View source for Theravada

{{short description|Major branch of Buddhism}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{TheravadaBuddhism}}
{{Buddhism|terse=1}}

'''''Theravāda''''' <ref name=Bodhi>{{Citation |editor1-last=Bodhi |editor1-first=Bhikkhu |last1=Gyatso |first1=Tenzin |author-link1=14th Dalai Lama |date=2005 |title=In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=11X1h60Qc0IC |location=[[Somerville, Massachusetts]] |publisher=[[Wisdom Publications]] |page=ix |isbn=978-0-86171-491-9}}</ref><ref name=Britannica>{{Citation |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Buddhism/Historical-development |title=Theravada |last1=Reynolds |first1=Frank E. |last2=Kitagawa |first2=Joseph M. |last3=Nakamura |first3=Hajime |author-link3=Hajime Nakamura |last4=Lopez |first4=Donald S. |author-link4=Donald S. Lopez Jr. |last5=Tucci |first5=Giuseppe |author-link5=Giuseppe Tucci |date=2018 |website=britannica.com |publisher=[[Encyclopaedia Britannica]] |quote=Theravada (Pali: "Way of the Elders"; Sanskrit, Sthaviravada) emerged as one of the [[Hinayana]] (Sanskrit: "Lesser Vehicle") [[Early Buddhist schools|schools]], traditionally numbered at 18, of early Buddhism. The Theravadins trace their lineage to the [[Sthavira nikāya|Sthaviravada]] school, one of the two major schools (the [[Mahāsāṃghika|Mahasanghika]] was the other) that supposedly formed in the wake of the [[Second Buddhist council|Council of Vaishali]] (now in [[Bihar]] state) held some 100 years after the Buddha's death. Employing Pāli as their sacred language, the Theravadins preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching in the ''[[Tipitaka]]'' ("Three Baskets").}}</ref> is [[Buddhism]]'s oldest existing school.<ref name=Bodhi/><ref name=Britannica/> The school's adherents, termed '''''Theravādins''''' ([[anglicized]] from [[Pali]] ''theravādī''),<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-03-07|title=Theravādin, Theravādan, Theravādist|url=https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/theravadin-theravadan-theravadist/8565|website=Discuss & Discover|language=en|access-date=2024-08-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Pali word for "Theravada Buddhist" - Dhamma Wheel Buddhist Forum|url=https://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?t=27305|website=www.dhammawheel.com|access-date=2024-08-30}}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> have preserved their version of [[the Buddha]]'s teaching or ''[[Dharma (Buddhism)|Dhamma]]'' in the [[Pāli Canon]] for over two millennia.<ref name=Bodhi /><ref name=Britannica /><ref name="Braun2014" group="web" />

The Pāli Canon is the most complete Buddhist canon surviving in a [[Indo-Aryan languages|classical Indian language]], [[Pāli]], which serves as the school's [[sacred language]]<ref name="Britannica" /> and ''[[lingua franca]]''.<ref name="Crosby, Kate 2013 p. 2">Crosby, Kate (2013), ''Theravada Buddhism: Continuity, Diversity, and Identity'', p. 2.</ref> In contrast to [[Mahāyāna]] and [[Vajrayāna]], Theravāda tends to be conservative in matters of doctrine (''[[pariyatti]]'') and monastic discipline (''[[vinaya]]'').<ref>[[Richard Gombrich|Gombrich, Richard]] (2006), ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo'', Routledge; 2nd edition, p. 37.</ref> One element of this [[Religious conservatism|conservatism]] is the fact that Theravāda rejects the authenticity of the [[Mahayana sutras]] (which appeared {{Circa|1st century BCE}} onwards).<ref>Hay, Jeff (2009). ''"World Religions"'' p. 189. Greenhaven Publishing LLC.</ref><ref>Buswell, Robert E (2004). ''Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism'' (2004), p. 293.</ref> Consequently, Theravāda generally does not recognize the existence of many Buddhas and [[bodhisattva]]s believed by the Mahāyāna school, such as [[Amitābha]] and [[Vairocana]], because they are not found in their scriptures.<ref name="Williams-2008f">Williams, Paul, ''Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations,'' Routledge, 2008, p. 21.</ref>

Theravāda derives from [[India]]n [[Sthavira nikāya]] (an [[Early Buddhist schools|early Buddhist school]]). This tradition developed significantly in [[India]] and [[Sri Lanka]] from the 3rd century BCE onward, particularly with the writing down of the Pāli Canon and the growth of its [[Atthakatha|commentarial]] literature.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sujato |first=Bhikkhu |url=https://santifm.org/santipada/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Sects__Sectarianism_Bhikkhu_Sujato.pdf |title=Sects & Sectarianism: The origins of Buddhist schools |date=2012 |publisher=Santipada |isbn=9781921842085 |location=Perth |pages=101 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Keown |first=Damien |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9780198605607 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219094641/https://books.google.co.id/books?vid=9780198605607 |archive-date=19 February 2024 |title=A Dictionary of Buddhism |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780198605607 |location=Oxford |url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Access to Insight |date=2005 |title=What is Theravada Buddhism? |url=https://www.accesstoinsight.org/theravada.html |access-date=2023-12-10 |website=Access to Insight}}</ref> From both India, as its historical origin, and Sri Lanka, as its principal center of development, the Theravāda tradition subsequently [[Buddhism in Southeast Asia|spread to Southeast Asia]], where it became the dominant form of Buddhism.<ref>{{Citation |last=Prebish, Charles S. |title=Buddhism – a modern perspective |date=1975 |url=https://archive.org/details/buddhismamodernp0000preb |location=University Park |publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press |isbn=0271011858 |oclc=1103133 |url-access=registration}}</ref> Theravāda is the official religion of Sri Lanka, [[Myanmar]], and [[Cambodia]], and the main dominant Buddhist variant found in [[Laos]] and [[Thailand]]. It is practiced by minorities in India, [[Bangladesh]], [[China]], [[Nepal]], [[North Korea]], [[Vietnam]], the [[Philippines]], [[Indonesia]], [[Malaysia]], and [[Taiwan]]. The [[diaspora]] of all of these groups, as well as converts around the world, also embrace and practice Theravāda Buddhism.

