Theravāda (Pali: 𑀣𑁂𑀭𑀯𑀸𑀤, Theravāda; Sanskrit: स्थविरवाद, Sthaviravāda) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed Theravādins (anglicized from Pali theravādī, 𑀣𑁂𑀭𑀯𑀸𑀤𑀻), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or Dhamma in the Pāli Canon for over two millennia. As of 2010, Theravāda is the second largest branch of Buddhism, with 36% of Buddhists belonging to Theravāda, compared to 53% to Mahāyāna.
The Pāli Canon is the most complete Buddhist canon surviving in a classical Indian language, Pāli, which serves as the school's sacred language and lingua franca.Crosby, Kate (2013), Theravada Buddhism: Continuity, Diversity, and Identity, p. 2. In contrast to Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna, Theravāda tends to be conservative in matters of the theoretical study (pariyatti) of the doctrine (Dhamma) and monastic discipline (Vinaya).Gombrich, Richard (2006), Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo, Routledge; 2nd edition, p. 37. One element of this conservatism is the fact that Theravāda rejects the authenticity of the Mahayana sutras (which appeared onwards).Hay, Jeff (2009). "World Religions" p. 189. Greenhaven Publishing LLC.Buswell, Robert E (2004). Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (2004), p. 293. Consequently, Theravāda generally does not recognize the existence of many Buddhas/bodhisattvas believed by the Mahāyāna school, such as Amitābha and Vairocana, because they are not found in their scriptures.Williams, Paul, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, Routledge, 2008, p. 21. At the same time, however, the Pāli Canon's Apadāna (1.20 and 1.64), a late addition to the Khuddaka Nikaya, contains poetic passages that mention "many Buddhas" and "buddhakhetta" (Buddha-fields).
Theravāda derives from Indian Sthavira nikāya (an early Buddhist school). This tradition developed significantly in India from the 3rd century BCE onward, particularly with the writing down of the Pāli Canon and the growth of its commentarial literature. From both India, as its historical origin, and Sri Lanka, as its principal center of development, the Theravāda tradition subsequently spread to Southeast Asia, where it became the dominant form of Buddhism. Theravāda is the official religion of Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Cambodia, and the main dominant Buddhist variant found in Laos and Thailand. It is practiced by minorities in India, Bangladesh, China, Nepal, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as by diaspora from all these groups and converts from around the world.
During the modern era, new developments have included Buddhist modernism, the Vipassana movement which reinvigorated Theravāda meditation practice, the growth of the Thai Forest Tradition which reemphasized forest monasticism and the spread of Theravāda westward to places such as India and Nepal, along with Buddhist immigrants and converts in the European Union, in the United Kingdom and in the United States.
Etymology The Pali term Theravāda translates to "Doctrine of the Elders"; thera (Sanskrit sthavira) means "elder" or "senior monk", while vāda means "doctrine", "teaching" or "school". The term references the school's asserted roots in the early Buddhist Sthavira nikāya.
According to Kate Crosby, in "the Mahāvihāra in Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka in the fifth century CE ... the term thera-vāda was used to refer to the teachings of ... those senior monks who gathered [at] “the first council”." This usage attributed the Mahāvihāra's own canonical codifications and commentaries of the Tipitaka to the Buddha's immediate arahant disciples. "In the twelfth century, the Mahāvihāra monastic tradition came to dominate the Buddhism of Sri Lanka and [from there] Southeast Asia".Crosby, 2013, p. 3.
But it "is only in the modern period that the term thera-vāda ... came to be equated with the community religion of this region, becoming its official designation at the World Fellowship of Buddhists in 1950".Crosby, 2013, p. 2. Colonial-era scholarship of the 19th and 20th centuries initially called this tradition Southern Buddhism, associating it with "the 222 doctrinal theses claimed as “orthodox” in the Abhidhamma book, the Kathāvatthu". This "led to it being labeled as one of the Hīnayāna “inferior vehicle” schools, a pejorative term found in Mahayana sūtras to refer to the Buddhism of the opponents... It was in reaction to this identification that representatives... from the end of the nineteenth century" sought an acceptable common label, ultimately settling on "Theravāda".Crosby, 2013, p. 4.
There has been a tendency among some Buddhist scholars of proposing that the term Theravāda be replaced. Gethin has argued in detail for the alternatives Theriya (others prefer instead Theravaṃsa). The problematization of continuing the use of the term Theravāda appears to be in particular related to the idea that the current usage originated with the British Monk Ānanda Metteyya at the beginning of the twentieth century. Bhikkhu Anālayo has documented the gradual evolution of the term from its earliest occurrence in Pāli discourses to later Pāli literature, showing that it already acquired its present meaning prior to its use by Ānanda Metteyya. In addition to identifying an occurrence of the term in an 18th century inscription, he also points out that it is problematic for Western scholars to attempt to change the term, given that its current usage reflects a decision taken by Buddhists of South and Southeast Asia at the founding convention of the World Fellowship of Buddhists held in 1950 to adopt the term Theravāda. This was in response to being labelled Hīnayāna not only by Mahāyāna Buddhists but also by Western scholars. Besides being a derogatory term, its application is unjustified as the path to Buddhahood has for a long time been and still is recognized as a viable soteriological orientation in Theravāda Buddhist traditions and pursued by some of its eminent members.
