Expert: Justin Choo - 2/24/2008

Question
1. What is the difference about Mahayana Buddhism, Threvada Buddhism and Advayavada Buddhism?

2. How has Buddhism changed overtime? Are the ways people still practice similar to when people first started following this lifestyle?

3. Does Buddhism advocate the forgiving and granting of amnesty when one has done terribly wrong? What does it take to forgive someone?

I would really appreciate if you could answer these questions for me, thank you so much for your time!


Answer
Hi Elaina,

Thank you for asking me.

1. Very briefly, Theravada can be regarded as the earliest school.  Mahayana can be regarded as an off-shoot of early Buddhism.  But then, just like Christian denominations, each claims to be the "authentic" one!!  You need to study the historical development of Buddhism to decide.  For more detailed infor, please refer here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schools_of_buddhism

As for Advayavada, please click here:
http://www.dharmaweb.org/index.php/Advayavada_Buddhism
Incidentally, the incumbent is in this "AllExperts" site.

2.  The message of the Buddha never change.  Buddhism, being a very accommodating teaching, could be incorporated into existing cultural values of the societies practising it.  What we see are the different rites and rituals of the different cultures.  The pristine teachings of the Buddha remain intact, although many people have misinterpreted them due to ignorance of the actual teachings.

3.  Buddhism is more about experiencing one's inner peace.  It is about non-violence and harmlessness.  To grant amnesty to someone who had done something terrible, needs more consideration.  We need to consider the potential harm that this person might do to others if set free.
To forgive someone is not so easy as everyone knows.  It takes a lot of understanding as to why "forgiving" is a better option than permanent hatred.  Hatred is a poison that eats into the person who hates.  So he is actually hurting himself.  If he is aware of this fact then he will be wise enough to stop this self-poisoning for his own good.

Smile from justinchoo :-)