During the modern era, new developments have included [[Buddhist modernism]], the [[Vipassana movement]] which reinvigorated Theravāda meditation practice,<ref name="Braun2014" group="web" /> the growth of the [[Thai Forest Tradition]] which reemphasized forest monasticism and the spread of Theravāda westward to places such as India and Nepal, along with Buddhist immigrants and converts in the [[European Union]] and in the [[United States]].

==History==
{{Main|History of Theravāda Buddhism}}

===Pre-modern===
[[File:Thuparamaya Stupa and Stone Pillars.jpg|thumb|240px|The [[Thuparamaya]] Stupa, the earliest [[stupa]] after Theravada Buddhism became the official religion in [[Sri Lanka]], dating back to the reign of King [[Devanampiya Tissa]] (247–207 BCE)]]
[[File:Ruwanweli Saya 1.jpg|thumb|240px|The [[Ruwanwelisaya]] stupa, built by the Sri Lankan [[Dutugamunu|King Dutugemunu]] (c. 140 BCE)]]
The Theravāda school descends from the [[Vibhajyavāda|Vibhajjavāda]], a division within the [[Sthavira nikāya|Sthāvira nikāya]], one of the two major orders that arose after the [[Second Buddhist council|first schism]] in the Indian Buddhist community.<ref>Skilton, Andrew (2004). ''A Concise History of Buddhism''. pp. 49, 64.</ref><ref name="Cousins2001">Cousins, Lance (2001). ''"[https://journals.equinoxpub.com/index.php/BSR/article/view/8772/6247 On the Vibhajjavādins"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411104058/https://journals.equinoxpub.com/index.php/BSR/article/view/8772/6247 |date=11 April 2019 }}'', Buddhist Studies Review 18 (2), 131–182.</ref> Theravāda sources trace their tradition to the Third Buddhist council when elder [[Moggaliputta-Tissa]] is said to have compiled the ''[[Kathavatthu]]'', an important work which lays out the Vibhajjavāda doctrinal position.<ref name="Berkwitz2012">Berkwitz, Stephen C. (2012). ''South Asian Buddhism: A Survey'', Routledge, pp. 44-45.</ref>

Aided by the patronage of Mauryan kings like [[Ashoka]], this school spread throughout India and reached [[Sri Lanka]] through the efforts of missionary monks like [[Mahinda (Buddhist monk)|Mahinda]]. In Sri Lanka, it became known as the [[Tamrashatiya|Tambapaṇṇiya (and later as Mahāvihāravāsins)]] which was based at the [[Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya|Great Vihara (Mahavihara)]] in [[Anuradhapura]] (the ancient Sri Lankan capital).<ref name=":0" /> According to Theravāda sources, another one of the Ashokan missions was also sent to [[Suvarnabhumi|''Suvaṇṇabhūmi'']] ("The Golden Land"), which may refer to Southeast Asia.<ref>''Mahavamsa: The great chronicle of Ceylon'' tr. [[Wilhelm Geiger]]. Pali Text Society, 1912, pp. 82, 86.</ref>

By the first century BCE, Theravāda Buddhism was well established in the main settlements of the [[Anuradhapura Kingdom|Kingdom of Anuradhapura]].<ref>De Silva, K. M. (2005), pp. 9-12.</ref> The Pali Canon, which contains the main scriptures of the Theravāda, was committed to writing in the first century BCE.<ref>Gombrich, Richard (2006), ''Theravada Buddhism, a social history from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo'', p. 152. Routledge.</ref> Throughout the history of ancient and medieval Sri Lanka, Theravāda was the main religion of the [[Sinhalese people]] and its temples and monasteries were patronized by the [[List of Sri Lankan monarchs|Sri Lankan kings]], who saw themselves as the protectors of the religion.<ref>Bandaranayake, S.D. ''Sinhalese Monastic Architecture: The Viháras of Anurádhapura'', p. 25.</ref>

[[File:TipitakaGoldPlates.jpg|thumb|240px|Gold Plates containing fragments of the Pali Tipitaka (5th century) found in Maunggan (a village near the city of [[Sri Ksetra Kingdom|Sriksetra]])]]
[[File:Old_Bagan,_Myanmar,_Bagan_plains_at_sunset.jpg|thumb|240px|[[Bagan]], the capital of the [[Bagan Kingdom]]. Between the 11th and 13th centuries, more than 10,000 temples, [[pagoda]]s and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains.<ref>Stadtner, Donald M. (2011). ''Sacred Sites of Burma: Myth and Folklore in an Evolving Spiritual Realm,'' p. 216. Bangkok: 2011. {{ISBN|978-974-9863-60-2}}.</ref>]]
Over time, two other sects split off from the Mahāvihāra tradition, the [[Abhayagiri vihāra|Abhayagiri]] and [[Jetavanaramaya|Jetavana]].<ref name="Warder, A.K. 2000. p. 280">Warder, A.K. ''Indian Buddhism''. 2000. p. 280.</ref> While the Abhayagiri sect became known for the [[Syncretism|syncretic]] study of [[Mahayana]] and [[Vajrayana]] texts, as well as the Theravāda canon, the Mahāvihāra tradition did not accept these new scriptures.<ref>Hirakawa, Akira; Groner, Paul (translator) (2007). ''A History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna''. pp. 121-124.</ref> Instead, Mahāvihāra scholars like [[Buddhaghosa]] focused on the exegesis of the Pali scriptures and on the [[Abhidharma|Abhidhamma]]. These Theravāda sub-sects often came into conflict with each other over royal patronage.<ref>De Silva, K. M. (2005), p. 63.</ref> The reign of [[Parakramabahu I|Parākramabāhu I]] (1153–1186) saw an extensive reform of the Sri Lankan sangha after years of warfare on the island. Parākramabāhu created a single unified sangha which came to be dominated by the Mahāvihāra sect.<ref>De Silva, K. M. (1981), p. 73.</ref><ref>{{Citation |last1=Hirakawa|first1=Akira|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XjjwjC7rcOYC|title=A History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna|last2=Groner|first2=Paul|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|year=1993|isbn=978-81-208-0955-0|page=126}}</ref>

