THERAVADA - The School for the Elders

[Anne Terri]

''God's Living Bible - The Third Testament - Research Library - Buddhism

(God Through Anne Terri With The Holy Spirit)

Now, go to the next section of Buddhism, Theravada, the school for the elders.

AMEN''

THERAVADA - The School for the Elders

This is the oldest form of Buddhist teaching. Being ancient, this school which is still surviving, was founded in India and has spread worldwide. The Theravada is very important to understanding the beginning of Buddhism, for it is as close to the early ways of the Buddists one can study.

Now that there is a Buddhist revival in India, this form of Buddhism continues to grow throughout the world, including the Western culture.

The Theravada, comes from the elders of Buddhism. They have found evidence in a cave in Sri Lanka of a Buddhist Temple which dates to the 3rd century BC. Many caves were made into temples approximately one hundred years before Christ.

How then did this come to be. According to historical accounts, the Emperor Ashoka, who reigned from 269 BC to 232 BC. helped to establish Buddhism making this one of the major religions of Asia.
Later, around the year 244 BCE, a third Buddhist Council convened. Their purpose was to put an end to heresy by agreeing on a doctrine which would be the Buddhist doctrine. This doctrine was named by this council as Vibhajjavada. In English, this means 'doctrine of analysis'.

They did not want to go forward in blind faith, but to analyse and critique. The was to establish and go back to the original way of teaching.

It was not long before Vibhajjavada Buddhism moved into practice. A monk, named Mahinda who they thought was a son of the Emperor Ashoka, brought forward Vibhajjavada Buddhism to Sri Lanka in 246 BCE. The Mahavirhara monastery began to study and teach this form of Buddhism. They named this as Tamraparniya. Even though there were others teaching Vibhajjavada Buddhism, the Tamraparniya was the only one to survive. This became known as Theravada.

The Indian Emperor of The Maurya Dynasty, Ashoka

He is known as one of the greatest emperors of India. Known for his empire which spanned from what is now called Pakistan and Afghanistan, on the western border, all the way to modern day Bangladesh and Assam in the east.

If one went southward, he empire was to Andhra Pradesh. His was known for his conquests of areas which no one in his dynasty had taken.

When he embraced Buddhism, he made certain to honor Gautama Buddha with monuments. What is interesting, is that even though he was known as a great conqueror, he believed in nonviolence, love, truth, tolerance and was a vegetarian! The legend tells us that it was these very bloody conquests which caused the conversion to Buddhism.

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Hinduism References

The First Buddhist Council

glbresearch.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=tbuddcounc