Schools of Buddhism
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This article lists the main Schools of Buddhism with the major Buddhist traditions.
Early schools
File:SectarianBuddhistschools.png
Map of the major geographical centers of Sectarian Buddhist schools in India. Sarvāstivāda (red), Theravāda (orange), Mahāsāṃghika (yellow), Pudgalavāda (green), and Dharmaguptaka (gray).
File:Buddha image - stone - with disciple.jpg
An image of Gautama Buddha with a swastika, a traditional Buddhist symbol of infinity, on his chest. Ananda, the Buddha's disciple, appears in the background. This statue is from Hsi Lai Temple.
- Sthaviravāda
- Sarvāstivāda
- Kāśyapīya (after 232 BCE)
- Mūlasarvāstivāda (third and fourth centuries)
- Sautrāntika (between 50 BCE and c. 100 CE)
- Vibhajyavāda (prior to 240 BCE; during Aśoka)
- Theravāda (c. 240 BCE)
- Theravāda subschools (see below)
- Mahīśāsaka (after 232 BCE)
- Dharmaguptaka (after 232 BCE)
- Theravāda (c. 240 BCE)
- Pudgalavāda ('Personalist') (c. 280 BCE)
- Vatsīputrīya (under Aśoka) later name: Saṃmitīya
- Sarvāstivāda
- Mahāsāṃghika ('Majority', c. 380 BCE)
- Ekavyahārikas (under Aśoka)
- Golulika (during Aśoka)
- Bahuśrutīya (late third century BCE)
- Prajñaptivāda (late third century BCE)
- Caitika (mid-first century BCE)
Twenty sects
Sthaviravāda split into 11 sects:
- Sarvāstivādin
- Haimavata
- Vatsīputrīya
- Dharmottara
- Bhadrayānīya
- Sammitiya
- Channagirika
- Mahīśāsaka
- Dharmaguptaka
- Kāśyapīya
- Sautrāntika
Mahāsāṃghika split into 9 sects:
Influences on East Asian schools
Monastic/vinaya influence:
- East Asian Buddhist traditions generally follow the monastic tradition of the vinaya of the Dharmaguptaka lineage. However, there are exceptions. For example, some sects within Japan do not follow the traditional vinaya vows; these sects permit non-celibate "monks" or "preists".[1]
Philosophical influence:
- The Japanese Jojitsu is considered by some an offshoot of Sautrāntika; others consider it to be derived from Bahuśrutīya.
- The Chinese/Japanese Kusha school is considered an offshoot of Sarvāstivāda, influenced by Vasubandhu.
Theravada subschools
The different schools in Theravada often emphasize different aspects (or parts) of the Pāli canon and the later commentaries, or differ in the focus on and recommended way of practice. There are also significant differences in strictness or interpretation of the vinaya.
- Bangladesh:
- Burma:
- Thudhamma Nikaya
- Vipassanā tradition of Mahasi Sayadaw and disciples
- Shwegyin Nikaya
- Dvaya Nikaya or Dvara Nikaya (see Mendelson, Sangha and State in Burma, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, 1975)
- Hngettwin Nikaya
- Thudhamma Nikaya
- Sri Lanka:
- Siam Nikaya
- Waturawila (or Mahavihara Vamshika Shyamopali Vanavasa Nikaya)
- Amarapura Nikaya
- Ramañña Nikaya
- Sri Kalyani Yogasrama Samstha (or ‘Galduwa Tradition’)
- Delduwa
- forest nikaya
- Siam Nikaya
- Thailand
- Maha Nikaya
- Dhammakaya Movement
- Mahasati meditation (mindfulness meditation)
- Thammayut Nikaya
- Thai Forest Tradition
- Tradition of Ajahn Chah
- Thai Forest Tradition
- Maha Nikaya
- Vipassana movement
- Tantric Theravada
Indian Mahayana schools
East Asian schools
- Chinese Buddhism
- Vinaya school[2]
- Jingtu (Pure Land)
- Satyasiddhi (Historical)
- Abhidharmakośa (Historical)
- Daśabhūmikā (absorbed into Huayan)
- Tiantai
- Huayan (Avataṃsaka)
- Chan (Zen)
- Tangmi (Esoteric)
- Sanlun (Mādhyamaka)
- Weishi (Yogācāra)
- Korean Buddhism
- Vietnamese Buddhism
- Tịnh Độ (Pure Land)
- Thiền (Zen)
- Trúc Lâm (Syncretic)
- Unified Buddhist Church (Engaged Buddhism)
- Hòa Hảo (Reformist)
- Japanese Buddhism
- Pure Land
- Risshū school (Vinaya school)
- Jojitsu (Satyasiddhi - historical)
- Kusha (Abhidharmakośa - historical)
- Sanron (Mādhyamaka - historical)
- Hossō (Yogācāra)
- Kegon (Avatamsaka)
- Japanese esoteric Buddhism
- Zen
- Nichiren Buddhism
Tibetan cultural schools
- Four main schools
- Other schools/traditions
- Rime movement (ecumenical movement)
- Bon (synthesis of Yungdrung Bön and Nyingmapa)
- Kadam (Historical)
- Sub-schools
- Sakya sub-schools
- Kagyu sub-schools
- Shangpa Kagyu
- Marpa Kagyu:
- Rechung Kagyu
- Dagpo Kagyu:
- Karma Kagyu (or Kamtshang Kagyu)
- Tsalpa Kagyu
- Baram Kagyu
- Pagtru Kagyu (or Phagmo Drugpa Kagyu):
Other traditions
Tantric traditions
- Tibetan Buddhism
- East Asian Tantric Buddhism (aka Tangmi, Esoteric Buddhism, Chinese Esoteric Buddhsim)
See also
References
Further reading
- Bhikkhu Sujato (2007). Sects and sectarianism: the origins of Buddhist schools, Taipei, Taiwan: Buddha Educational Foundation; revised edidion: Santipada 2012
- Dutt, N. (1998). Buddhist Sects in India. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
- Coleman, Graham, ed. (1993). A Handbook of Tibetan Culture. Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc.. Template:ISBN.
- Warder, A.K. (1970). Indian Buddhism. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
External links
- The Sects of the Buddhists by T. W. Rhys Davids, in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1891. pp. 409–422