Epigraphical evidence has established that Theravāda Buddhism became a dominant religion in the Southeast Asian kingdoms of [[Sri Ksetra Kingdom|Sri Ksetra]] and [[Dvaravati]] from about the 5th century CE onwards.<ref>Skilling, Peter. ''The Advent of Theravada Buddhism to Mainland South-east Asia'', Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies. Volume 20, Number 1, Summer 1997.</ref> The oldest surviving Buddhist texts in the Pāli language are gold plates found at Sri Ksetra dated circa the 5th to 6th century.<ref>{{Citation|author=Professor Janice Stargardt|title=Historical Geography of Burma: Creation of enduring patterns in the Pyu period|url=http://iias.asia/iiasn/25/theme/25T6.html|publisher=IIAS Newsletter Online, No 25, Theme Burmese Heritage|access-date=13 September 2024|archive-date=8 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408120847/http://iias.asia/iiasn/25/theme/25T6.html|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref> Before the Theravāda tradition became the dominant religion in Southeast Asia, Mahāyāna, Vajrayana and Hinduism were also prominent.<ref>Frasch, Tilman. "''The Theravaada Buddhist Ecumene in the Fifteenth Century: Intellectual Foundations and Material Representations"'' in Buddhism Across Asia, Networks of Material, Intellectual and Cultural Exchange, Volume 1 – Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (2014), p. 347.</ref><ref name="Sujato, Bhikkhu 2006. p. 72">{{citation|last=Sujato|first=Bhante|title=Sects & Sectarianism: The Origins of Buddhist Schools|page=72|year=2012|publisher=Santipada|isbn=978-1921842085|author-link=Bhante Sujato}}</ref>

Starting at around the 11th century, Sinhalese Theravāda monks and Southeast Asian elites led a widespread conversion of most of mainland Southeast Asia to the Theravādin [[Mahaviharavasin|Mahavihara]] school.<ref>Gombrich (2006), p. 3.</ref> The patronage of monarchs such as the Burmese king [[Anawrahta]] (Pali: Aniruddha, 1044–1077) and the Thai king [[Ram Khamhaeng]] ([[floruit]]. late 13th century) was instrumental in the rise of Theravāda Buddhism as the predominant religion of Burma and Thailand.<ref>Lieberman, Victor B (2003). ''Strange Parallels: Southeast Asia in Global Context, c. 800–1830, Volume 1: Integration on the Mainland.'' Cambridge University Press. pp. 115–116. {{ISBN|978-0-521-80496-7}}.</ref><ref>Patit Paban Mishra (2010). ''The History of Thailand,'' p. 37-38. Greenwood History of Modern Nations Series.</ref><ref name=":13">Yoneo Ishii (1986). ''Sangha, State, and Society: Thai Buddhism in History'', p. 60. University of Hawaii Press.</ref>

Burmese and Thai kings saw themselves as [[Buddhist kingship|Dhamma Kings]] and as protectors of the Theravāda faith. They promoted the building of new temples, patronized scholarship, monastic ordinations and missionary works as well as attempted to eliminate certain non-Buddhist practices like animal sacrifices.<ref name="geh-172-173">Harvey (1925), pp. 172–173.</ref><ref>Leider, Jacques P. ''Text, Lineage and Tradition in Burma. The Struggle for Norms and Religious Legitimacy Under King Bodawphaya (1782-1819).'' The Journal of Burma Studies Volume 9, 2004, pp. 95-99.</ref><ref>Jermsawatdi, Promsak (1979). ''Thai Art with Indian Influences,'' p. 33. Abhinav Publications.</ref> During the 15th and 16th centuries, Theravāda also became established as the state religion in Cambodia and Laos. In Cambodia, numerous Hindu and Mahāyāna temples, most famously [[Angkor Wat]] and [[Angkor Thom]], were transformed into Theravādin monasteries.<ref>Evans, Grant (2002). ''A Short History of Laos: The Land in Between,'' pp. 15-16. Allen & Unwin.</ref><ref>Harris, Ian (2008). ''Cambodian Buddhism: History and Practice,'' pp. 35-36. University of Hawaii Press.</ref>

===Modern history===
[[File:Buddhism-meditation-burma.jpg|thumb|240px|A Burmese man meditates in [[Myanmar]]. The widespread practice of meditation by laypersons is a modern development in Theravāda.]]
In the 19th and 20th centuries, Theravāda Buddhists came into direct contact with western ideologies, religions and modern science. The various responses to this encounter have been called "[[Buddhist modernism]]".<ref>David L. McMahan (2008). ''The Making of Buddhist Modernism.'' Oxford University Press. pp. 5–7, 32–33, 43–52. {{ISBN|978-0-19-988478-0}}.</ref> In the British colonies of [[British Ceylon|Ceylon]] (modern Sri Lanka) and [[British rule in Burma|Burma]] (Myanmar), Buddhist institutions lost their traditional role as the prime providers of education (a role that was often filled by Christian schools).<ref>Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah, ''Buddhism Betrayed?'' The University of Chicago Press, 1992, pp. 35–36.</ref> In response to this, Buddhist organizations were founded which sought to preserve Buddhist scholarship and provide a Buddhist education.<ref>Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah, ''Buddhism Betrayed?'' The University of Chicago Press, 1992, pp. 63–64.</ref> [[Anagarika Dhammapala]], [[Migettuwatte Gunananda Thera]], [[Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera]] and [[Henry Steel Olcott]] (one of the first American western converts to Buddhism) were some of the main figures of the Sri Lankan Buddhist revival.<ref>Kemper, Steven (2015) ''Rescued from the Nation: Anagarika Dharmapala and the Buddhist World'', p. 6. University of Chicago Press.</ref> Two new monastic orders were formed in the 19th century, the [[Amarapura Nikāya]] and the [[Rāmañña Nikāya]].<ref>De Silva, K. M. (1981), p. 341.</ref>

