Theravada Buddhism

What is Theravada Buddhism?

Theravada Buddhism is a form of Buddhism which is practiced mainly in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka. It is in Sri Lanka, Burma, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. The population of Theravada is about one hundred million. The attitude of Theravada Buddhists is rather conservative when compared to other schools of Buddhism. There is a special characteristic of Theravada Buddhism, though, and that is the belief that Pali language is the language of the Buddha, and there is a tendency to use only this language, and not any other language in the rituals, and in teaching it is always referred to in texts with access in Pali. Another aspect is the belief that it is the most orthodox form of Buddhism, and there is a strong tendency to keep it like that; not to change.

What is the Dharma?

The Dharma is the universal principle, it's what is believed to be the core of existence that make us and make the world, what we are; the things as they are now. So Dharma is like god in Buddhism, but is not a personal god. But Dharma is the abstract - will exist beyond time.

Is Theravada the oldest form of Buddhism?

I would not say that Theravada, as we have now, is the same Buddhism as it was in the fourth century B.C. There are a lot of changes, and things have been changing. But what I shall explain is what the ethos of a Theravada Buddhist think of himself. We think of ourselves as, the oldest and the original. But things have been changing all the time.

How do Buddhists worship?

Usually, in the West, worship means rituals, but to worship is something personal, something that you revere with your sincere feeling you offer to some particular person, or some authority, or some kind of abstract goodness. Worship can be done without any priests. It doesn't need a church, only the mind. In the very oldest teachings of Buddha, it is the mind that has a deep respect to the Dharma, and they think this is the original teaching of the Buddha. The Buddha said, "I always worship the Dharma." The way he worshiped the Dharma is by living it, by helping other people. By worshiping the Dharma, one becomes the embodiment of the Dharma.

What did the Buddha teach his worshippers?

By the original meaning, the Buddha taught he was to worship Darma. Darma is the abstract foundation of the whole universe, what exists before time. It's not a person, and it doesn't have feeling, but it has the causality, and the principle which is supposed to be everything, what makes things are, and what makes the mind as it is.