sounds like you want to test the knowledge of people around here. i am sure you know the answers pretty well. for answer always comes before question, my dear!
If you type in Theravada Buddhism vs. Mahayana Buddhism you will find many links that give you this information. Please understand that each difference would require an extended cut/paste job or explanation. I'm only trying to help so that you can research each aspect on your own. I simply typed it in the yahoo search engine and the first thing that came up was religious facts.com. I do know the differences but they are just too complex to answer here. Namaste
Mahayana Buddhist
Theravada roughly translates into "The Way of the Elders", and, as such, is the oldest school of Buddhist philosophy. It's also known as 'Hinayana' or 'Lesser Vehicle', as it is generally held to be a branch of Buddhism where one has to be involved in the monastic community in order to achieve enlightenment. Their holy texts are the Pali Canon.
Mahayana Buddhism is a more esoteric branch of Buddhist philosophy that split from the Theravada tradition early on, and typically concerns itself less with a personal adherence to the Eightfold Path and more with ritual and penance and the appeasement of celestial Buddhas and benevolent deities. Branches of the Mahayana school of thought include (but are not limited to) Pure Land, New Pure Land, Bodhisattva worship, and the majority of Chinese/Japanese schools.
Tibetan Buddhism (or Lamaism as it's becoming more commonly known) originated in the Himalayan mountains by monks from the respective schools and sects of the Mahayana and Theravada communities they hailed from. Synchronizing with the local religions and beliefs of the local communities they planted themselves in, the Tibetan Buddhist sect incorporates deities, demigods, and ancestor worship into a Buddhist mode of belief. With the exile of the Dalai Lama from Tibet, the majority of the Tibetan Buddhist Sangha now resides in India, with their spiritual leader.
Any search engine or local library is likely to yield a decent amount of information on the various diverging schools of Buddhist thought. New religious traditions are emerging from these branches all the time, and it's all a matter of finding a school of thought that's right for you.
First, think of Buddhism and its' practice in terms of the aim or goal of the person practicing. A small scope practitioner seeks happiness in this life and rebirth among the human or god realms. A medium scope practitioner seeks liberation for him or herself from the process of rebirth altogether and is synonymous with "Hinayana" - or "small vehicle." "Mahayana" means "great vehicle" and refers to the practices of a great scope practitioner. Theravada is a Hinayana Buddhist practice lineage. The "object of observation" of this type of practitioner is limited to their own welfare, whereas Mahayana Buddhists take into account all of the sentient beings locked into this prison of Samara. So, the "scope" is "greater" because there are countless beings in Samara. A Hinayanist, Theravadan, for example, practices for ones own liberation, or nirvana. A Mahayanist practices for his or her own complete BuddhasOdor the benefit of all sentient beings. Tibetan Buddhism falls into the category of Mahayana Buddhism. It seems confusing at first, maybe, but if you look at all of Buddhism in terms of the three scopes, you can very easily see what the Buddha intended and this will likewise resolve seemingly contradictory words of advice for practitioners. What one practices depends largely on what they like and what they seek to accomplish - and for this reason, there are practices shared in common for beings of small scope, practices shared in common for beings of medium scope, or Hinayanists like Theravadans; and practices for beings of great scope, or Mahayanists, like any of the four Tibetan practice lineages of Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, or Geluk. Then Mahayana Buddhism has two divisions: the causal (Paramitayana - Perfection Vehicle) and resultant (Mantrayana - Tantra Vehicle). That this many divisions exist shows how diverse Buddhism is...but there are qualifying factors that can establish that there is no contradiction and Buddhist practice is not that dogmatic. You take what is useful to you and use that over and over until you attain certainty in its efficacy. Every practice has some sort of measure of success and then you move onto the next topic in depth. It is a very systematic approach that was detailed within the Blessed Mother Sutras. So, those who want a monk or nun to smack them on the head with a sandal to gain enlightenment in an instant need not apply. It takes a sustained familiarity with many of the initial level topics before you even begin to gain certainty in why you are seeking refuge at all. Then you might think about your own death for a while to stabilize your certainty in impermanence. Then you might establish a firm understainding of the ineffability of cause and effect and based on these develop some sort of coarse ethical code of behavior for yourself. Then, slowly, you learn a little bit more through study and this informs your meditation and things become much more clear and stable. You might even adopt some practices of acknowledgment of misdeeds and try and refrain from doing the misdeeds anymore because these negative mind states and the subsequent actions create all of our suffering. All of this will increase your faith that what you are doing is virtuous and the measure will be a clear conscience and a good nights sleep with pleasant dreams. So, then you might investigate a little further and through reasoning assert that with this human basis you can achieve a lot of good due to the intelligence you have. You might then deepen your understanding of ethics and try and attain some sort of mental and physical pliancy through a strong single-pointed concentration on dependent origination, the final nature of reality, which can result in special insight. These realizations would serve to liberate you from the wheel of existence, but they are not infused with much compassion for others and really, if you are sitting around in some kind of trance, or absorption, it is not of much benefit for others. On this analysis, you would look around and see that all of these realms of existence are pervaded by suffering and resolve to help, but, recognizing that only a buddha can truly help others, you decide to become a buddha yourself, no matter how long it takes! Then you might seek out a Teacher who can show you the whole path and continuing to study and practice and learning how to maneuver among the various texts, you increase your compassion and wisdom at the same time - helping others as well as yourself. In this way, the process is established in your own mind and you know why you are doing any of these things like meditation or good deeds...It has a much better chance of truly helping others when it is done because it is the right thing to do and not for any hope of reward. This is, of course, a very gross overview and I am not very skilled in explaining but thank you just the same for asking this question. It helps me to think about this graded path and the steps along the way and in checking my own mind-stream, I learn where I am lacking in effort or generosity and get motivated to persevere and concentrate and gain some insight into the Conqueror and Sage Buddha's words and the texts that explain them. Best wishes to you on your path and by this, may all sentient beings benefit.
What is the difference between the 3 kinds of Buddhism (Theravada, Mahayana, Tibetan)