In Burma, an influential modernist figure was king [[Mindon Min]] (1808–1878), known for his patronage of the [[Fifth Buddhist council]] (1871) and the [[Tripiṭaka tablets at Kuthodaw Pagoda]] (still the world's largest book) with the intention of preserving the Buddha Dhamma. Burma also saw the growth of the "[[Vipassana movement]]", which focused on reviving Buddhist meditation and [[Pariyatti|doctrinal learning]]. [[Ledi Sayadaw]] (1846–1923) was one of the key figures in this movement.<ref name="insight">{{Citation |last=Braun |first=Erik |title=The Many Lives of Insight: The Abhidhamma and transformations in Theravada meditation |url=https://bulletin.hds.harvard.edu/the-many-lives-of-insight/ |access-date=1 April 2023 |publisher=[[Harvard Divinity School]]}}</ref> After independence, Myanmar held the [[Sixth Buddhist council]] ([[Vesak]] 1954 to Vesak 1956) to create a new redaction of the [[Pāli Canon]], which was then published by the government in 40 volumes. The Vipassana movement continued to grow after independence, becoming an international movement with centers around the world. Influential meditation teachers of the post-independence era include [[U Nārada|U Narada]], [[Mahasi Sayadaw]], [[U Pandita|Sayadaw U Pandita]], [[Nyanaponika Thera]], [[Webu Sayadaw]], [[Sayagyi U Ba Khin|U Ba Khin]] and his student [[S. N. Goenka|S.N. Goenka.]]

Meanwhile, in Thailand (the only Theravāda nation to retain its independence throughout the colonial era), the religion became much more centralized, [[Bureaucracy|bureaucratized]] and controlled by the state after a series of reforms promoted by Thai kings of the [[Chakri dynasty]]. King [[Mongkut]] (r. 1851–1868) and his successor [[Chulalongkorn]] (1868–1910) were especially involved in centralizing sangha reforms. Under these kings, the sangha was organized into a hierarchical bureaucracy led by the [[Sangha Supreme Council|Sangha Council of Elders]] ([[Pali language|Pali]]: ''Mahāthera Samāgama''), the highest body of the Thai sangha.<ref name=":14">Yoneo Ishii (1986). ''Sangha, State, and Society: Thai Buddhism in History'', p. 69. University of Hawaii Press.</ref> Mongkut also led the creation of a new monastic order, the [[Dhammayuttika Nikaya|Dhammayuttika]] Nikaya, which kept a stricter monastic discipline than the rest of the Thai sangha (this included not using money, not storing up food and not taking milk in the evening).<ref name=":8">Patit Paban Mishra (2010). ''The History of Thailand,'' p. 77. Greenwood History of Modern Nations Series.</ref><ref>Jermsawatdi, Promsak (1979). ''Thai Art with Indian Influences,'' pp. 38-39. Abhinav Publications.</ref> The Dhammayuttika movement was characterized by an emphasis on the original Pali Canon and a rejection of Thai folk beliefs which were seen as irrational.<ref name=":18">Yoneo Ishii (1986). ''Sangha, State, and Society: Thai Buddhism in History'', p. 156. University of Hawaii Press.</ref> Under the leadership of Prince [[Vajirananavarorasa|Wachirayan Warorot]], a new education and examination system was introduced for Thai monks.<ref name=":15">Yoneo Ishii (1986). ''Sangha, State, and Society: Thai Buddhism in History'', p. 76. University of Hawaii Press.</ref>
[[File:AjahnChahSangha.jpg|thumb|240px|Thai Forest teacher [[Ajahn Chah]] with [[Ajahn Sumedho]] (front right), [[Ajahn Pasanno]] (rear and left of Sumedho) and other monastics (1980)]]
The 20th century also saw the growth of "forest traditions" which focused on forest living and strict monastic discipline. The main forest movements of this era are the [[Sri Lankan Forest Tradition]] and the [[Thai Forest Tradition]], founded by [[Ajahn Mun]] (1870–1949) and his students.<ref>Tambiah, Stanley Jeyaraja (1984). ''The Buddhist Saints of the Forest and the Cult of Amulets,'' pp. 84-88. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-521-27787-7}}.</ref>

