I refer to ME6102 Mahayana Buddhism, Chapter 1, Page 1, Para 1, Line 4 talk about one practice Mahayana without practicing Theravada and goes on to say similar as for the Vajrayana. However, in my opinion, this is not true for Theravada.
The Theravada always maintains that their suttas (Nikaya) and practices are authentic, authoritative and most original and most pure.
They adhere very closely to this practice and we can say there is no Mahayana nor Vajrayana element in their mind.
Thanks,
tan boon ann
Tree of Enlightenment
Hi Mr Tan
First of all, are you referring to the following when you quote Dr Peter Della Santina's notes on Mahayana Buddhism?
"One cannot practice the Mahayana without practicing the Theravada. One cannot practice Vajrayana without practicing the Mahayana and the Theravada".
If you are, then I think the above means if you are practicing the Mahayana you are actually also practicing the Theravada but not the vice versa as you understood it. Likewise it applies to the that of Vajrayana.
By the way, the above three traditions though different in many ways do share the same core doctrines of Buddhism, eg. Four Noble Truth, Eightfold path, Dependent Origination, impermanent, karma and re-birth.
it is not obvious
In appearance, the theravada does not follow any kind of practice from mahayana (nor vajrayana)
Peter Santina said that the Buddhism is like a big tree with the same root and many branches. The Mahayana is not a break point but a continuity. In my opinion, these school are alike and dissimilar at the same time. it depends of the point of view. I we see the differences, they are very different. But if we see the similarities, so, they are really similar.
The "hinayana" is the trunk of the all mahayana schools. The theravada is the background of the mahayana but theravada does not recognize the mahayana doctrines. They do not recognize the mahayana sources nor the sutras as saddharmapundarikasutra or lankavatarasutra, because it is not the authentic Buddha's teaching. The theravada school has been more rigid to include new elements.
however, both schools were practiced together by many centuries. Many Chinese pilgrims did not see differences between them (Hirakawa, history of indian Buddhism, ch 16, the origins of Mahayana)
May be, in developed stage, some Mahayana elements were included by Theravada.
Differences Between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism
Based on your experience and study, may I know what are the major differences between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism?
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I do not pretend to be exhaustive.
Off the top of my head.
Hinayana is the way of the arhat, the way of the individual saint, whereas Mahayana is the way for groups.
Hinayana adheres to the preserved canon as delivered by the living Buddha, whereas Mahayana accepts new scriptures Buddha delivered in heaven, or entrusted to magical beings.In Tibetan Buddhism, "tresures" can be discovered, that is lost scriptures attributed to great Saints such as Padmasambhava. Buddhas other than Sakyamuni appear and teach in Mahayana, whereas in Hinayana they are only barely mentioned (EG Buddha Kassapa, Buddha Dipankara...).
In Mahayana all are urged to take the Bodhisattva vow, and there are countless Bodhisattvas around, whereas in Hinayana "the Bodhisattva" is Gautama in his previous lives.
FWIW