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Buddhist Sects,
Holy Places, and History
Inside Buddhism
Author: Walter Hazen
Editor: Lisa Marty
Illustrator: Art Kirchhoff
Book Design: Jon Davis
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EMP346804
ISBN: 978-0-7877-2677-5
Release Date 2015
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OFBuddhism
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uddhism began in India some 2,500 years ago. It
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prestige
to seek
enlightenment,
or wisdom.
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up wealth
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to seek
enlightenment,
or wisdom.
Buddhists
believe he attained just that sometime around 531 B.C. while
while meditating
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bodhi, or
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death and
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state of
of blissful
blissful nonnonexistence.
In the centuries following the Buddha’s death, the
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In addition
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Inside Buddhism
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Inside
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MP3468/Inside
MP3468/Inside Buddhism
Buddhism ©
© Milliken
Milliken Publishing
Publishing Company
Company
1
CHAPTER SIX
Buddhist Sects
T
26
file
Sa
heravada Buddhism is one of two
large schools or groups to which most
Buddhists belong. (The other is Mahayana
Buddhism, which is covered next.)
Theravada means “teachings of the
elders.”As you learned in a previous
chapter,Theravada Buddhism is the
dominant form of Buddhism in southeast
Asia. Most Buddhists in Sri Lanka,
Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia,Thailand,
Vietnam, and Laos follow this school of
Buddhism.
Theravada Buddhists look to the Pali
Canon of the Tipitaka as the authority in
scripture. By so doing, they believe their
form of Buddhism adheres more closely
to the original teachings of Buddha.They
point to Buddha himself in their belief
that each person must find the way to
enlightenment and Nirvana alone.They
see Buddha as only a man.They do not
worship him nor do they pray to him.
Theravada Buddhists, in fact, do not pray
ple
Theravada Buddhism
at all during worship.When they leave an
offering at a statue of Buddha, they do so
only in the hope of earning merit in their
next life. Unlike Mahayana Buddhists in
northern Asia, they have not created a
pantheon (family) of deities to whom
they offer prayers.
The followers of Theravada Buddhism
see monks as the perfect models of
Buddhism. It is even possible for young
men to become monks on a temporary
basis. During the rainy season, when
there is little for farmers to do, many
young men retire to a monastery for a
short time and live the life of a monk.
They shave their heads, don saffron
robes, and carry begging bowls.When
the rainy season is over and farming
begins again, these young men leave the
monastery and return to their usual life.
Sometimes boys as young as 4 or 5 put
on orange robes and spend a night in a
monastery.
Monastic ordination, or the
ceremonies surrounding a person
becoming a monk, even serves as a
coming-of-age ritual for many Buddhist
boys. In some ways, it resembles the rite
of passage (recognizing a young person
as an adult) observed in other religions.
Boys might spend from a few months to
a few years in a monastery, studying
Buddhist practices and learning to read
and write. But they may, if they choose to
do so, take the necessary vows and
become regular members of a monastery.
m
S
hortly after Buddha died in 486
B.C., a Buddhist council was called and
was held in the ancient Indian city of
Rajagrha.The purpose of the council was
to establish doctrine that all Buddhists
could agree on.The council apparently
did not altogether succeed, because about
a century later a Second Buddhist Council
met to iron out the details. But there were
many issues that could not be resolved.
The debate led to the splitting of
Buddhism into several schools and sects.
(The word sect, as used here, refers to a
religious group that separates itself from
an established church or belief.) In this
chapter, you will learn some facts about
the most important of these schools and
sects.
Section Review:
1. Into what two large groups did
Buddhism divide in the fourth
century B.C.?
2. To which countries did Theravada
Buddhism spread?
MP3468/Inside Buddhism © Milliken Publishing Company
26
3. How do Theravada Buddhists
view Buddha?
4. Whom do Theravada Buddhists
consider to be exemplary
Buddhists?
Mahayana Buddhism
M
27
m
sect
pantheon
monastic
ordination
rite of passage
Sa
Words to remember:
ple
file
any Buddhists did not agree with
those who followed the Theravada school
of the religion.They came to be called
Mahayana Buddhists. Mahayana means
“greater vehicle.”The term implied that
there were different ways to attain
Nirvana. It is the opposite of Theravada,
which, as was mentioned previously,
means “teachings of the elders.” Originally,
Theravada Buddhism was referred to as
Hinayana Buddhism. Hinayana means
“lesser vehicle.”
Mahayana Buddhists believe that
people need the help of others in
attaining Nirvana.They do not agree with
their Theravada counterparts who
maintain that each person must find the
way to nirvana alone. Mahayana Buddhists
further say that because of reincarnation
and the continuing birth/death cycle, all
people are related. For that reason,
Buddhists must help one another.This
belief even applies to criminals. Mahayana
Buddhists insist that you should help a
criminal become enlightened because
that person might have been your mother
or father in a previous life.
