Three Schools of Buddhism & Their Teachings
Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana
The Theravada, the Tradition of the Elders, is the venerable ancient school of Buddhism, dating to the time of Sakyamuni Buddha. It is sometimes mislabeled the Hinayana, a term which is both incorrect and pejorative. When referring to the Theravada path of individual liberation, my own Tibetan teacher Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche often called it the Root Vehicle, or the original Teachings. He used to say that you should venerate even a small piece of cloth the color of the Buddhist robes, and never criticize a monk or nun who has dedicated their entire life to the path. Theravada is also known as “Southern Buddhism”, since it is predominantly practiced in South Asian countries like Burma, Thailand, and Sri Lanka.
Historically speaking, then the Mahayana, or Great Vehicle, then arose; it is renowned as the path of universal liberation, because its teachings emphasize that all practice must be dedicated to the liberation of all beings, since we are all inseparable. The main teachings of the Mahayana arose as the Buddha appeared in the form of various meditation deities through various visions. These Mahayana teachings laid the groundwork for a lay revolution, stressing integrating the Dharma practices and principles into everyday life through practicing wisdom and compassion, the two wings of enlightenment. Mahayana is now familiar to Americans in the form of Zen Buddhism.
The Vajrayana, or Diamond Vehicle, emerged later among the Indian and Himalayan siddhas (spiritual adepts), probably around the sixth and seventh centuries CE. This Lightning Path of the non-dual Tantric Vehicle taught enlightenment in one life, that nirvana is right here and now, and that it is experienceable now. This is the profound, esoteric, mystical path of tantra. This is the Vajrayana, the lightning-bolt path– the quick path, the rocket path. The Vajrayana is predominantly associated with Tibetan Buddhism, which developed in Tibet and the greater trans-Himalayan region.
From Lama Surya Das: www.dzogchen.org/teachings
Thank you.
Teachings of the Three (or Four) Traditions
The main teachings of the Theravada are the “sutras”, or teachings traditionally held to be spoken by Sakyamuni Buddha, the historical Buddha of our time. Sakyamuni (“Sage of the Sakya Clan”) was born in Lumbini, Nepal, around 543 BCE. Soon after his death, or parinirvana, in 483 BCE, his teachings were recited by his close attendant Ananda and other learned monks and nuns, collectively verified and categorized, memorized, and passed down orally from generation to generation; fortunately, through meditation, samadhi and yoga many of them had developed prodigious memories. “Sutra” literally means “thread”, which refers to the thread that held together the palm leaves on which the teachings were finally written down centuries later. These original sutras are in the Pali language, which we still use, for example, when we chant “Namoh tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa” (Homage to the Enlightened One, the Perfectly Awakened One–blessed is He) at the beginning of our retreats and in certain practices.
In Tibetan Buddhism, the fundamental teachings of the Root Vehicle are referred to as the First Cycle or First Turning of the Wheel, which Lord Buddha began in Deer Park at Sarnath, outside Benares, by giving his Fire Sermon to five wandering ascetics. The First Cycle includes the basic teachings of the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, the Three Trainings, the three characteristics of existence, the training precepts, and so forth.
This First Cycle emphasizes renunciation, impermanence, the unsatisfying nature of worldly pursuits and desires, simplicity, virtue, mindfulness and lovingkindness, and the possibility that anyone could eventually achieving enlightenment by walking the path of awakening.
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The Second Cycle or Turning of the Wheel, the Mahayana teachings, further developed what Buddha had already taught by strongly emphasizing compassion, mind training and attitude transformation, and the Bodhisattva Vow of striving for universal enlightenment, while adding on more devotional practices and philosophical doctrines, including the doctrine of Buddha nature, the notion of innumerable Buddhas and Buddhiverses, as well as the vital doctrine of sunyata (emptiness) and the illusory nature of reality.
The Mahayana sutras were written and transmitted in Sanskrit, the sophisticated, highly venerated Indian “Language of the Gods”. Among these are the Heart Sutra, on the subject of the about ultimate reality (Sunyata: emptiness), said to be spoken by the Buddha to his monks and nuns when he appeared in the guise of Avalokiteshvara on Vulture Peak in Rajgir, several miles from Bodh Gaya. I will never forget my first visit to Vulture’s Peak with my guru, the late meditation master Venerable Kalu Rinpoche, in January of 1974; it was as if the Buddha in the form of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva (The Buddha of Compassion) was still sitting there, radiating teachings and blessings. During that visit, Vipassana master U Goenka and Fuji Guruji of Japan were also there, so there were many enlightening ones present.
