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Southern Buddhism,Eastern Buddhism, andNorthern Buddhism are geographical terms sometimes used to describe the three mainschools of Buddhism:Theravāda,Mahāyāna, andVajrayāna.Buddhism is anIndian religion[1] anddhārma that encompasses a variety oftraditions,beliefs, andspiritual practices based onteachings attributed toGautama Buddha (5th century BCE), but diversified since then in awide variety of schools and traditions.[1] Buddhism originated inancient India,[1] from wheretheBuddhadhārma spread from thenortheastern region of theIndian subcontinent throughoutCentral Asia,East Asia,Mainland Southeast Asia, andMaritime Southeast Asia.[2]
"Southern Buddhism" refers to the traditions of Buddhism that were established inIndia,Sri Lanka, and countries inMainland andMaritimeSoutheast Asia, especiallyCambodia,Indonesia,Laos,Myanmar (Burma),Thailand, andVietnam.[3] Southern Buddhists are primarily connected by their strict adherence to thePāli Canon,monasticism and its prevalent monastic rules,meditation, and ritual practices.[3][4] Southern Buddhism tends to be in agreement that thecanonical Pāli scriptures and commentaries are considered its textual authority, and a strong monastic tradition along withasceticism,celibacy, and the practice ofrenunciation (considered the best way to live one's life) allows its adherents to disregard worldly concerns and devote all of their attention tomeditative techniques and religious practices alone in order to achieveliberation.[3][4] It is usually considered to be synonymous withTheravāda Buddhism.[3]
Buddhists in this region place their trust in the Triple Gem:Buddha,Dharma, andSaṃgha, and is of utmost important in order toseek refuge to the Triple Gem for conducting a Buddhist way of life. The Saṃgha includes bothordained nuns andlay supporters of the monastic community while referring to the overall body of the spiritually advanced community. However,monks are predominately the symbol of the Saṃgha and worship. Ranking for the Saṃgha is based on seniority by the time of entry and gender, while many decisions are made ideally by consensus within the monastic community.[5]
Themonastic orders of Southern Buddhism are characterized by a strict rule of celibacy, detachment, and monastic discipline.[3] There are two distinctions of monastic members within the Saṃgha: those whose primary duty are theBuddhist sacred scriptures, where they would be a resident in a monastic institution intending to study, preserve, and teach the traditions that are passed down to the next generations; whereas those whose primary duty ismeditation would instead focus on thepath to liberation by gaininginsight andrealizations on the true nature of reality, often through reclusive forest retreats, in order to achievenirvāṇa. The monastic community is an important social institution that provides education and social mobility for the bright and ambitious.[4]
"Northern Buddhism" sometimes refers to Buddhism as practiced inEast Asia and theTibetan Plateau, particularlyBhutan,China,Japan,Korea,Mongolia,Nepal,Taiwan,Tibet, andVietnam, and formerly inmedieval India before thedecline of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent. It is often held to be synonymous withMahāyāna Buddhism. However, the term Northern Buddhism is also sometimes used to refer specifically toTibetan (includingMongolian) Buddhism. In this terminology, the traditions of Buddhism that were established inChina,Japan,Korea etc. are collectively referred to as "Eastern Buddhism".[a] The BrillDictionary of Religion[b] uses the term "Northern Buddhism" in a sense exclusive ofVajrayāna Buddhism.
Inpre-sectarian Buddhism, doctrinal variations did not necessarily imply separate organizations, so theMahāyāna movement spread within rather than institutionally separating itself from theearly monastic orders. The same is generally true ofTibetan Buddhist monasticism; the monastic code followed is that of theMūlasarvastivāda, an ancient Indian order of Buddhist monks. Tibetan Buddhists also sharetantric practices and perspectives belonging to bothMahāyāna andVajrayāna branches of Buddhism, while they are divided into monastic orders are loosely organized schools based ondifferent lineages of teachers and not, in most cases, on strictly doctrinal differences.
Additionally, the main four traditions of Tibetan Buddhism areKagyu (bka' brgyud),Sakya (sa skya'),Nyingma (rnying ma), andGeluk (dge lugs), but each of these major schools contains groupings within it, which may be to a greater or lesser extent autonomous.[6] Certain doctrinal positions or specialisms in specific practices are associated with each school, but just as in the ancient Buddhist orders, there are no rigid sectarian boundaries.[7] The Buddhism of this branch derives from later Indian Buddhism, especially of thePāla dynasty (ruling overBengal,Bihar from the 8th to 12th centuries CE), incorporating Buddhist monastic scholarship, Mahāyāna philosophy, and tantric traditions. It preserveslarge collections of scriptural and commentarial Buddhist texts inTibetan language, including a comprehensive set of translations fromSanskrit literary sources as well as a vast indigenous literature.[8]
The use and meaning of these terms reflects only the contemporary situation of the various schools of Buddhism in Asia, and even that only imperfectly. While the Theravada presently dominates in Southeast Asia, prior to the 13th century the Mahayana was also well established in that region. The survival of certain Mahayana notions in popular Southeast Asian Buddhism (such as the worship ofLokesvara- a form ofAvalokitesvara- inThailand) reflect the early presence of Mahayana ideology in the "Southern Buddhist" world. Ongoing contact between Southeast Asia and India brought a variety of doctrines, relics, and texts into Southeast Asia from both the Mahayana andVajrayana traditions, as well as the Theravada and the otherearly Buddhist schools. Only after the decline of Buddhism in India did Theravada Buddhism begin to dominate in Southeast Asia, with Theravada-dominated Sri Lanka replacing India as the source of new texts and teachers.
The historical evidence for the cohabitation of Mahayana and non-Mahayana monks in some South Asian monasteries during the spread of Buddhism from India to East Asia provides additional evidence that the form of Buddhism practiced in the "Northern" territories likely retains many non-Mahayana influences. Furthermore, in certain regions of China and East Asia (notably in Southern China), non-Mahayana forms of Buddhism were sometimes dominant.
Vietnam represents an interesting case of a country lying in the liminal region between the Northern and Southern Buddhist schools. As might be expected, Vietnamese Buddhism shows both a strong Mahayana and Theravada influence.
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