Wednesday, May 26, 2021

How many Buddhism's?

So I started to expand on the main types of Buddhism as I knew them; Mahayana, Theravada, Vajrayana and Zen (even though the last two are often considered Mahayana).  In doing my research there were at least a few more if you start to include esoteric and Hinayana schools.  In looking deeper I found over 206 schools of thought.  Of course, many were subtle offshoots of other older schools and some were considered 'new movement' schools like Navayana of the South West of India, made famous by Dalits (the lowest class of person in the Vedic teachings or Hindu culture)  and B.R. Ambedkar who was, himself a Dalit who became educated and basically is the founder of this ideal.  Other groups we are also seeing are; Ecumenical, nonsectarian, (Ri-me in Tibetan) , secular, Fundamental, Traditional..

More subtle versions of Buddhism that are developing in the West.

What is the difference?  

There are three main branches of Buddhist thought and teaching in the world today.  

Mahayana or as translated as 'the Great Vehicle' is prevalent in China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea. 

Theravada as translated 'The Elder's Vehicle' is more common in South East Asia such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma and Cambodia.

Hinayana, or 'Lesser Vehicle'  was a term used to describe Theravada but was considered derogatory.  It is a term that the World Federation of Buddhists basically 'retired' in 1950 and is not used today.

Vajrayana or 'Diamond Vehicle' is that of the Tibetan plateau, Nepal and some parts of Mongolia.

Navayana 'New Vehicle' is a newer version in the South West of India and is a popular way for the lowest caste of India the Dalits to break away from the caste system.  

There are two others that are rarely mentioned the Azhali and Newari Buddhist groups.  Azhali is an off shoot of Vajrayana that settled in China in the Yunan Province of South Eastern China.  Just North of Burma, Laos and Vietnam.  

The Newari Buddhist tradition is located in the areas of Nepal and is another offshoot of Vajrayana Buddhism located in a cultural area of Newar.  

Esoteric Buddhism, 

Ecumenical Buddhism, 

Secular Buddhism

No, it is not new, any of them.  But here is what happened over time. 

The Ri-me version is Tibetan and is rather new, apparently founded by 

https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Jamg%C3%B6n_Kongtrul_Lodr%C3%B6_Tay%C3%A9

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schools_of_Buddhism#Mah%C4%81y%C4%81na_schools

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Asian_Buddhism

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