# Mahayana and Theravada: a Diptych comparison Schema version 1.0. The Diptych displays; it does not score, rank, or adjudicate. ## 1. In its own words ### Mahayana Mahayana Buddhism arose in the first centuries of the common era and became the Buddhism of China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Its sutras present the Buddha's teaching as unfolding in turnings of the wheel, and its schools argue over emptiness, Buddha-nature, and the pure land. - [Mahayana](/tree/mahayana) ### 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 ### Mahayana Mahayana Buddhism is the larger of Buddhism's two great divisions, standing across East and northern Asia: China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Singapore hold its largest populations, in Zen, Pure Land, Tiantai, and other schools. - [Mahayana](/tree/mahayana) ### 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 ### Mahayana - [The buddhist timeline](/history/buddhism) - [Life of the Buddha](/history/events/life-of-the-buddha) - [Reign of Ashoka](/history/events/reign-of-ashoka) - [Emergence of the Mahayana](/history/events/emergence-of-the-mahayana) - [Nagarjuna](/history/events/nagarjuna) - [Asanga and Vasubandhu](/history/events/asanga-and-vasubandhu) - [Huiyuan's White Lotus Society on Mount Lu](/history/events/huiyuans-white-lotus-society-on-mount-lu) ### 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 ### Mahayana Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ### Theravada Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 5. Ultimate reality ### Mahayana Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ### Theravada Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 6. The human person ### Mahayana Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ### Theravada Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 7. Problem and solution ### Mahayana Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ### Theravada Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 8. Ethics and hard cases ### Mahayana Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ### Theravada Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 9. Practice and devotion ### Mahayana Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ### Theravada Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 10. Community and governance ### Mahayana - [Mahayana](/church/mahayana) ### Theravada - [Theravada](/church/theravada) ## 11. Art and material culture ### Mahayana Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ### Theravada Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 12. Science and technology posture ### Mahayana Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ### Theravada Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 13. Internal diversity ### Mahayana - [Zen](/tree/zen) - [Pure Land](/tree/pure-land) - [Nichiren Buddhism](/tree/nichiren-buddhism) ### Theravada Coverage: not documented. Coverage record created at intake; content not yet documented. ## 14. Contributions ### Mahayana 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 ### Mahayana 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 ### Mahayana 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 ### Mahayana - [Mahayana-Theravada Divergence](/tree/schisms/mahayana-divergence) ### Theravada - [Mahayana-Theravada Divergence](/tree/schisms/mahayana-divergence) ## 18. What each says about the other ### Mahayana 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 ### Mahayana 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 ### Mahayana - [Mahayana](/tree/mahayana) ### Theravada - [Theravada](/tree/theravada) ## Sources - Mahayana: The Prajnaparamita Sutras; the Lotus Sutra. - Mahayana: Paul Williams, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations (2009). - Theravada: The Pali Canon. - Theravada: Richard Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism (2006).