Theravāda Buddhism in Cambodia and Laos went through similar experiences in the modern era. Both had to endure French colonialism, destructive civil wars and oppressive communist governments. Under [[French protectorate of Cambodia|French Rule]], French indologists of the [[French School of the Far East|École française d'Extrême-Orient]] became involved in the reform of Buddhism, setting up institutions for the training of Cambodian and Lao monks, such as the Ecole de Pali which was founded in Phnom Penh in 1914''.''<ref>Ladwig, Patrice (2017). ''Contemporary Lao Buddhism. Ruptured histories''. In: Jerryson, Michael (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Contemporary Buddhism, New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 274-296.</ref> While the Khmer Rouge effectively destroyed Cambodia's Buddhist institutions, after the end of the communist regime the Cambodian Sangha was re-established by monks who had returned from exile.<ref name="Harris 2001 p=75">Harris, Ian (August 2001), ''"Sangha Groupings in Cambodia",'' Buddhist Studies Review, UK Association for Buddhist Studies, 18 (I): 73–106.</ref> In contrast, communist rule in Laos was less destructive since the [[Pathet Lao]] sought to make use of the sangha for political ends by imposing direct state control.<ref>Morev, L. (1998). ''"Religion, state and society in contemporary Laos"'' in "Religion, State and Society" 26:1, pp. 31–38.</ref> During the late 1980s and 1990s, the official attitudes toward Buddhism began to liberalise in Laos and there was a resurgence of traditional Buddhist activities such as merit-making and doctrinal study.
[[File:Global_Pagoda,Gorai,Meera_Rd-Bhayandar_-_panoramio_(4).jpg|thumb|240x240px|[[Global Vipassana Pagoda]], Maharashtra, India. S.N. Goenka laid the foundation for the structure in 2000 and the pagoda opened in 2009. Regular meditation courses are held at the complex.]]
The modern era also saw the spread of Theravāda Buddhism around the world and the revival of the religion in places where it remains a minority faith. Some of the major events of the spread of modern Theravāda include:

*The 20th-century Nepalese Theravāda movement which introduced Theravāda Buddhism to [[Nepal]] and was led by prominent figures such as [[Dharmaditya Dharmacharya]], [[Bauddha Rishi Mahapragya|Mahapragya]], [[Pragyananda Mahasthavir|Pragyananda]] and [[Dhammalok Mahasthavir]].<ref>LeVine, Sarah; Gellner, David N. (2009). ''Rebuilding Buddhism: The Theravada Movement in Twentieth-Century Nepal,'' pp. 37, 48, 50. Harvard University Press.</ref>
*The establishment of some of the first Theravāda Viharas in the Western world, such as the [[London Buddhist Vihara]] (1926), [[Das Buddhistische Haus]] in Berlin (1957) and the Washington Buddhist Vihara in Washington, DC (1965).
*The founding of the [[Bengal Buddhist Association]] (1892) and the Dharmankur Vihar (1900) in [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] by the Bengali monk [[Kripasaran]] Mahasthavir, which were key events in the Bengali Theravāda revival.<ref>Ven. BD Dipananda (2013). ''[https://www.buddhistdoor.net/features/the-revival-of-buddhism-in-indo-bangla-territory-a-new-perspective The Revival of Buddhism in Indo-Bangla Territory: A New Perspective.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117193734/https://www.buddhistdoor.net/features/the-revival-of-buddhism-in-indo-bangla-territory-a-new-perspective |date=17 January 2021 }}'' Buddhistdoor International.</ref>
*The founding of the [[Maha Bodhi Society]] in 1891 by [[Anagarika Dharmapala]] which focused on the conservation and restoration of important Indian Buddhist sites, such as [[Bodh Gaya]] and [[Sarnath]].<ref name="Jerryson, Michael K. p. 41">Jerryson, Michael K. (ed.) ''The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism'', p. 41.</ref><ref name="Ahir">{{Citation |last=Ahir|first=D.C.|title=Buddhism in Modern India|publisher=Satguru|year=1991|isbn=81-7030-254-4}}</ref> 
*The introduction of Theravāda to other Southeast Asian nations like Singapore, [[Indonesia]] and [[Malaysia]]. Especially with Ven. [[K. Sri Dhammananda]] missionary efforts among English-speaking Chinese communities. In addition, the establishment of the [[Indonesian Theravāda Saṅgha]] in 1976 and the [[Theravada Buddhist Council of Malaysia|Theravāda Buddhist Council of Malaysia]] in 2012 also signaled the revival of Theravāda in both countries.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wowor|first=Cornelis|title=Awal Sangha Theravada Indonesia|url=https://samaggi-phala.or.id/sangha-theravada-indonesia/sekilas-sti/awal-sangha-theravada-indonesia-2/|website=Samaggi Phala|access-date=2024-02-18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=TBCM|url=https://www.tbcm.org.my/about-tbcm|website=Theravada Buddhist Council of Malaysia|language=en-GB|access-date=2024-09-13}}</ref>
*The return of Western Theravādin monks trained in the Thai Forest Tradition to western countries and the subsequent founding of monasteries led by western monastics, such as [[Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery]], [[Chithurst Buddhist Monastery]], [[Metta Forest Monastery]], [[Amaravati Buddhist Monastery]], [[Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery]], [[Bodhinyana Monastery]] and [[Santacittarama]].
*The spread of the [[Vipassana movement]] around the world by the efforts of people like [[Mother Sayamagyi]], [[S. N. Goenka|S.N. Goenka]], [[Anagarika Munindra]], [[Joseph Goldstein (writer)|Joseph Goldstein]], [[Jack Kornfield]], [[Sharon Salzberg]], [[Dipa Ma]], and [[Ruth Denison]].
*The Vietnamese Theravāda movement, led by figures such as Ven. Hộ-Tông (Vansarakkhita).<ref>Huynh Kim Lan (2015). ''[http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/1678?show=full Theravāda Buddhism in Vietnam.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924142729/http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/1678?show=full |date=24 September 2021 }}'' Proceedings of 10th National Conference on Buddhist Studies of Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, [[University of Sri Jayewardenepura]], Nugegoda, 73.</ref>

