Buddhism's Original Texts 6: Spread and Sects — Theravada, Mahayana, Japan

Thank you for visiting. This article is the sixth installment (the final one) in a series explaining the original texts of Buddhism.

So far, I have explained the Buddha’s teaching (Article 1), the Tripitaka (Article 2), the Mahayana sutras (Article 3), and the worldview and the buddhas (Article 4). In this final installment, I look at the history of how Buddhism spread from India to the world and branched into many sects.

For an overview map of Buddhism’s original texts as a whole, please see this summary article.

Buddhism's Original Texts: The Tripitaka and the Major Sutrasen.senkohome.com/myths-religions-origins-buddhism/

Buddhism’s Spread — Three Great Streams

Buddhism, born in India, spread to all of Asia over a long time. Its manner of transmission divides largely into three routes.

The Origins of Religion: Why We Needed a ‘God’View on Amazon → An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Buddhist StatuesView on Amazon →

Theravada Buddhism — Faithful to the Buddha’s Teaching

“Theravada Buddhism” was transmitted from India to the south and took root in Southeast Asia, in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, and elsewhere.

Its feature lies in the point of trying to keep the Buddha’s teaching and discipline as faithfully as possible. Renunciant monks keep the discipline strictly, strive at meditation, and aim at their own enlightenment (arhat). Lay believers accumulate merit by giving food (alms) to the monks who go on alms-rounds. Monks wearing yellow robes and the scene of alms-rounds are everyday sights in these countries. The original text is the oldest, the Pali Canon.

The East Asian Development of Mahayana Buddhism

On the other hand, what was transmitted through the Silk Road to China in the north is “Mahayana Buddhism.”

In China, as an enormous body of scriptures was translated into Chinese, various sects were born according to which sutra was valued most. The Tendai sect, centered on the Lotus Sutra; the Avatamsaka sect of the Avatamsaka Sutra; the Pure Land sect of the nembutsu; and the Zen sect of seated meditation. The Zen sect in particular took as its founder “Bodhidharma,” held to have crossed from India to China, and opened its own path that values direct enlightenment through seated meditation over the words of scripture. These sects in time were transmitted, via the Korean peninsula, to Japan.

Tibetan Buddhism — the World of Vajrayana

The third great stream is “Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana, esoteric Buddhism),” which took root in Tibet and Mongolia. This developed, on top of Mahayana Buddhism, esoteric Buddhism (Tantra) — more mystical and practical methods such as the mandala, mantras, mudras (hands forming seals), and secret transmission from master to disciple. It is also precious in the point of inheriting the advanced late-Indian Buddhism almost as it was.

Tibetan Buddhism has sects such as Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug, and the leader of the Gelug, which especially values the discipline, is the well-known “Dalai Lama.” A great feature of Tibetan Buddhism is the system of “reincarnation (the incarnate lama),” in which, when a high monk dies, the child in whom his soul has dwelt is sought out and made the successor. That the Dalai Lama continues through the generations is also by this idea. Tibetan Buddhism well shows that Buddhism can take such different forms from land to land.

Japanese Buddhism — the Development of Diverse Sects

Buddhism was officially transmitted to Japan in the 6th century, it is held, and was accepted nationally by Prince Shotoku and others. After that, new sects were born age by age.

Heian Buddhism — the Tendai and Shingon Sects

At the start of the Heian period, two monks studied in China (Tang) and brought back new Buddhism.

• Saicho: opened the “Tendai sect,” centered on the Lotus Sutra, and built Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei. Mount Hiei became the “mother mountain of Japanese Buddhism,” producing many of the later Kamakura Buddhism’s founding masters
• Kukai: opened the “Shingon sect” and built Kongobu-ji on Mount Koya. He fully transmitted “esoteric Buddhism,” centered on Mahavairocana, and is known for ritual prayer and the mandala

Kamakura New Buddhism — Buddhism for the Common People

In the Kamakura period, new Buddhism preaching a plain path that even common people could practice, rather than difficult practice or scholarship, was born one after another.

The Pure Land lineage (Honen, Shinran, Ippen) preached that anyone is saved by the “nembutsu” clinging to Amitabha, and gained tremendous support from the common people. In particular, Shinran’s “the evil person as the true object (the very evil person who is aware of their own sinfulness is saved by Amitabha)” is famous.

On the other hand, the Zen sects (Eisai, Dogen) preached the path of looking at one’s own mind through seated meditation and reaching enlightenment. Their plain and robust spirit suited the temperament of the samurai, and gave a deep influence on Japanese culture (the tea ceremony, ink painting, gardens, and the like). And Nichiren held that the Lotus Sutra is the one true teaching, and preached reciting that teaching in the title “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.”

Tibetan Buddhism — the Distinctive Development of Esoteric Buddhism

Finally, the third current, “Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana).”

To Tibet was transmitted a Buddhism that highly developed esoteric Buddhism on top of Mahayana Buddhism. Under strict master-disciple relationships, it has a mystical system of practice using the mandala, mantras, and distinctive meditation methods. The one known as its leader is the “Dalai Lama,” held to be an incarnation of the bodhisattva of compassion, Kannon Bodhisattva, and believed, when he dies, to be reborn and become the successor (reincarnation).

To Learn More

Here are some related books. Reading them alongside this series lets you savor this world even more deeply.

Living Buddha, Living Christ (new edition)View on Amazon → A Complete History of Philosophy and ReligionView on Amazon →

Conclusion

In this article, I explained in detail Buddhism’s spread and sects. How was it?

Buddhism, born in India, spread into the three great currents of Theravada Buddhism (Southeast Asia), Mahayana Buddhism (East Asia), and Vajrayana (Tibet), and in Japan diverse sects blossomed — from Tendai and Shingon, to the nembutsu Pure Land and Shin Buddhism, the seated-meditation Zen, and the title-reciting Nichiren. I think you have felt the depth of Buddhism’s embrace in how the same teaching of the Buddha branched this richly.

With this, all six articles of the Buddhism original-texts series are complete. From the Buddha’s enlightenment, to the Tripitaka, the Mahayana sutras, the worldview, and the various sects, I hope you have savored the world of Buddhism’s original texts.

Besides Buddhism, I also explain the original texts of Christianity, Islam, and the mythologies of India, Greece, and more. For the full list, please see the Summary of the World’s Mythology and Religion Original Texts.

World Mythology & Religion: The Original Texts Explained — Complete Indexen.senkohome.com/myths-religions-origins/

I hope you’ll read the next article too.