Theravada Buddhism

Presented by Group 5

2 Group Members1. Ven.Jaivainda -2. Ven.Indacara-3. Ven.Nyarnabala4. Ven.Keymeinda5. Ven.Tejadhamma6. Ven.Tejaniya7. Ven.Kawvida

3Introduction to Theravada Buddhism

Theravada Buddhism, the "Doctrine of the Elders," is one of the three major sects of Buddhism. It emerged out of a series of schisms that began in the 4th century B.C.E. in the Buddhist communities of India and became prominent in Sri Lanka and southeast Asia including Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos, which has led some to call it Southern Buddhism.

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Theravada Buddhism is associated with South East Asia and is perhaps closer to the original Indian form of Buddhism.

5In modern times, the Theravada school has expanded worldwide and it seems likely to be universalized rather than culturally specific. There are an estimated 100 million Theravada Buddhists worldwide. One of the key features of this Buddhist school is the use of Pali as a sacred language and the Pali Buddhist canon (also called Tipitaka) as the highest scriptural authority, which was written around the first century BCE.

6The Language of the

Dhamma teachings

Tipitaka is strictly in Pali. Dharma teaching in Pali supplemented by local language.

PaliTheravada Buddhism uses Pali as its main liturgical language, and prefers its scriptures to be studied in the original Pali. In Thailand, Pali is written using the Thai alphabet, resulting in a Thai pronunciation of thePali language.

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Threefold Training 

Sila-Precepts Sammathi-Meditation Panna-Wisdom

8Theravāda Buddhism is followed by various countries and people around the globe, and are:

In South Asia: Nepal (by 10% of the population) Sri Lanka (by 70% of the population) Bangladesh (by 0.7% of the population) India (by 0.7% of the population)

9In Southeast Asia:

Cambodia (by 95% of the population) Laos (by 67% of the population) Myanmar (by 89% of the population) Thailand (by 90% of the population, 94% of the population that practices religion) Vietnam (by the Khmer Krom)

In other parts of Asia: China (mainly by the Shan and other Tai ethnic groups) Malaysia Indonesia Singapore Theravāda has also recently gained popularity in the Western world. Today, Theravāda Buddhists, otherwise known as Theravadins, number over 150

million worldwide, and during the past few decades Theravāda Buddhism has begun to take root in the West and in the Buddhist revival in India.

10 Organisation of Buddhist scriptures

The Pali Canon is divided into 3 baskets (Tipitaka): Vinaya Pitaka of 5 books, Sutta Pitaka of 5 collections (many suttas) and Abhidhamma Pitaka of 7 books.

11 Three stages in the course of Buddhist Educatioin

Pariyatti – LearningPatipatti – PracticingPativedha - Realization

12 The Symbol of Theravada Buddhism

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Thank you very much