Rituals:
- Shared
o Meditation
o Recitation of the Three Jewels
o Following the Five Precepts
o Funeral rites
o Merit transfer ceremonies
o Pilgrimages
o Focus on veneration
o Mudras, thangkas, mandalas
o Wesak celebration
o Asala celebration
o Kathina robe ceremony for monks
o Vassa celebration
o Obon Matsuri celebration in Japan
- Theravada
o No birth or marriage
o Pirit ceremonies
o Initiation ceremonies for new monks
o Ordination ceremonies for monks
o Male monks superior to female
o
- Mahayana
o More lay oriented
o More extravagant funerals
o New year festival
o Bodhisattva include women
Sacred Texts
- Shared
o Pali and Sanskrit represent different interpretations
o Oral collation of texts
- Theravada
o The Pali Canon
o Tipitaka
o Sutta Pitaka
o Siddhartha Gotama
- Mahayana
o The Diamond Sutra
o Lotus Sutra
o Heart Sutra
o Sukhavati sutras
o Shastras and Agamas develop texts
- Shared
o The Three Jewels
o Four Noble Truths
o Eightfold Path
o The Precepts
o The three Marks of Existence
§ Anicca, anatta, dukkha
o The Three Poisons
§ Ignorance
§ Desire
§ Aversion
o Samsara
o Lokas – planes of existence
- Theravada
o Siddhartha Gotama founded beliefs
o No claim to creator or God
o Cycle of existence
o More authority to monks than lay people
o Original form of Buddhism – “way of the elders”
o
- Mahayana
o Prominent Bodhisattvas and the historical Buddha founded the beliefs
o Bodhisattvas attain Buddha hood for others not themselves
o There are Buddhas in other realms
o Emphasis on monks but all aim for nirvana
o “The Great Vehicle”
Religious Experience
- Shared
o Conversion only includes the realization that everything is maya
o Monks meditate but most buddhists do not, they venerate the Buddha
o Women are presented in scripture negatively at times
o Essential role of women in Tebetan rituals is sex which leads to liberation and union of wisdom and compassion
- Theravada
o All boys are required to spend time in the monastery
- Mahayana
o Daily service to monks
o Lay community of both genders
- Shared
o Abolition of caste system
o Difference in authority is between monks and laypeople
o Nuns and monks who teach are highest with founders of schools
o Scriptures are extremely important
o Karuna (compassion for all)
o Role of karma and ethical action
- Theravada
o The Dhali Lama is one of the highest people in the faith
o Different rules of the monastery
