What is Theravada Buddhism ?

John Bullitt

          Note : “Theravada” is pronounced (more orless, in American English) like “terra vodda”. The “th” sound in Pali is not like the “th” in “thick” ; it's pronounced morelike the “th” combination in “hothouse”.

          The “Doctrine of the Elders”

          Theravada (Pali : thera “elders” + vada” word, doctrine1”), the “Doctrine of the Elders”, is the name for the school of Buddhism that draws its scriptural inspiration from the Pali Canon, or Tipitaka, which scholars generally accept as the oldestrecord of the Buddha's teachings. For many centuries, Theravada has been the predominant religion of Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand ; today Theravada Buddhists number over100 million worldwide. In recent decades Theravada has begun to take root in the West -- primarily in Europe and the USA.

          The many names of Theravada

          Theravada Buddhism goes by many names. The Buddha himself called the religion he founded Dhamma-vinaya, “thedoctrine and discipline”, in reference to the two fundamental aspects of the system of ethical and spiritual training he taught. Owing to its historical dominance insouthern Asia (Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Burma), Theravada is also identified as “Southern Buddhism”, in contrastto “Northern Buddhism”, which migrated northwards from India into China, Tibet, Japan, and Korea. Theravada is often equated with “Hinayana” (the “LesserVehicle”), in contrast to “Mahayana” (the “Greater Vehicle”), which is usually a synonym for Tibetan Buddhism, Zen, Ch'an, and other expressions of Northern Buddhism. The use of “Hinayana” as apejorative has its origins in the early schisms within the monastic community that ultimately led to the emergence of what would later become Mahayana. Today scholars of many persuasions use the term “Hinayana” withoutpejorative intent.

          Pali : the language of Theravada

          The language of the Theravada canonical texts is Pali, are lative of Magadhi, a language probably spoken in central India during the Buddha’s time. Most of the sermons the Buddha delivered were memorized by Ven. Ananda, the Buddha's cousin and close personal attendant. Shortly after the Buddha’s death (ca. 480 BCE), the community of monks --including Ananda -- convened to recite all the sermons they had heard during the Buddha’s forty-five years of teaching. Each recorded sermon (sutta) therefore begins with the disclaimer, Evam me sutam – “Thus have I heard”. The teachings were passed down within the monastic community following a well-established oral tradition. By about 100 BCE the Tipitaka was first fixed in writing in Sri Lanka by Sinhala scribe-monks.

          Of course, it can never be proved that the Pali Canoncontains the actual words uttered by the historical Buddha (and there is ample evidence to suggest that much of theCanon does not). The wisdom the Canon contains has nevertheless served for centuries as an indispensable guide for millions of followers in their quest for Awakening.

          Many students of  Theravada find that learning the Palilanguage -- even just a little bit here and there – greatly deepens their understanding of the path of practice.

          A brief summary of the Buddha's teachings

          What follows is a brief synopsis of some of the key teachings of Theravada Buddhism. I’ve left out a great deal, but I hope that even this rough outline will be enough to getyou started in your exploration.

          Shortly after his Awakening, the Buddha (“the Awakened One”) delivered his first sermon, in which helaid out the essential frame work upon which all his later teachings were based. This frame work consists of the Four Noble Truths, four fundamental principles of nature (Dhamma) that emerged from the Buddha’s honest and penetratingassessment of the human condition and that serve to definethe entire scope of Buddhist practice. These truths are not statements of belief. Rather, they are categories by which wecan frame our direct experience in a way that is conducive to Awakening :

          1. Dukkha : suffering, unsatisfactoriness, discontent, stress ;

          2. The cause of dukkha : the cause ofthis dissatisfaction is craving (tanha) for sensuality, for states of becoming, and states of no becoming ;

          3. The cessation of dukkha : therelinquishment of that craving ;

          4. The path of practice leading to thecessation of dukkha : the Noble Eight fold Path of right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

          To each of these Noble Truths the Buddha assigned aspecific task which the practitioner is to carry out : thefirst Noble Truth is to be comprehended ; the second is to beabandoned ;  the third is to be realized ; the fourth is to bedeveloped. The full realization of the third Noble Truthpaves the way for the direct penetration of Nibbana (Sanskrit : Nirvana), the transcendent freedom that stands asthe final goal of all the Buddha’s teachings.

          The last of the Noble Truths -- the Noble Eight fold Path-- contains a prescription for the relief of our unhappinessand for our eventual release, once and for all, from thepainful and wearisome cycle of birth and death (samsara) towhich -- through our own ignorance (avijja) of the Four NobleTruths -- we have been bound for countlessaeons. The Noble Eight fold Path offers a comprehensive practical guide to the development of those wholesome qualities and skills in the human heart that must be cultivated in order to bring the practitioner to the final goal, the supreme freedom and happiness of Nibbana. In practice, the Buddha taught the Noble Eight fold Path to his followers according to a “gradual” system of training, beginning with the development of sila, or virtue (right speech, right action, and right livelihood, which are summarized in practical formby the five precepts), followed by the development of samadhi, or concentration and mental cultivation (righteffort, right mindfulness, and right concentration), culminating in the full development ofpa&ntilde ; &ntilde ; a, or wisdom (right view and rightresolve). The practice of dana (generosity) serves as asupport at every step along the path, as it can help erodethe heart’s habitual tendencies towards craving and as it canteach valuable lessons about the causes and results of one'sactions (kamma).