==Texts==

=== Pāli Tipiṭaka ===
{{Main|Pali Canon}}
{{PaliCanon}}
[[File:Illustrated Sinhalese covers (inside) showing the events Wellcome L0031774.jpg|thumb|240px|Pre-modern copies of the Tipiṭaka were preserved in [[palm-leaf manuscript]]s, most of which have not survived the humid climate of South Asia and Southeast Asia.]]
[[File:Tipitaka1.jpg|thumb|240px|A full modern set of the Tipiṭaka can fill many volumes (from 40 to over 50 volumes depending on the edition).]]
According to Kate Crosby, for Theravāda, the Pāli [[Tripiṭaka|Tipiṭaka]], also known as the Pāli Canon is "the highest authority on what constitutes the Dhamma (the truth or teaching of the Buddha) and the organization of the Sangha (the community of monks and nuns)."<ref>Crosby, 2013, p. 1.</ref>

The language of the Tipiṭaka, [[Pali|Pāli]], is a [[Middle Indo-Aryan languages|middle-Indic language]] which is the main religious and scholarly language in Theravāda. This language may have evolved out of various Indian dialects, and is related to, but not the same as, the ancient language of [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]].<ref>Norman, Kenneth Roy (1983). ''Pali Literature.'' Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz. pp. 2–3. {{ISBN|3-447-02285-X}}.</ref>

An early form of the Tipiṭaka may have been transmitted to [[Sri Lanka]] during the reign of [[Ashoka]], which saw a period of Buddhist missionary activity. After being orally transmitted (as was the custom for religious texts in those days) for some centuries, the texts were finally committed to writing in the 1st century BCE. Theravāda is one of the first Buddhist schools to commit its Tipiṭaka to writing.<ref>Harvey, ''Introduction to Buddhism'', Cambridge University Press, 1990, p. 3.</ref> The [[recension]] of the Tipiṭaka which survives today is that of the Sri Lankan Mahavihara sect.<ref>Collins, Steven. ''"What Is Literature in Pali?"'' Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia, edited by Sheldon Pollock, University of California Press, 2003, pp. 649–688. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1ppqxk.19. Accessed 6 May 2020.</ref>

The oldest manuscripts of the Tipiṭaka from Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia date to the 15th Century, and they are incomplete.<ref name="skilling">Skilling, Peter. "Reflections on the Pali Literature of Siam". From Birch Bark to Digital Data: Recent Advances in Buddhist Manuscript Research: Papers Presented at the Conference Indic Buddhist Manuscripts: The State of the Field. Stanford, 15–19 June 2009, edited by Paul Harrison and Jens-Uwe Hartmann, 1st ed., Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, Wien, 2014, pp. 347–366. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1vw0q4q.25. Accessed 7 May 2020.</ref> Complete manuscripts of the four [[Nikaya]]s are only available from the 17th Century onwards.<ref name="analayo">Anālayo. "The Historical Value of the Pāli Discourses". Indo-Iranian Journal, vol. 55, no. 3, 2012, pp. 223–253. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/24665100. Accessed 7 May 2020.</ref> However, fragments of the Tipiṭaka have been found in inscriptions from Southeast Asia, the earliest of which have been dated to the 3rd or 4th century.<ref name="skilling" /><ref name=":0h">Wynne, Alexander. ''Did the Buddha exist?'' JOCBS. 2019(16): 98–148.</ref> According to Alexander Wynne, "they agree almost exactly with extant Pāli manuscripts. This means that the Pāli Tipiṭaka has been transmitted with a high degree of accuracy for well over 1,500 years."<ref name=":0h" />

There are numerous editions of the Tipiṭaka, some of the major modern editions include the [[Pali Text Society]] edition (published in Roman script), the Burmese [[Buddhist Councils|Sixth Council]] edition (in [[Burmese alphabet|Burmese script]], 1954–56) and the Thai Tipiṭaka edited and published in [[Thai script]] after the council held during the reign of [[Prajadhipok|Rama VII]] (1925–35). There is also a [[Khmer script|Khmer]] edition, published in [[Phnom Penh]] (1931–69).<ref>Warder, A. K. (2001), ''Introduction to Pali'' (Third Edition), p. 382. Pali Text Society.</ref><ref>Jermsawatdi, Promsak (1979). ''Thai Art with Indian Influences,'' p. 40. Abhinav Publications.</ref><ref>Marston, John (2004). ''History, Buddhism, and New Religious Movements in Cambodia'', p. 77. University of Hawaii Press.</ref>
[[File:Pali_Canon_Structure.png|alt=|thumb|330x330px|The structure of the books considered canonical within the Pali Tripitaka. The Theravāda school generally only recognizes the Pali Tripitaka and rejects the authenticity of other [[Tripiṭaka|Tripitaka]] versions.]]
The Pāli Tipitaka consists of three parts: the [[Vinaya Pitaka]], [[Sutta Pitaka]] and [[Abhidhamma Pitaka]]. Of these, the Abhidhamma Pitaka is believed to be a later addition to the collection, its composition dating from around the 3rd century BCE onwards.<ref>Damien Keown (2004). ''A Dictionary of Buddhism.'' Oxford University Press. p. 2. {{ISBN|978-0-19-157917-2}}.</ref> The Pāli Abhidhamma was not recognized outside the Theravāda school. There are also some texts which were late additions that are included in the fifth Nikaya, the ''[[Khuddaka Nikāya]]'' ('Minor Collection'), such as the ''[[Paṭisambhidāmagga]]'' (possibly c. 3rd to 1st century BCE) and the ''[[Buddhavaṃsa]]'' (c. 1st and 2nd century BCE).<ref>Ronkin, Noa (2005). ''Early Buddhist Metaphysics.'' New York: Routledge. pp. 91-2. {{ISBN|0-415-34519-7}}.</ref><ref>Abeynayake, Oliver (1984). ''A textual and Historical Analysis of the Khuddaka Nikaya'', Colombo, p. 113.</ref>

