The Great Split

The Great Buddha of Nara, Tōdai-ji, Japan

    In reading Bresnan's Awakening: An Introduction to the History of Eastern Thought, chapters eleven and twelve, I learned about the two major sects of Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. Though they do have similarities, they also have many differences in how Buddhism is interpreted and practiced. "Like Theravada, Mahayana is a part of the evolution of Buddhism; both traditions grew from the same fundamental core. Mahayana doctrine, however, moved far from the original teaching of Theravada." (Bresnan 275) Below, I will answer some questions found in Bresnan's Awakening that will explain how and why Buddhism split into different sects.

Zen & Thera

    What was happening to Theravada Buddhism that opened the way for a revolutionary new movement, ultimately to be known as Mahayana? After the fall of the king Ashoka, Buddhism saw a decline in popularity in India. This, coupled with the fact that Buddhism never really gained a foothold with poorer Hindus and was more so embraced by the elite; a group of people started becoming unsatisfied with Theravada Buddhism. They argued that Buddha originally intended for his teachings to be available to everyone and that we should be striving for enlightenment for everyone, not just yourself. "An attitude was developing among some Buddhists that Theravada tradition had become too conservative, too rule-bound, too elitist and too narrow in scope. It seemed that the only genuine Buddhists were the members of the monastic orders; the laity played hardly any part at all." (Bresnan 263) With all of these thoughts in mind, a new sect of Buddhism was born, Mahayana. 

    Why did Mahayanists refer to the Theravada tradition as Hinayana? With the split from Theravada, Mahayanists came up with new words to better describe their differences from Theravadists. "Buddha compared his teaching to a raft (one of the meanings of yana) that could ferry a person across the river of ignorance." (Bresnan 264) Because of this comparison, Mahayana means large ferry-boat, whereas Theravada means the small ferry-boat or 'Hinayana'. Since Mahayanists believed that Theravadist's elitism only allowed a small number of people to learn the Buddha's teachings unlike Mahayana who allows everyone to learn. 

    As you can see, people took the word of Buddha and made of it what they felt was the proper interpretation which culminated in the great split of Buddhism. 

Works Cited

Bresnan, Robert S. Awakening: An Introduction to the History of Eastern Thought. 6th Edition 2018 Routledge, New York

Burns, Elizabeth. "The Great Buddha of Nara." Tōdai-ji, Japan. 2018. JPEG

Sockolov, Matthew. Mahayana vs Theravada Infographic. 2018. oneminddharma.com PNG

totallymoda. "Zen & Thera." Youtube, 7th Mar. 2011, youtube.com/watch?v=zVLrPFzhW0k