History
Pre-modern
The Theravāda school descends from the Vibhajjavāda, a division within the Sthāvira nikāya, one of the two major orders that arose after the first schism in the Indian Buddhist community.Skilton, Andrew (2004). A Concise History of Buddhism. pp. 49, 64.Cousins, Lance (2001). "On the Vibhajjavādins" , Buddhist Studies Review 18 (2), 131–182. Theravāda sources trace their tradition to the Third Buddhist council when elder Moggaliputta-Tissa is said to have compiled the Kathavatthu, an important work which lays out the Vibhajjavāda doctrinal position.Berkwitz, Stephen C. (2012). South Asian Buddhism: A Survey, Routledge, pp. 44-45.
Aided by the patronage of Mauryan kings like Ashoka, this school spread throughout India and reached Sri Lanka through the efforts of missionary monks like Mahinda. In Sri Lanka, it became known as the Tambapaṇṇiya (and later as Mahāvihāravāsins) which was based at the Great Vihara (Mahavihara) in Anuradhapura (the ancient Sri Lankan capital). According to Theravāda sources, another one of the Ashokan missions was also sent to Suvaṇṇabhūmi ("The Golden Land"), which may refer to Southeast Asia.Mahavamsa: The great chronicle of Ceylon tr. Wilhelm Geiger. Pali Text Society, 1912, pp. 82, 86.
By the first century BCE, Theravāda Buddhism was well established in the main settlements of the Kingdom of Anuradhapura.De Silva, K. M. (2005), pp. 9-12. The Pali Canon, which contains the main scriptures of the Theravāda, was committed to writing in the first century BCE.Gombrich, Richard (2006), Theravada Buddhism, a social history from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo, p. 152. Routledge. Throughout the history of ancient and medieval Sri Lanka, Theravāda was the main religion of the Sinhalese people and its temples and monasteries were patronized by the Sri Lankan kings, who saw themselves as the protectors of the religion.Bandaranayake, S.D. Sinhalese Monastic Architecture: The Viháras of Anurádhapura, p. 25.
Over time, two other sects split off from the Mahāvihāra tradition, the Abhayagiri and Jetavana.Warder, A.K. Indian Buddhism. 2000. p. 280. While the Abhayagiri sect became known for the syncretic study of Mahayana and Vajrayana texts, as well as the Theravāda canon, the Mahāvihāra tradition did not accept these new scriptures.Hirakawa, Akira; Groner, Paul (translator) (2007). A History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna. pp. 121-124. Instead, Mahāvihāra scholars like Buddhaghosa focused on the exegesis of the Pali scriptures and on the Abhidhamma. These Theravāda sub-sects often came into conflict with each other over royal patronage.De Silva, K. M. (2005), p. 63. The reign of Parākramabāhu I (1153–1186) saw an extensive reform of the Sri Lankan sangha after years of warfare on the island. Parākramabāhu created a single unified sangha which came to be dominated by the Mahāvihāra sect.De Silva, K. M. (1981), p. 73.
Epigraphical evidence has established that Theravāda Buddhism became a dominant religion in the Southeast Asian kingdoms of Sri Ksetra and Dvaravati from about the 5th century CE onwards.Skilling, Peter. The Advent of Theravada Buddhism to Mainland South-east Asia, Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies. Volume 20, Number 1, Summer 1997. The oldest surviving Buddhist texts in the Pāli language are gold plates found at Sri Ksetra dated circa the 5th to 6th century. Before the Theravāda tradition became the dominant religion in Southeast Asia, Mahāyāna, Vajrayāna and Hinduism were also prominent.Frasch, Tilman. "The Theravaada Buddhist Ecumene in the Fifteenth Century: Intellectual Foundations and Material Representations" in Buddhism Across Asia, Networks of Material, Intellectual and Cultural Exchange, Volume 1 – Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (2014), p. 347.
Starting at around the 11th century, Sinhalese Theravāda monks and Southeast Asian elites led a widespread conversion of most of mainland Southeast Asia to the Theravādin Mahavihara school.Gombrich (2006), p. 3. The patronage of monarchs such as the Burmese king Anawrahta (Pali: Aniruddha, 1044–1077) and the Thai king Ram Khamhaeng (floruit. late 13th century) was instrumental in the rise of Theravāda Buddhism as the predominant religion of Burma and Thailand.Lieberman, Victor B (2003). Strange Parallels: Southeast Asia in Global Context, c. 800–1830, Volume 1: Integration on the Mainland. Cambridge University Press. pp. 115–116. .Patit Paban Mishra (2010). The History of Thailand, p. 37-38. Greenwood History of Modern Nations Series.Yoneo Ishii (1986). Sangha, State, and Society: Thai Buddhism in History, p. 60. University of Hawaii Press.
Burmese and Thai kings saw themselves as Dhamma Kings and as protectors of the Theravāda faith. They promoted the building of new temples, patronized scholarship, monastic ordinations and missionary works as well as attempted to eliminate certain non-Buddhist practices like animal sacrifices.Harvey (1925), pp. 172–173.Leider, Jacques P. Text, Lineage and Tradition in Burma. The Struggle for Norms and Religious Legitimacy Under King Bodawphaya (1782-1819). The Journal of Burma Studies Volume 9, 2004, pp. 95-99.Jermsawatdi, Promsak (1979). Thai Art with Indian Influences, p. 33. Abhinav Publications. During the 15th and 16th centuries, Theravāda also became established as the state religion in Cambodia and Laos. In Cambodia, numerous Hindu and Mahāyāna temples, most famously Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, were transformed into Theravādin monasteries.Evans, Grant (2002). A Short History of Laos: The Land in Between, pp. 15-16. Allen & Unwin.Harris, Ian (2008). Cambodian Buddhism: History and Practice, pp. 35-36. University of Hawaii Press.
Modern history