theravāda is also referred as Southern Buddhism. Nowadays, the number of the Theravāda followers is estimated more than 100 million.
The Theravāda was transmitted to Southeast Asia from Sri Lanka, Picture via Wikipedia Commons
Mahāyāna Buddhism
The other significant current of Buddhism is the Mahāyāna. The word means ‘great path or great vehicle’ and it is the opposite of the word ‘hinayāna’ which literally means ‘small vehicle’. The pejorative hinayāna name was given by the devotees of the Mahāyāna to the rival non-mahāyāna schools.
It’s really important to note that the hinayāna is a pretty broad concept and, in strict sense, it’s not the synonym of the contemporary Theravāda, as the latter designates just one tradition of the non-mahāyāna schools. The hinayāna word indicates that its adherents and its ideal beings called Arhats primarily focus on their own liberation, don’t strain after aiding other beings and the hinayāna schools don’t accept the texts of the Mahāyāna tradition as authentic. In contrast, the main purpose of the Mahāyāna Bodhisattvas, the enlightenment beings, is to help other individuals to reach liberation.
Shakyamuni and the Eight Great Bodhisattvas, Korea, Chosôn Dynasty, 16th Cent, Picture via Wikipedia Commons
Mahāyāna Buddhism has an expanded number of sutras, accepting many other sacred texts besides the Tipitaka as original words of the Buddha, and also describe an enormous pantheon of many Buddhas and bodhisattvas. The Mahāyāna is now dominant mainly in East and Central Asia, for instance in China, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan; for this reason it’s also called Northern Buddhism. Some classifications distinguish Vajrayāna, ‘thunderbolt vehicle’ Buddhism from Mahāyāna. The Vajrayāna or tantricBuddhism is to be found in Tibet and Mongolia, however many scholars and adherents don’t consider it a separate school.
Sources:
Buswell, Robert E. (editor), Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Gacl Publisher, 2003
Buswell, Robert E. and Lopez, Donald S. (editors), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University Press, 2013
Conze, Edward, A Short History of Buddhism, Oneworld Pubns Ltd., 1993
Skilton, Andrew, A Concise History of Buddhism, Barnes & Noble, 2000
A drawing of Angkor Wat from May 15, 1826 by Henri Mouhot a French naturalist and explorer of the mid-19th centuryA painting by G.B. Hooijer (c. 1916—1919) reconstructing the scene of Borobudur during its heydayPrint from a drawing by a French explorer and artist Louis Delaporte of the temple Pha That Luang
Author: Andrew Skilton Pages: 263 Published: Barnes & Noble (2003) First edition: 1996 ISBN: 9780760748299
What the Buddha Taught
Author: Walpola Rahula Pages: 151 Published: Grove Press; Revised edition (1974) First edition: 1959 ISBN: 9780802130310
Buddhism: Its Essence and Development
Author: Edward Conze Pages: 240 Published: Dover Publications (2003) First edition: 1951 ISBN: 9780486430959
The Story of Buddhism: A Concise Guide to Its History & Teachings
Author: Donald S. Lopez Jr. Pages: 275 Published: HarperCollins (2001) ISBN: 9780060699765
Theravada Buddhism
Author: Richard F. Gombrich Series: The Library of Religious Beliefs and Practices Pages: 256 pages Published: Routledge; 2 edition (2006) First edition: 1988 ISBN: 9780415365093
II. The intellectual history of Buddhism in Southeast Asia:
Cambodia:
Cambodian Buddhism: History and Practice
Author: Ian Harris Pages: 352 Published: University of Hawaii Press (2008) ISBN: 9780824832988
Thailand:
Thailand Buddhism: Insight Knowledge
Author: Tenzin Dawa Pages: 102 Published: Createspace (2011) ISBN: 9781461078678
World Conqueror and World Renouncer: A Study of Buddhism and Polity in Thailand against a Historical Background (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology)
Author: S. J. Tambiah Pages: 568 pages Published: Cambridge University Press (1977) ISBN: 9780521292900
Burma – Myanmar:
Theravada Buddhism in Burma (Bibliotheca Orientalis: Burma)