          Progress along the path does not follow a simple lineartrajectory. Rather, development of each aspect of the Noble Eight fold Path encourages the refinement and strengthening ofthe others, leading the practitioner ever forward in anupward spiral of spiritual maturity that culminates inAwakening.

          Seen from another point of view, the long journey on the path to Awakening begins in earnest with the first tentativestirrings of right view, the first flickerings of wisdom by which one recognizes both the validity of the first NobleTruth and the inevitability of the law of kamma (Sanskrit :karma), the universal law of cause and effect. Once onebegins to see that harmful actions inevitably bring aboutharmful results, and wholesome actions ultimately bring about wholesome results, the desire naturally grows to live askillful, morally upright life, to take seriously the practice of sila. The confidence built from this preliminary understanding inclines the follower to place an even greatertrust in the teachings. The follower becomes a “Buddhist” upon expressing an inner resolve to “take refuge” in the Triple Gem : the Buddha (boththe historical Buddha and one’s own innate potential for Awakening), the Dhamma (both the teachings of the historical Buddha and the ultimate Truth towards which they point), and the Sangha (both the monastic community that has protectedthe teachings and put them into practice since the Buddha’s day, and all those who have achieved at least some degree of Awakening). With one's feet thus firmly planted on the groundby taking refuge, and with the help of an admirable friend (kalyanamitta) to help show the way, one can set out alongthe Path, confident that one is indeed following in the footsteps left by the Buddha himself.

          Buddhism is sometimes na&iuml ; vely criticized as a “negative” or “pessimistic” religion and philosophy. After all (so the argument goes) life is not allmisery and disappointment : it offers many kinds of joy and happiness. Why then this pessimistic Buddhist obsession withunsatisfactoriness and suffering ?

          The Buddha based his teachings on a frank assessment ofour plight as humans : there is unsatisfactoriness and suffering in the world. No one can argue this fact. Were the Buddha’s teachings to stop there, we might indeed regard themas pessimistic and life as utterly hopeless. But, like adoctor who prescribes a remedy for an illness, the Buddha offers hope (the third Noble Truth) and a cure (the fourth).The Buddha’s teachings thus give cause for an extraordinary degree of optimism in a complex, confusing, and difficultworld. One modern teacher summed it up well : “Buddhismis the serious pursuit of happiness”.

          The Buddha claimed that the Awakening he re-discovered isaccessible to anyone willing to put forth the effort and commitment required to pursue the Noble Eightfold Path to itsend. It is up to each of us individually to put that claim tothe test.

          Theravada comes West

          Until the late 19th century, the teachings of Theravada were little known outside of Southern and Southeast Asia, where they had flourished for some two and one-halfmillennia. In the last century, however, the West has begun to take notice of Theravada's unique spiritual legacy and teachings of Awakening. In recent decades, this interest has swelled, with the monastic Sangha from the various schools within Theravada establishing dozens of monasteries across Europe and North America. In addition, a growing number oflay meditation centers in the West, operating independently of the Sangha, currently strain to meet the demands of laymen and women -- Buddhist and otherwise -- seeking to learn selected aspects of the Buddha's teachings.

          The turn of the 21st century presents both opportunitie sand dangers for Theravada in the West : Will the Buddha’s teachings be patiently studied and put into practice, so that they may be allowed to establish deep roots in Western soil, for the benefit of many generations to come ? Will the currentpopular climate of “openness” andcross-fertilization between spiritual traditions lead to theemergence of a strong new form of Buddhist practice unique tothe modern era, or will it simply lead to the dilution and confusion of these priceless teachings ? These are open questions ; only time will tell.

          Fortunately, the Buddha left us with some very clear and simple guidelines to help us find our way through the perplexing maze of purportedly “Buddhist” teachings that are available to us today. Whenever you find yourself questioning the authenticity of a particular teaching, heedwell the Buddha's advice to his stepmother :

          The qualities of which you may know, ‘These qualities leadto passion, not to dispassion ; to being fettered, not tobeing unfettered ; to accumulating, not to shedding ; to self-aggrandizement, not to modesty ; to discontent, not to contentment ; to entanglement, not to seclusion ; to laziness, not to aroused persistence ; to being burdensome, not to beingunburdensome’ : You may definitely hold, ‘This is not the Dhamma, this is not the Vinaya, this is not the Teacher's instruction’.

          As for the qualities of which you may know, ‘These qualities lead to dispassion, not to passion ; to being unfettered, not to being fettered ; to shedding, not to accumulating ; to modesty, not to self-aggrandizement ; tocontentment, not to discontent ; to seclusion, not toentanglement; to aroused persistence, not to laziness ; to being unburdensome, not to being burdensome’ : You may definitely hold, ‘This is the Dhamma, this is the Vinaya, this is the Teacher's instruction’. -- AN VIII.53

          The truest test of these teachings, of course, is whether they yield the promised results in the crucible of your ownheart. The Buddha presented us with a challenge ; it is up to each of us individually to put that challenge to the test.

          Source : Access-to-Insight, November 1999,

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/theravada.html