The main parts of the [[Sūtra|Sutta Pitaka]] and some portions of the [[Vinaya]] show considerable overlap in content with the [[Āgama (Buddhism)|Agamas]], the parallel collections used by non-Theravāda schools in India which are preserved in Chinese and partially in [[Sanskrit]], [[Prakrit]], and [[Classical Tibetan|Tibetan]], as well as the various non-Theravāda Vinayas. On this basis, these [[Early Buddhist texts]] (i.e. the Nikayas and parts of the Vinaya) are generally believed to be some of the oldest and most authoritative sources on the doctrines of [[pre-sectarian Buddhism]] by modern scholars.<ref>Tse-Fu Kuan. Mindfulness in similes in Early Buddhist literature in ''Edo Shonin, William Van Gordon, [[Nirbhay N. Singh]]. Buddhist Foundations of Mindfulness, page 267''.</ref><ref>Rupert Gethin (1998), ''The Foundations of Buddhism,'' OUP Oxford, pp. 42-43.</ref>

Much of the material in the earlier portions is not specifically "Theravādan", but the collection of teachings that this school's adherents preserved from the early, non-sectarian body of teachings. According to [[Peter Harvey (Buddhism)|Peter Harvey]], while the Theravādans may have added texts to their Tipiṭaka (such as the Abhidhamma texts and so on), they generally did not tamper with the earlier material.<ref>Peter Harvey, ''The Selfless Mind.'' Curzon Press, 1995, p. 9.</ref>

The historically later parts of the canon, mainly the Abhidhamma and some parts of the Vinaya, contain some distinctive elements and teachings which are unique to the Theravāda school and often differ from the Abhidharmas or Vinayas of other [[early Buddhist schools]].<ref>Crosby, 2013, p. 175.</ref> For example, while the Theravāda Vinaya contains a total of 227 monastic rules for [[bhikkhu]]s, the [[Dharmaguptaka]] Vinaya (used in [[East Asian Buddhism]]) has a total of 253 rules for bhikkhus (though the overall structure is the same).<ref>Buswell Jr., Robert E.; Lopez Jr., Donald S. (2013). ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism.'' p. 667''.'' Princeton University Press.</ref> These differences arose from the systematization and historical development of doctrines and monasticism in the centuries after the death of the Buddha.{{sfn|Warder|2000|p=217}}

The Abhidhamma-pitaka contains "a restatement of the doctrine of the Buddha in strictly formalized language." Its texts present a new method, the Abhidhamma method, which attempts to build a single consistent philosophical system (in contrast with the suttas, which present numerous teachings given by the Buddha to particular individuals according to their needs).{{sfn|Warder|2000|p=288}} Because the Abhidhamma focuses on analyzing the internal lived experience of beings and the intentional structure of consciousness, it has often been compared to a kind of [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenological]] [[psychology]] by numerous modern scholars such as [[Nyanaponika Thera|Nyanaponika]], [[Bhikkhu Bodhi]] and [[Alexander Piatigorsky]].<ref>Ronkin, Noa, Early Buddhist Metaphysics: The Making of a Philosophical Tradition (Routledge curzon Critical Studies in Buddhism) 2011, p. 5.</ref>

The Theravāda school has traditionally held the doctrinal position that the canonical Abhidhamma Pitaka was actually taught by the Buddha himself.<ref>James P. McDermott, Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Volume VII: Abhidharma Buddhism to 150 A.D. p. 80.</ref> Modern scholarship in contrast, has generally held that the Abhidhamma texts date from the 3rd century BCE onwards.<ref>"Abhidhamma Pitaka." Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008.</ref> However some scholars, such as [[Erich Frauwallner|Frauwallner]], also hold that the early Abhidhamma texts developed out of [[Exegesis|exegetical]] and [[Catechesis|catechetical]] work which made use of doctrinal lists which can be seen in the suttas, called ''matikas.''<ref>Ronkin, Noa, Early Buddhist Metaphysics: The Making of a Philosophical Tradition (Routledge curzon Critical Studies in Buddhism) 2011, pp. 27–30.</ref><ref>Frauwallner, Erich. Kidd, Sophie Francis (translator). Steinkellner, Ernst (editor). Studies in Abhidharma Literature and the Origins of Buddhist Philosophical Systems. SUNY Press. pp. 18, 100.</ref>

===Non-canonical literature===
{{Main|Pali literature}}
There are numerous Theravāda works which are important for the tradition even though they are not part of the Tipiṭaka. Perhaps the most important texts apart from the Tipiṭaka are the works of the influential scholar [[Buddhaghosa]] (4th–5th century CE), known for his [[Atthakatha|Pāli commentaries]] (which were based on older Sri Lankan commentaries of the Mahavihara tradition). He is also the author of a very important compendium of Theravāda doctrine, the ''[[Visuddhimagga]]''.<ref name="Crosby, 2013, p. 86">Crosby, 2013, p. 86.</ref> Other figures like [[Dhammapala]] and [[Buddhadatta]] also wrote Theravāda commentaries and other works in Pali during the time of Buddhaghosa.<ref>Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism, a social history from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo'', Routledge; 2 edition (2006), p. 154.</ref> While these texts do not have the same scriptural authority in Theravāda as the Tipiṭaka, they remain influential works for the [[exegesis]] of the Tipiṭaka.

An important genre of Theravādin literature is shorter handbooks and summaries, which serve as introductions and study guides for the larger commentaries. Two of the more influential summaries are Sariputta Thera's ''Pālimuttakavinayavinicchayasaṅgaha,'' a summary of Buddhaghosa's Vinaya commentary and Anuruddha's ''[[Abhidhammattha-sangaha|Abhidhammaṭṭhasaṅgaha]]'' (a "Manual of Abhidhamma").<ref name="Crosby, 2013, 86">Crosby, 2013, 86.</ref>

Throughout the history of Theravāda, Theravāda monks also produced other works of Pāli literature such as historical chronicles (like the ''[[Dipavamsa]]'' and the ''[[Mahavamsa]]''), [[Hagiography|hagiographies]], poetry, Pāli grammars, and "[[Sub-commentaries (Theravāda)|sub-commentaries]]" (that is, commentaries on the commentaries).

