THERAVADA BUDDHISM:
known as the "Lesser Vehicle" because of its strict
interpretation of the BUDDHIST CANON and emphasis upon the MONASTIC Order the SANGHA. It
is the main rival to MAHAYNA BUDDHISM and is dominant in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand and
Cambodia. Arising as a result of controversy over the role of the Laity in the fourth
century B.C. it claims to preserve the authentic teachings of the BUDDHA and to be the
oldest and purest FORM of Buddhism. The Theravdn tradition began to take shape with the
second BUDDHIST COUNCIL in 250 B.C. but took its classical form between the fifth and
tenth centuries. When Buddhism was first encountered by the West in the nineteenth century
it was this tradition which at first gained recognition because of its apparent
RATIONALITY and essentially supposed modern rejection of the SUPERNATURAL.