For help in becoming enlightened,
Mahayana Buddhists rely on bodhisattvas.
A bodhisattva is someone who has
already become enlightened but who has
willingly postponed his or her entry into
Nirvana to help others get there.A
bodhisattva chooses to be reborn again
and again for this reason.
Mahayana Buddhists recognize
thousands of bodhisattvas.They pray to
them for guidance and help.Thus,
Mahayana Buddhists, unlike those of the
Theravada school, have created a family of
quasi-deities. Quasi is a prefix that means
“almost or partly.” Deities, of course, are
gods. So bodhisattvas are seen as being
almost god-like.
The most important celestial, or
heavenly bodhisattva is Avalokiteshvara, or
“The Lord Who Looks Down.”
Avalokiteshvara is thought to “look down”
on earth and protect people. He is the
Bodhisattva of Compassion. In the
Himalayan nation of Tibet,Avalokiteshvara
is believed to be reincarnated in the
person of the Dalai Lama. (More about
the Dalai Lama, who he is, and the kind of
Buddhism practiced in Tibet later in the
chapter.)
Another important bodhisattva is
Maitreya, the “buddha of the future age.”
Maitreya is believed to rescue people in
danger.You may be familiar with Maitreya
and not know it. In China, Maitreya
became the round-bellied Laughing
Buddha. Perhaps you have seen a statue
of the Laughing Buddha in a shop that
features Oriental objects.
Two other bodhisattvas of note are
Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom, and
Kshitigarbha, who provides comfort to
the dead and protects children, travelers,
and pilgrims.
The best known bodhisattva who has
become a heavenly buddha is Amitabha, a
name that means “infinite light.” In Japan,
Amitabha is worshiped as Amida. He is
believed to have established a paradise
called Pure Land. Pure Land is one of the
many offshoots of Mahayana Buddhism
that is covered in another section of this
chapter.
Mahayana Buddhism spread to the
northern Asian nations of China, Japan,
Korea, and Tibet.
Section Review:
1. What does the word Mahayana
mean?
2. How do Mahayana Buddhists differ
from Theravada Buddhists in terms of
the way to enlightenment and
Nirvana?
3. Who are bodhisattvas?
4. What is meant by the term quasideities?
MP3468/Inside Buddhism © Milliken Publishing Company
27
Section Review:
1. In which Himalayan countries does
Tantric Buddhism prevail?
2. Why is Tantric Buddhism also called
“Lamaism”?
3. How is a new Dalai Lama determined?
4. From a careful reading of the text,
why do you think the present Dalai
Lama fled to India in 1959?
Z
file
Zen Buddhism
en Buddhism is one of the many
offshoots of Mahayana Buddhism. It is the
predominant kind of Buddhism found in
Japan.There are two schools or types:
Soto and Rinzai. Soto Zen holds that
enlightenment can be gradually attained.
Rinzai Zen, on the other hand, teaches
that enlightenment comes in a sudden
flash of insight or awareness.
Zen Buddhism began in China, where
it was called Chan. Chan means
“meditation.”According to legend, a wise
Indian man named Bodhidarma once sat
staring at the wall of a cave in China for
nine years. During his period of intense
meditation, he cut off his eyelids because
their weight added to his weariness.
He also eventually lost the use of both
legs from sitting in the lotus position (the
position in which Buddha is usually
depicted) for so long. But he supposedly
attained enlightenment. It was this
intense form of meditation that was
brought to Japan in the 12th century A.D.
By far the most difficult form of Zen
Buddhism to practice is Rinzai. Monks-tobe go through a very strict period of
training.They are required to sit for
hours in the lotus position.All the while,
ple
A
Words to remember:
Hinayana
Buddhism
Hinayana
Buddhism
bodhisattvas
bodhisattvas
Avalokiteshvara
Avalokiteshvara
Maitreya
Maitreya
Laughing
Buddha
Laughing
Buddha
Manjushri
Manjushri
Amitabha
Amitabha
Amida
Amida
Pure
Land
Pure
Land
Buddhism
Tantric
Tantric
Buddhism
Tantra
Tantra
lamas
lamas
Lamaism
Lamaism
mandalas
mandalas
Dalai
Lama
Dalai
Lama
Dalai
Dalai
oracles
oracles
Sa
third school of Buddhism exists
in the Himalayan nations of Tibet and
Nepal. It is called Tantric Buddhism.The
word Tantric is derived from Tantra
which means holy books dealing with
rituals, discipline, and meditation. Because
monks or priests in Tibet are known as
lamas,Tantric Buddhism is also referred to
as Lamaism.
