# Buddhism and Theravada: a Diptych comparison Schema version 1.0. The Diptych displays; it does not score, rank, or adjudicate. ## 1. In its own words ### Buddhism Buddhism spread from the Gangetic plain across Asia and divided, over centuries, into great vehicles that share the founder and the earliest texts while differing on scripture, practice, and the goal itself. This tree models the vehicles and their schools as first-class entities. - [Buddhism](/tree/buddhist) ### Theravada Theravada is the Buddhism of the Pali Canon, the earliest complete canon to survive. Its monks keep the Vinaya in its Pali form, its laity support the sangha and make merit, and its meditation traditions were carried worldwide in the modern centuries. - [Theravada](/tree/theravada) ## 2. Scale and spread ### Buddhism Buddhism counts roughly 490 million adherents, about seven percent of the world's people. Majorities stand in Thailand, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bhutan, Laos, and Mongolia, with large populations in Japan, China, Vietnam, and South Korea. - [Buddhism](/tree/buddhist) ### Theravada Theravada Buddhism is the majority form of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, counting roughly 150 million adherents, and it has grown a substantial following in Western convert communities. - [Theravada](/tree/theravada) ## 3. Historical timeline ### Buddhism - [The buddhist timeline](/history/buddhism) - [Life of the Buddha](/history/events/life-of-the-buddha) - [First Council at Rajagaha](/history/events/first-council-at-rajagaha) - [Second Council at Vaishali](/history/events/second-council-at-vaishali) - [Reign of Ashoka](/history/events/reign-of-ashoka) - [Third Council at Pataliputra](/history/events/third-council-at-pataliputra) - [Emergence of the Mahayana](/history/events/emergence-of-the-mahayana) ### Theravada - [The buddhist timeline](/history/buddhism) - [Life of the Buddha](/history/events/life-of-the-buddha) - [First Council at Rajagaha](/history/events/first-council-at-rajagaha) - [Second Council at Vaishali](/history/events/second-council-at-vaishali) - [Reign of Ashoka](/history/events/reign-of-ashoka) - [Third Council at Pataliputra](/history/events/third-council-at-pataliputra) - [Pali Canon committed to writing (Sri Lanka)](/history/events/pali-canon-committed-to-writing-sri-lanka) ## 4. Sources of authority ### Buddhism - [Refuge Prayer (Tisarana)](/prayers-and-creeds/refuge-prayer) - [Five Precepts (Pancasila)](/prayers-and-creeds/five-precepts) - [Metta Sutta](/prayers-and-creeds/metta-sutta) ### Theravada Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 5. Ultimate reality ### Buddhism - [Buddhism](/world-views/buddhism) ### Theravada Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 6. The human person ### Buddhism - [Buddhism](/world-views/buddhism) ### Theravada Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 7. Problem and solution ### Buddhism - [Buddhism](/world-views/buddhism) ### Theravada Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 8. Ethics and hard cases ### Buddhism - [Buddhism](/world-views/buddhism) ### Theravada Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 9. Practice and devotion ### Buddhism - [Vandana and Taking Refuge](/devotion/vandana-and-refuge) - [Mettā Bhāvanā; Loving-Kindness](/devotion/metta-bhavana) - [Offerings at the Buddhist Shrine](/devotion/offerings-at-the-shrine) - [Vesak](/traditions/vesak) - [The Meditation Retreat](/traditions/the-meditation-retreat) - [Pilgrimage to Bodh Gaya](/traditions/pilgrimage-to-bodh-gaya) - [Refuge Prayer (Tisarana)](/prayers-and-creeds/refuge-prayer) - [Five Precepts (Pancasila)](/prayers-and-creeds/five-precepts) ### Theravada Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 10. Community and governance ### Buddhism - [Buddhist](/church/buddhist) ### Theravada - [Theravada](/church/theravada) ## 11. Art and material culture ### Buddhism - [The Bharhut Railing](/art/entries/bharhut-railing) - [The Great Stupa at Sanchi](/art/entries/sanchi-stupa) - [A Gandhara Buddha](/art/entries/gandhara-buddha) - [Buddhism](/art/profiles/buddhism) ### Theravada Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 12. Science and technology posture ### Buddhism - [Chinese Imperial](/science/eras/chinese-imperial) - [Indian Classical](/science/eras/indian-classical) - [Contemporary](/science/eras/contemporary) - [Buddhist](/science/traditions/buddhist) - [Evolution by natural selection](/science/technologies/evolution-by-natural-selection) - [Organ transplantation](/science/technologies/organ-transplantation) - [Germline gene editing](/science/technologies/germline-gene-editing) - [Artificial intelligence and human dignity](/science/flashpoints/ai-and-human-dignity) ### Theravada Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 13. Internal diversity ### Buddhism - [Theravada](/tree/theravada) - [Mahayana](/tree/mahayana) - [Vajrayana](/tree/vajrayana) - [Navayana](/tree/navayana) - [Secular Buddhism](/tree/secular-buddhism) ### Theravada Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 14. Contributions ### Buddhism Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ### Theravada Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ## 15. Internal critique ### Buddhism Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ### Theravada Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ## 16. External critique and reply ### Buddhism Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ### Theravada Coverage: not documented. Evaluative coverage is scheduled; this slot populates through sourced, reviewed records. ## 17. Contested history ### Buddhism - [Mahayana-Theravada Divergence](/tree/schisms/mahayana-divergence) ### Theravada - [Mahayana-Theravada Divergence](/tree/schisms/mahayana-divergence) ## 18. What each says about the other ### Buddhism Coverage: not documented. This slot renders only when both directions stand populated and reviewed. ### Theravada Coverage: not documented. This slot renders only when both directions stand populated and reviewed. ## 19. What this comparison cannot settle ### Buddhism This comparison sets two self-descriptions side by side; it does not decide between them. A tradition is a living range of positions, and each panel renders the range this site has documented, which is not the whole of the tradition. Where a cell is marked not yet documented, the gap belongs to this site's documentation, not to the tradition. Questions of truth between the panels turn on premises the reader brings: what counts as evidence, what authority is recognized, and what a human life is for. The instrument does not score, rank, or adjudicate. ### Theravada This comparison sets two self-descriptions side by side; it does not decide between them. A tradition is a living range of positions, and each panel renders the range this site has documented, which is not the whole of the tradition. Where a cell is marked not yet documented, the gap belongs to this site's documentation, not to the tradition. Questions of truth between the panels turn on premises the reader brings: what counts as evidence, what authority is recognized, and what a human life is for. The instrument does not score, rank, or adjudicate. ## 20. Sources ### Buddhism - [Buddhism](/tree/buddhist) ### Theravada - [Theravada](/tree/theravada) ## Sources - Buddhism: The Pali Canon (Tipitaka). - Buddhism: Peter Harvey, An Introduction to Buddhism (2013). - Theravada: The Pali Canon. - Theravada: Richard Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism (2006).