Buddhism in Five Minutes - Elizabeth J. Harris

Buddhism in Five Minutes - Elizabeth J. Harris

39. What are the Main Contemporary Divisions in Buddhism: Theravāda, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna?

Buddhism in Five Minutes - Elizabeth J. Harris

Christopher V. Jones [+-]
University of Cambridge
Christopher V. Jones is a Bye-Fellow of Selwyn College, and affiliated lecturer and research associate at the Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge. A primary focus of his research is the history of Mahayana Buddhist thought in the early centuries of the Common Era, preserved in Sanskrit, Chinese, and Tibetan literature.

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It is frequently said that in the world today there are three types of Buddhism: Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. This is certainly true, although it is wrong to think of these as monolithic entities, or as three “schools” or “sects” that differ from each other in simple matters of belief. Each of these labels has a complex history, and refers to families of still very diverse modes of Buddhist thought and practice across different regions and periods of Asian and, more recently, global religious history.

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Citation

Jones, Christopher. 39. What are the Main Contemporary Divisions in Buddhism: Theravāda, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna?. Buddhism in Five Minutes. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 193-198 Oct 2021. ISBN 9781800500907. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=40778. Date accessed: 13 Dec 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.40778. Oct 2021

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