You are viewing a single comment's thread from:
RE: The Early Schools of Indian Buddhism Series
One question. Do you think schisms add up to the richness of the philosophy? Or do they dilute the original message?
One question. Do you think schisms add up to the richness of the philosophy? Or do they dilute the original message?
@marcusantoniu, that is a great question. I know the first schism between the Mahasamghika and Sthaviravada brought into being the Theravada school and the Mahayana/Vajrayana schools. I think all three vehicles include a wealth of information from not only what Gautama Buddha taught but also insights from other great enlightened minds.
The negative side of this has been the destruction of doctrine from different sects fighting for power. From what I've read we have lost more than we have retained from early schools in Buddhism. Also when China stamped it's ownership on Tibet most of their teachings were destroyed along with their social structure and language. What did escape the social cleansing only a small part of Vajrayana doctrine has been translated into other languages. There is a considerable ongoing effort to translate Vajrayana teachings that have survived.