| Movement |
Theravada |
Mahayana |
Vajrayana |
| Name |
Teaching of the Elders |
Great Vehicle |
Diamond Vehicle |
| Type |
Southern Buddhism |
Northern Buddhism |
| Location |
Tailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, Laos |
China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, U.S.A., Europe |
Tibet, Mongolia, U.S.A., Japan |
| Basic Scriptures |
Tripitaka (vinaya,sutta, and nikaya, abhidharma), Pali-canon |
Lotus-Sutra, Prajnaparamita Sutra, Nirvana Sutra, Tathagatagarbha Sutra |
Prajnaparamita Sutra and Tantric literature, Mahavairochana Sutra |
| Belief about Buddha |
historical person |
universal principle, manifested, e.g., in the historical Buddha, host of Buddhas |
| Religious Ideal |
Arhat(remains in nirvana after attainment) |
Bodhisattva (postpones nirvana in order to aid humankind) |
| Basic Metaphysical principles |
without substance, reality comprises a chain of movements |
doctrines of emptiness and buddha-nature, p'an chiao, upaya |
| religious life |
traditionally monastic |
traditionally Mahayana cultivates the religious life of monastic and lay communities alike. Cultivation of ritual life. |
| subdivisions |
_ |
Zen, Pure Land, Nichiren-shu |
Tibetan Buddhism, Shingon |
