Here is a brief outline of the major schools of buddhism and brief discriptions of the differing thought systems. Often when discussing buddhism one needs to be more specific than just 'buddhism says this' or 'buddhists believe that'. Its just a cut, paste and summarise job from internet sources but hopefully it will be a help to someone out there. Any comments obviously welcome. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Mahāyāna schools Madhyamaka is a Buddhist philosophical tradition that asserts that all phenomena are empty of "self-nature" or "essence" (Sanskrit: Svabhāva), that they have no intrinsic, independent reality apart from the causes and conditions from which they arise. Madhyamaka represents the "middle way" between eternalism (the view that something is eternal and unchanging) and nihilism (the assertion that all things are intrinsically already destroyed or rendered nonexistent. This is nihilism in the sense of Indian philosophy, and may differ somewhat from Western philosophical nihilism). Yogacara The school held that consciousness (vijnana) is real, but its objects are constructions and unreal. The school's teachings are thus often characterized by the phrase “consciousness-only” (citta-matra) or “representation-only” (vijnapti-matra). The content of consciousness is produced not by independently existing objects but by the inner modifications of consciousness itself. A theory of eight kinds of consciousness was formed to explain how this process functions. The deepest level of consciousness is the “store-consciousness” (alaya-vijnana), which is both individual and universal and contains the seeds or traces of past actions, which are projected into manifestation through the “defiled mind” and the six sense-consciousnesses (the five physical senses plus mind or thought. Tathagatagarbha (tathāgatagarbha) teaches that each sentient being contains the effulgent Buddhic element or potential to become a Buddha. "Tathagata-garbha" means "Buddha Womb/ Buddha Matrix" or "Buddha Embryo", and this notion is explicated by the Buddha in the "Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra" as the "True Self" within all sentient beings - the unconditioned, boundless, nurturing, sustaining, deathless and diamond-like Self of Buddha, which is indiscernible to worldly, unawakened vision as a result of the masses of negative mental states and general moral taints which envelop it. Huayan; The most important philosophical contributions of the Huayan school were in the area of its metaphysics, as it taught the doctrine of the mutual containment and interpenetration of all phenomena: that one thing contains all things in existence, and that all things contain one. Distinctive features of this approach to Buddhist philosophy include: • Truth (or: reality) is understood as encompassing and interpenetrating falsehood (or: illusion), and vice-versa • Good is understood as encompassing and interpenetrating evil • Similarly, all mind-made distinctions are understood as 'collapsing' in the enlightened understanding of emptiness (a tradition traced back to the Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna) Pure Land ; Buddhism or Amidism, devotional sect of Mahayana Buddhism in China and Japan, centering on worship of the Buddha Amitabha. According to the Pure Land Sutras, composed in India in the 2d cent. A.D., Amitabha vowed to save all sentient beings by granting them rebirth in his realm, the “Western Paradise,” a pure land endowed with miraculous characteristics ensuring its inhabitants easy entry into nirvana. Salvation could be attained by invoking the name of Amitabha with absolute faith in his grace and the efficacy of his vow. It was believed that Amitabha and his retinue would appear to the faithful at the time of death and convey them to his paradise. In both China and Japan the movement gained impetus from the idea of the “end of the Dharma,” which divided the development of Buddhism into three ages: that of the true, the counterfeit, and the decaying dharma, that is, Buddhist teaching. Those living in the present final, degenerate age cannot attain enlightenment by the original means of self-effort, austerity, and superior knowledge and must rely entirely on faith. Theravada schools Theravada (Pali; Sanskrit: Sthaviravada) is one of the eighteen (or twenty) Nikāya schools that formed early in the history of Buddhism. These developed in India during the century subsequent to the death of the Buddha. The name of the school means "Teachings of the Elders" which implies that this was the most conservative school of Buddhism, a school that has attempted to conserve the original teachings of the Buddha. Adherents trace their lineage back to the Sthaviras (Pali: Theras; "Elders") of the First Buddhist Council when 500 arahants, including Mahakasyapa chose a position of orthodoxy to keep all the "lesser and minor" rules set by Gautama Buddha. Mahāsanghaka (Majority) sect of Buddhism was formed in the first Buddhist schism around 320 BCE. It split from the Sthaviravāda (Elders) school. The Mahāsaghikas were primarily situated in Northwestern India but also with an important presence in southeast India around Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda (the Sthaviravādins were in the Northeast). The Mahāsanghikas differed from the elders in including lay practitioners and non-enlightened monks at the communal meetings which constituted the governmental body for each sangha, allowing monks to use gold and silver and eat twice a day, and also asserted that the historical Buddha was a manifestation of a transhistorical Buddha, and phenomena are illusory and empty. Sarvastivada (roughly, "Proclaiming that all exist") --a reference to one of the distinguishing doctrines of the school, the existence of dharmas in all of "the three times" (past, present, and future). Among the defining canonical texts composed by the Sarvastivada was the Maha-vaibhasa-abhidharma-shastra, traditionally considered a systematization of the spoken teachings of Gautama Buddha. This text reflects the unique Sarvastivadin cosmology and ontology, a byzantine structure of essences and universals. The basic approach of the Sarvastivada was to regard the universe as reducible to various elements or co-efficients of existence; apparently, these were determined by taking lists of the various "indivisible" factors and substances named in the Buddha's dialogues. Heat, for instance, was the "lakshana" (distinguishing mark) of fire, and there was a common "dharma" relating all fire. The Abhidharma's approach led to many fascinating insights, including an anticipation of Newton's colour theory (specifying that white light is composed of coloured light, and then explaining those primary colours in terms of "lakshana" and "dharma"), and some very detailed systems of psychology. Among the critics of the Sarvastivada was Nagarjuna, who completely repudiated their interpretation of the Buddha's teaching as implying atom-like unities at the basis of visible phenomena, and many of the other features of their philosophy, such as a complex theory of causality and (as mentioned) time. Tantric schools (Vajrayāna) Tibbetan; There are four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. These four schools are Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug. Nyingma is actually comprised of several distinct lineages that trace their origins back to Padmasambhava, the legendary founder of Tibetan Buddhism. The name "Nyingma" means ancient, as Nyingma followers see themselves as maintaining the earliest Vajrayana teachings, which incoporates some elements of the indigenious Bön religion.Tendai (derived from Tiantai but added tantric practices) Mikkyō (literally "secret teachings", often translated as "esoteric Buddhism") is a Japanese term that refers to the esoteric Vajrayana practices of the Shingon Buddhist school and the related practices that make up part of the Tendai school. Also the various Shingon and Tendai influenced practices of Shugendo
This is actually very helpful. I have read a lot of Buddhist material, but I haven't seen such a nice summation of the schools (nicely formatted too, I might add!) Or if I have, I've completely forgotten it. Which is also entirely possible. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Thank you!
