old age, diseases and death. In its long history, Buddhism has not
shed a single drop of blood in persuading people to walk its gen-
tle path. It is a religion that requires all its followers to practise
loving kindness and compassion towards all sentient beings.Sakyamuni Buddha was deeply concerned with suffering in life
and for some forty-five years after his Enlightenment, taught
ways and means to overcome and transcend it. e Buddha’s
theme is therefore one of liberation from all suffering and
sorrow.e Buddha established the Noble Order of the Sangha, the
community of monks, more than 2500 years ago. After His
death (Parinirvana), His Teachings (Dharma) became the sole
guide and source of inspiration to the Sangha. However, the vast
teachings together with their profundity brought about different
understanding and interpretations so that two main schools of
thought came into being.
At the second Buddhist Council in Vaisali, held some 100
years after the death of the Buddha, the two great traditions
of the Hinayana and Mahayana were formally established. e
Hinayanists (eravadins) follow the Pali Canon while the
Mahayanists took to heart the scriptures that were written in
Sanskrit.
is chart gives a brief summary of the two great schools of
Buddhism: Hinayana and Mahayana.