Tantric Buddhism first appeared in
Tibet in the 7th century A.D. It blended
Indian Buddhism with ancient Tibetan
beliefs. It is completely different from
other forms of Buddhism. Its worship
consists of reciting prayers and sacred
texts, as well as the chanting of hymns.
Much is also made of meditation around
mandalas, circular diagrams that
represent the universe.All of this is
accompanied by the blowing of trumpets
and the beating of drums. Magic charms
and mystical incantations also come into
play, and dancing lamas wear masks and
perform ritual dances to appease the
spirits.
At one time, more than one-fifth of
the people of Tibet were lamas.That
number decreased dramatically after the
Chinese Communists seized control of
the country in 1950. Still, lamas and the
monasteries they occupy flourish to a
certain extent.The highest lama is the
Dalai Lama. Dalai means “ocean,”
indicating the power of this all-important
priest-king.Tibet has had Dalai Lamas for
centuries.As you have already learned,
Tibetans believe the Dalai Lama is the
reincarnation of the bodhisattva
Avalokiteshvara.
When a Dalai Lama dies, his spirit is
believed to be reborn into a speciallychosen child. Oracles are consulted as to
just where this child might be found.
Then a search throughout the country
begins.When the present Dalai Lama
(who is the fourteenth) was found as a
child, the oracles had a vision that led
searchers to the farmhouse where the
child was found. Like all previous Dalai
Lamas, the child had to pass certain
tests.Among these tests was his
ability to recognize objects from a
former life.
The present Dalai Lama of Tibet lives
in exile today. He left the country in
1959, and presently resides in Dharmsala,
India.
m
Tantric Buddhism
28
MP3468/Inside Buddhism © Milliken Publishing Company
28
Words to remember:
Soto
Rinzai
Chan
Bodhidarma
koans
they, and lay people (non-monks)
seeking to become enlightened, try
to think of nothing.They do not think
of their families.They do not think of
their jobs or daily concerns.“Be nothing,
think nothing,” is the principle followed.
Zen Buddhists of the Rinzai school
also make use of koans.A koan is a riddle
in the form of a paradox used to
stimulate intuitive (as opposed to strictly
rational) thinking. One of the better
known koans is “Imagine the sound of
one hand clapping.”As an aid to
meditation, koans are intended to
encourage a person’s mind to work in a
different way.These riddles, along with
shouts and blows on the part of monks,
attempt to shock a person into sudden
enlightenment.
file
Section Review:
I
n addition to Zen Buddhism, there
are at least five other offshoots of
Mahayana Buddhism prevalent in Japan.
The most important of these, Pure Land
Buddhism, was mentioned earlier. Pure
Land is also called Jodo-shu. It fulfilled the
need some Buddhists felt for a heaven-like
nirvana. It is believed to be a Most Happy
Land ruled by a Buddha called Amida.
Pure Land scriptures describe Pure
Land as a place where people suffer no
pain and enjoy all kinds of pleasure.
Heavenly music plays constantly, and
there are beautiful birds everywhere. Lakes
are filled with gems and ponds are lined
with gold dust.When a good person who
follows Pure Land Buddhism dies, he or
she is said to be immediately reborn into
Amida’s Pure Land.
Section Review:
1. Who is believed to rule over the Pure
Land?
2. Briefly describe what the Pure Land
is thought to be like.
Sa
m
ple
1. How do the Soto and Rinzai forms of
Buddhism differ?
2. Where did Zen Buddhism originate?
3. What is the main focus of Zen
Buddhism?
4. What are koans?
Pure Land Buddhism
For Further Thought:
1. Which school or sect of Buddhism do you think more closely follows the
original teachings of Buddha? Explain your answer.
2. Draw a map of Asia. Label and color red those countries where Theravada
prevails. Label and color blue those countries where Mahayana Buddhism is
predominant.
3. Pretend you are a monk in a Zen Buddhist monastery. Describe what you think
your typical day would be like.
4. During the Middle Ages, Japan’s warrior or knightly class, the samurai, were
attracted to Zen Buddhism.Tell why you think the samurai would find Zen
appealing.
5. Imagine yourself being whisked back by a time machine to the cave in China
where the Indian holy man Bodhidarma has just emerged after nine years.
Create a dialogue you might have had with this founder of Chan (Zen) Buddhism.
6. Consult your classmates and try to determine why Buddhism, which spread
throughout Asia, eventually almost died out in India, the land of its birth.
7. What benefits do you think people derive from meditation, a ritual practiced in
most religions of the world?
29
MP3468/Inside Buddhism © Milliken Publishing Company
29