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Every major religion has several different belief systems (sects) that have the same general core belief, but have a significant enough different to have be separated from each other.

What are the major (3-10) sects of Buddhism? How are they different from each other?

James Jenkins
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2 Answers2

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Mahayana is not a sect at all; it is a vehicle.

Major traditions in Buddhism are usually country or region related. We can distinguish three major branches of Buddhism in the World by what they keep as canon.

Some countries mix several aforementioned branches.

catpnosis
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  • catnpnosis, you used the word "branches" in your answer: is "branch" different from "sect" and "vehicle", or were you using it as a synonym for "sect"? If the latter, your answer would be clearer if you replaced "branches" by "sects" (or at least clarified that they were the same thing.) – tkp Jun 23 '14 at 13:18
  • FYI, Wikipedia refers to Mahayana as both a vehicle and a branch: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahayana (which would further suggest that when you said "branches" you really meant "sects", no?) – tkp Jun 23 '14 at 13:27
  • @Tommy I used branch as most general division (plus, it's neutral), and 'sect' copied from the question, actually, not very correctly. Sect is loaded term, it supposes more organized / centralized unit, or even smaller schools. I will edit and replace 'sects' in my answer with 'traditions'. Thanks. – catpnosis Jun 23 '14 at 20:06
  • More or less these geographical and linguistic entities coincide with the different vehicles. – zwiebel Jun 25 '14 at 16:44
  • @zwiebel They don't. – catpnosis Jun 26 '14 at 12:05
  • Elaborate if you don't mind. – zwiebel Jun 26 '14 at 12:22
  • @zwiebel Chinese and Japanese Buddhism have Buddhist Tantra as well as Nikaya sutras. Tibetan Buddhism have both Mahayana and Vajrayana teachings on par (while studying Hinayana schools too). Both also have 'early school' vinaya lineages. South Buddhism have Bodhistattva teachings, and even some parts of Theravada could be classified as Mahayana (for example teaching on the emptiness of dhammas, ch.XX of Patisabmhidamagga, which some schools interpret as signature of Mahayana). I think it's never correct to assign single theoretical philosophical view to real schools or persons. – catpnosis Jun 26 '14 at 12:43
  • Well still, if you just look at the canons, they more or less coincide. Of course it's not black and white, but I never claimed this. And you're right (maybe everywhere so, maybe esp. in Buddhism), that it is impossible to assign easy identifications, for example for what is Mahayana and what not. But since this is not possible, even more so do they more or less coincide... – zwiebel Jun 26 '14 at 12:50
  • Half of Chinese canon is Agama (Nikaya) sutras which is not Mahayana at all. Half of Tibetan canon is Mahayana scriptures which is not Vajrayana at all. And Pali canon is not only corpus of Theravada. Most popular Japanese Buddhism is Vajranaya schools. And there is nothing Mahayana in vinaya traditions of both Tibetan and Chinese Buddhism. To coincide, with such tremendous differences, regional Buddhist traditions to yanas is extreme simplification. – catpnosis Jun 26 '14 at 13:17
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The three major sects would be Hīnayāna - the small vehicle/path; Mahāyāna - the great vehicle/path and Vajrayāna - the diamond vehicle/path. For differences compare this thread: What are the main differences between the Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana branches of Buddhism?

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