Schools of Buddhism

Three main historical traditions of Buddhism

This article lists the main Schools of Buddhism with the major Buddhist traditions.

Early schools

See also: Early Buddhist schools

Map of the major geographical centers of Sectarian Buddhist schools in India. Sarvāstivāda (red), Theravāda (orange), Mahāsāṃghika (yellow), Pudgalavāda (green), and Dharmaguptaka (gray).

An image of Gautama Buddha with a swastika, a traditional Buddhist symbol of infinity, on his chest. Ananda, the Buddha's disciple, appears in the background. This statue is from Hsi Lai Temple.

• Sthaviravāda
  • Sarvāstivāda
    • • Kāśyapīya (after 232 BCE)
    • Mūlasarvāstivāda (third and fourth centuries)
    • Sautrāntika (between 50 BCE and c. 100 CE)
  • Vibhajyavāda (prior to 240 BCE; during Aśoka)
    • • Theravāda (c. 240 BCE)
        • Theravāda subschools (see below)
      • Mahīśāsaka (after 232 BCE)
        • Dharmaguptaka (after 232 BCE)
  • Pudgalavāda ('Personalist') (c. 280 BCE)
    • Vatsīputrīya (under Aśoka) later name: Saṃmitīya
      • Dharmottarīya
      • Bhadrayānīya
      • Sannāgarika
• Mahāsāṃghika ('Majority', c. 380 BCE)
  • Ekavyahārikas (under Aśoka)
    • Lokottaravāda
  • Golulika (during Aśoka)
    • Bahuśrutīya (late third century BCE)
    • Prajñaptivāda (late third century BCE)
      • Cetiyavāda
  • Caitika (mid-first century BCE)
    • Apara Śaila
    • Uttara Śaila

Twenty sects

Sthaviravāda split into 11 sects:

• Sarvāstivādin
• Haimavata
• Vatsīputrīya
• Dharmottara
• Bhadrayānīya
• Sammitiya
• Channagirika
• Mahīśāsaka
• Dharmaguptaka
• Kāśyapīya
• Sautrāntika

Mahāsāṃghika split into 9 sects:

• Ekavyahārika
• Lokottaravādin
• Kaukkutika
• Bahuśrutīya
• Prajñaptivāda
• Caitika
• Aparaśaila
• Uttaraśaila

Influences on East Asian schools

Monastic/vinaya influence:

East Asian Buddhist traditions generally follow the monastic tradition of the vinaya of the Dharmaguptaka lineage. However, there are exceptions. For example, some sects within Japan do not follow the traditional vinaya vows; these sects permit non-celibate "monks" or "preists".

Philosophical influence:

• The Japanese Jojitsu is considered by some an offshoot of Sautrāntika; others consider it to be derived from Bahuśrutīya.
• The Chinese/Japanese Kusha school is considered an offshoot of Sarvāstivāda, influenced by Vasubandhu.

Theravada schools

Theravāda refers to the form of Buddhism practiced in Sri Lanka and the Southeast Asia nations of Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. While there are a variety of practices and traditions that are subsumed under the name Theravāda, all of these traditions share the same set of core texts and the same monastic lineage.

The forms of Theravada Buddhism tend to reflect the local cultures of the countries in which this form of Buddhism is practiced. Hence, the form of Theravada differs in these countries:

• Sri Lanka
• Burma
• Thailand
• Cambodia
• Laos

These traditions have influenced many Western Theravada teacher:

• Thai Forest Tradition
• Vipassana movement

Also notable are:

• a small Theravada community in Bangladesh
• Tantric Theravada

Indian Mahayana schools

• Indian Buddhism
  • Mādhyamaka
    • Prāsangika
    • Svātantrika
  • Yogācāra

East Asian schools

Thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva. Guanyin Nunnery, Anhui, China

Main article: East Asian Buddhism

• Chinese Buddhism
  • Vinaya school
  • Jingtu (Pure Land)
  • Satyasiddhi (Historical)
  • Abhidharmakośa (Historical)
  • Dasabhumika school (absorbed into Huayan)
  • Tiantai
  • Huayan (Avataṃsaka)
  • Chan (Zen)
  • Tangmi (Esoteric)
  • Sanlun (Mādhyamaka)
  • Weishi (Yogācāra)
• Korean Buddhism
  • Tongbulgyo (Interpenetrated Buddhism - including Jeongto, or Pure Land)
  • Gyeyul (Vinaya school)
  • Cheontae (Tiantai)
  • Hwaeom (Avataṃsaka)
  • Seon (Zen)
  • Jingak (Esoteric)
  • Samnon (Mādhyamaka)
  • Beopsang (Yogācāra)
  • Yeolban (Nirvana school)
  • Wonbulgyo (Korean Reformed Buddhism)
• Vietnamese Buddhism
  • Tịnh Độ (Pure Land)
  • Thiền (Zen)
  • Hòa Hảo (Reformist)
• Japanese Buddhism
  • Pure Land
    • Jōdo-shū
    • Jōdo Shinshū
    • Ji-shū
    • Yūzū-nembutsu-shū
  • Risshū school (Vinaya school)
  • Jojitsu (Satyasiddhi - historical)
  • Kusha (Abhidharmakośa - historical)
  • Sanron (Mādhyamaka - historical)
  • Hossō (Yogācāra)
  • Kegon (Avatamsaka)
  • Japanese esoteric Buddhism
    • Tendai (Tiantai)
    • Shingon
      • Shinnyo-en
    • Shugendo (Syncretic)
  • Zen
    • Rinzai
    • Sōtō
    • Ōbaku
  • Nichiren Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism

Main article: Schools of Tibetan Buddhism

• Four main schools
  • Nyingma
  • Sakya
  • Kagyu
  • Gelug
• Other schools/traditions
  • Jonang
  • Bon (synthesis of indigenous Tibetan religions and Buddhism)
  • Kadam (Historical)

Also notable is the Ri-mé (non-sectarian) movement.

Other traditions

• Newar Buddhism

Tantric traditions

• Tibetan Buddhism
• East Asian Tantric Buddhism (aka Tangmi, Esoteric Buddhism, Chinese Esoteric Buddhsim)
  • Shingon
  • Tendai (derived from Tiantai but added tantric practices)
  • Shugendo (Syncretized with Shinto, Taoism, and shamanism)

See also

• Early Buddhist schools

Further reading

• Bhikkhu Sujato (2007). Sects and sectarianism: the origins of Buddhist schools, Taipei, Taiwan: Buddha Educational Foundation; revised edidion: Santipada 2012
• Dutt, N. (1998). Buddhist Sects in India. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
• Coleman, Graham, ed. (1993). A Handbook of Tibetan Culture. Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc.. ISBN 1-57062-002-4.
• Warder, A.K. (1970). Indian Buddhism. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

External links

• The Sects of the Buddhists by T. W. Rhys Davids, in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1891. pp. 409–422