We also have in Sanskrit the Diamond Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, the Flower Garland Sutra, and many others taught and transmitted in this mystical fashion. So that’s what appearing in the guise of various other forms or meditational deities means. If you read the Heart Sutra, a classic sutra of Buddhism, you’ll see it says, “Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, when practicing deeply the transcendental wisdom, prajna paramita, perceived that all five skandhas (or components of individuality) are empty, and was liberated from all suffering and confusion.” That great sutra was spoken by Avalokiteshvara– Buddha appearing in the form of Avalokiteshvara, that is– on Vulture Peak, where the Buddha himself had meditated during his earthly life. This is one example of a Mahayana sutra. There are many other sublime sutras, which I would recommend for your study and reflection, including the Surangama Sutra, the Lankavatara Sutra, the Diamond Sutra, and the Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra.
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The Third Turning of the Wheel is the Vajrayana, or resultant vehicle, which takes the power of nirvana as path, using the result as path. Vajrayana explains how to achieve perfect Buddhahood in a single lifetime through the assistance of a guru combined with spiritual practice. We find in the Vajrayana teachings on innate Buddha-nature, the Clear Light, and pure perceptions, as well as many other tantric practices.
The Vajrayana scriptures came down to us as the tantras. The tantras were received through visions and revelations, or from higher spiritual epiphanies and realizations. Many, including the seventeen Dzogchen tantras, were received in secret “twilight” languages like Dakini script (Devanagiri), rather than Pali or Sanskrit. The tantras include a whole array of teachings on the nondual teachings of Mahamudra and Dzogchen, as well as teachings on such topics as Kalachakra, bardo, dream yoga, tantric energy yoga, visionary practices, and the rainbow light body.
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Though Dzogchen is part of the Vajrayana in general terms, it’s also complete and coherent as a system in and unto itself. In the Tibetan Buddhist scheme of the four progressive Turnings of the Wheel, Dzogchen is separated out from the rest of the Vajrayana, into the Fourth Turning. Dzogchen means Innate Great Perfection or Natural Great Completeness. It is the highest teaching of the Nyingmapa (“Ancient”) School of Tibetan Buddhism. The Dzogchen tradition is comprised of the teachings of nondual, innate Buddha-ness, which directly introduce and unveil the true nature of mind (innate awareness, or rigpa in Tibetan). This Fourth Turning comes mainly from the tantras, as well as from termas, which are the hidden teachings of Padma Sambhava, his disciple Yeshe Tsogyel, and other teachers who secreted them in various ways for future generations. Termas are “The Hidden Teachings of Tibet,” as contemporary Buddhist teacher and scholar Tulku Thondup calls them; they include the numerous splendid visions, revelations, and initiation cycles written down by such enlightened masters as Longchenpa and Jigme Lingpa of the Nyingmapa lineage. It is interesting and remarkable to note that some of our own recent teachers, such as Dudjom Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Kangyur Rinpoche and others have in our own time uncovered terma revelations. They thus join the 108 Tertons of Tibet (revealers of hidden teachings) chronicled by the nineteenth century saint and Rime (nonsectarian practice lineage) master and saint Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche as part of the Terton (treasure-master) lineage.
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The Nyingmapa school of Tibetan Buddhism breaks Buddhist teachings out from the typical Tibetan scheme of the Three Yanas (“Hinayana”, Mahayana, and Vajrayana) into the Nine Yanas (Nine Vehicles of Teaching and Practice). The first and second of the Yanas correspond to the First and Second Turnings of the Wheel, the Theravada and Mahayana cycles. The Vajrayana, the Third Turning, is further broken out into the six Tantrayanas, going from external tantra where you visualize the meditational archetype or deity in front of you and receive blessings and empowerment from them; to the internal Tantras, where you realize yourself as the deity–visualizing yourself as Tara, Manjushri, Buddha, or whoever the archetype is. Finally, there are the non-dual Tantras, where every arising in your mind is recognized as the spontaneous display of Buddha mind, or the innate deity-ness. So there are the outer, inner, and non-dual Tantras.
In the Nine Yana scheme of the Tibetan commentators, Dzogchen, or Ati Yoga Tantra in Sanskrit, is the Ninth or ultimate yana. “Ati” means peak or summit. That’s why the Dalai Lama, who himself studied Dzogchen with my own guru the late great Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, calls it “the practice of Buddhas.” It is rigpa (Buddha-mind, Dharmakaya) practice, not mind practice such as concentration or visualization.
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Despite this division of Buddhism into the different traditions, again, we should not consider these as hard and fast categories. We can certainly find elements of each path in the Buddhist traditions of most Asian countries; and in Buddhism in the West, these classifications and compartmentalizations are blurring around the edges, as many Americans and Europeans practice in and learn from more than one tradition and pursue the Buddhist path of enlightenment through the Three Trainings common to all schools and traditions of Buddhism-sila (ethical self-discipline), samadhi (meditation and mindfulness), and prajna (wisdom and love training). Many learn mindfulness here, chanting there, and receive empowerments or study Buddhist philosophy elsewhere.
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