I have been busy researching all the various schools of Buddhism this week, attempting to discern how many there are, what the real differences between the schools, and compiling all the research.
Theravada
Mahayana
Vajrayana
Zen
(Translation)
“Doctrine of Elders”
“The Great Ship”
“The Great Vehicle”
Tantric/Esoteric
“Chan”
Followers
124,000,000
185,000,000
600,000,000
10,000,000
Temporal Origin
100 BCE
100 CE
500 CE
650 CE
Geographic Origin
India & Sri Lanka
India
India
China & Japan
Religious Text(s)
Pali Canon
Jataka
Pali Canon
Mayhayna Canon
Pali Canon, Mahayana Canon
Vajrayana Tantras
Shobogen
Platform Sutra
Lankavatra Sutra
Founder
Siddhartha Guatauma (The Buddha)
Monk Scholars Nagarjuna, Asanga & Vasubandhu
(No single Founder Credited )
Monk Scholars Nagarjuna & Asanga
(No Single Founder Credited )
Huineng (Chinese Peasant) & Indian Monk Bodhidharma (a.k.a.- The Wall Gazing Brahmin”
Schisms
Most Ancient/ Orthodox Sect with reform in some practices as “revival.”
Schism Movement
Vajrayana, Pure Land, & Zen are Subsets of Mahayana
Schism Movement
(Tibetan, Tendai, Tantric, Esoteric, Japanese Shingon, Mikkyo, and more)
Rinzai
Soto
Divine Beings & Sacred Spaces
The Buddha
Nirvana
The Buddha
Bodhisattvas
Nirvana
The Buddha
Bodhisattvas
Semi-Divine Beings: Avalokitesshvara, Maitreya, Vajrapani, Vajradhara, & Tara
Nirvana
Various Lamas (Dali Lama) Vajrayana Temples
The Buddhist Pantheon & Immortals Nature is Divine
Similarities:
1) The Buddha
2) Compassion
3) Suffering
4) Basic Teachings
5) Original Hindu Influence
6) Meditation & Yoga
Differences:
1) Theravada is orthodox, adherent to original teachings, the last surviving of the original schools of Buddhism, Significant concern in the Monastic.
2) Mahayana and the subdivisions have a different interpretation of Anatta
3) In Theravada (Arhat) in Mahayana (Bodhisattva).
4) Only hold veneration for the Buddha in Theravada
5) Veneration to various Buddha’s and Bodhisattvas in