Theravada Buddhism

Over time many religions, for example Christianity, have been able to adapt to different audiences, different generations and different societies. In contrast, there are religions that are more conservative and do not easily adapt to different audiences or cultures. The Buddhist religion, though it originated in India, is the leading religion in much of the world, it is an impactful religion in such places like China, Korea, and Japan. In the United States, the fastest growing religion is Western Buddhism. Besides being one of the fastest growing religions, nowadays, the Buddhist religion also has the ability to adapt to technology, a concept known as E-Religion, making it a religion that is practiced all over the world. It is believed that
Gombrich argues, “While there have naturally been slight shifts in emphasis, the system of ideas we are dealing with throughout our history remains that expounded by the Buddha” (2006, p. 22). Keeping in mind that Theravada Buddhism is the most conservative form of Buddhism, it should come to no surprise that within this form of Buddhism not much has changed since the Buddha’s teachings, this holds especially true for the monastic order of monks and nuns. Monks and nuns that practiced Theravada Buddhism followed the teaching of the sacred texts known as the Tripitaka which consist of Abhidhama Pitaka, Sutra Pitaka and Vinaya Pitaka. The Abhidhama Pitaka incorporated philosophical speculations while the Sutra contained sermons and most importantly; Vinaya contained the Buddha's discipline or a code of conduct for monks and nuns. In Theravada Buddhism, Gombrich also argues that, in regards to the Tripitaka, “according to Theravada Buddhism they are to be taken literally and followed in one's daily life” (2006 p. 22). Among other rules, initially Theravada ordained monks and nuns were not allowed to store, what one would consider menial items like salt and buffalo hoar becuse it was measured as something of value. They were also not allowed to eat past noon and most importantly, ordained monks and nuns were not
Mahayana Buddhism has made alterations to Buddha's original teachings, unlike the ever so nonconforming Theravada division. The Mahayana doctrine relies heavily on the concept of Shunyata, or emptiness, which refers to the idea that nothing has an essence. In Mahayana Buddhism author Jonathan A. Silk states, “They realize that since no individual has a “self,” there can be no real difference between themselves and others, and therefore their own liberation is not distinct from the liberation of all beings” (2006 p. 1). In the Theravada division, institutional Buddhism is very conservative and has strict rules and regulations that one must follow because it is believed to be the path to enlightenment. Because the Mahayana division believes that the path to enlightenment is through compassion and that enlightenment is universally accessible to everyone; institutional Buddhism in this school, tends to be less conservative when compared to Theravada