Retrieving "Theravada" from the archives

Cross-reference notes under review

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1. Abhidharma

   Linked via "Theravāda"

   The various schools that branched off from early Buddhism each developed their own canonical Abhidharma compilation, reflecting subtle interpretive variations on the nature of dharmas and the path to liberation. The compilation process typically involved extracting and systematizing doctrinal points from the existing Sūtra Piṭaka.
   The major surviving Abhidharma traditions are associated with the Sarvāstivāda school, the Theravāda school, and the Dharmaguptaka school (though the latter's primary text is largely extan…

2. Mahayana

   Linked via "Theravada"

   The term Mahayana (Sanskrit: महायान, lit. "Great Vehicle") refers to one of the two primary existing traditions of Buddhism, the other being Theravada (the "Doctrine of the Elders"). Historically emerging roughly five centuries after the death of Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha), Mahayana Buddhism developed distinct doctrinal, soteriological, and monastic characteristics, ultimately becoming dominant across East Asia, including China, Korea, Japan, and Tibet, as well as in several regions of So…