While Pāli texts are symbolically and ritually important for many Theravādins, most people are likely to access Buddhist teachings through vernacular literature, oral teachings, sermons, art and performance as well as films and Internet media.<ref>Crosby, 2013, p. 71.</ref> According to Kate Crosby, "there is a far greater volume of Theravāda literature in vernacular languages than in Pāli."<ref>Crosby, 2013, p. 91.</ref>

An important genre of Theravādin literature, in both Pāli and vernacular languages, are the [[Jataka tales]], stories of the Buddha's past lives. They are very popular among all classes and are rendered in a wide variety of media formats, from cartoons to high literature. The [[Vessantara Jataka|Vessantara Jātaka]] is one of the most popular of these.<ref>Crosby, 2013, p. 109.</ref>

=== Other Buddhist texts ===
Most Theravāda Buddhists generally consider [[Mahayana|Mahāyāna]] Buddhist scriptures to be [[apocrypha]]l, meaning that they are not authentic words of the Buddha.<ref>Macmillan ''Encyclopedia of Buddhism'', 2004 (Volume Two), p. 756.</ref> Consequently, Theravādin generally does not recognize the existence of many Buddhas and [[bodhisattva]]s believed by the ''Mahāyāna'' school, such as [[Amitābha]] and [[Vairocana]], because they are not found in the canonical scriptures.<ref name="Williams-2008f" />

==Doctrine (''pariyatti'')==
[[File:Sermon in the Deer Park depicted at Wat Chedi Liem-KayEss-1.jpeg|thumb|240px|Painting of the Buddha's first sermon from [[Wat Chedi Liem]] in Thailand]]

=== Core teachings ===
The core of Theravāda Buddhist doctrine is contained in the Pāli Canon, the only complete collection of [[early Buddhist Texts]] surviving in a classical [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indic language]].<ref>Bodhi, ''In the Buddha's words'', p. 13.</ref> The fundamentals of Theravadin Buddhism are shared by the other early Buddhist schools and [[Basic Points Unifying the Theravāda and the Mahāyāna|Mahayana traditions]]. They include central concepts such as:<ref>See, for example, the content of introductory texts from Theravada authors such as Rahula, Walpola (1974). ''What the Buddha Taught,'' and Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2005). ''In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon.''</ref> 
*A doctrine of action ([[karma in Buddhism|karma]])—which is based on intention (''[[cetanā]]'')—and a related doctrine of [[Rebirth (Buddhism)|rebirth]], which holds that after death, sentient (albeit incompletely awakened) beings will transmigrate to another body, possibly in another [[Ten realms|realm]]. The type of realm a being is reborn in is determined by the being's past karma, defining a fundamental reality driven by a cycle of birth and death ([[saṃsāra]]). 
*A rejection of other doctrines and practices found in [[Brahmanical]] religions like [[Hinduism]], including the notion that the [[Vedas]] are a divine authority. Any form of sacrifices to the gods (including [[Animal sacrifice in Hinduism|animal sacrifices]]) and [[ritual purification]] by bathing are considered useless and spiritually corrupted.<ref>Tola, Fernando. Dragonetti, Carmen (2009). ''"Brahamanism and Buddhism: Two Antithetic Conceptions of Society in Ancient India."'' p. 26.</ref> The Pāli texts also reject the idea that [[Caste system in India|castes]] are divinely ordained.
*A set of major teachings called the ''[[bodhipakkhiyādhammā]]'' (factors conducive to awakening).
*Descriptions of various meditative practices or states, namely the four [[Dhyāna in Buddhism|''jhanas'']] (meditative absorptions) and the formless dimensions (''arupāyatana'').
*[[Buddhist ethics|Ethical training]] (''sila''), including the ten courses of wholesome action and the [[five precepts]].
*[[Nirvana]] (Pali: ''nibbana''), the highest good and final state in Theravāda Buddhism. It is the complete and final end of suffering, a state of perfection. It is also the end of all rebirth, but it is ''not'' an annihilation (''[[Ucchedavada|uccheda]]'').<ref>Jayatilleke, K.N. (2000). ''The Message of the Buddha.'' p. 117-122. Buddhist Publication Society.</ref>
*The corruptions or influxes (''[[asava]]''s), such as the corruption of sensual pleasures (''kāmāsava''), existence corruption (''bhavāsava''), and ignorance corruption (''avijjāsava'').
*The doctrine of impermanence (''[[Impermanence|anicca]]''), which holds that all physical and mental phenomena are transient, unstable, and inconstant.<ref name="DavidsStede1921p355">{{Citation |author1=Thomas William Rhys Davids|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Guw2CnxiucC|title=Pali-English Dictionary|author2=William Stede|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|year=1921|isbn=978-81-208-1144-7|pages=355, Article on '''Nicca'''}}</ref>
*The doctrine of not-self (''[[Anattā]]''), which holds that all the constituents of a person, namely, the [[Skandha|five aggregates]] ([[Rupa (Buddhism)|physical form]], [[Vedanā|feelings]], [[Saṃjñā|perceptions]], [[Saṅkhāra|intentions]] and [[Vijñāna|consciousness]]), are empty of a self (''[[Ātman (Hinduism)|atta]]''), since they are impermanent and not always under our control. Therefore, there is no unchanging substance, permanent self, [[soul]], or essence.<ref>{{Citation |author=Richard Gombrich|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jZyJAgAAQBAJ|title=Theravada Buddhism|publisher=Routledge|year=2006|isbn=978-1-134-90352-8|page=47}}, Quote: "All phenomenal existence [in Buddhism] is said to have three interlocking characteristics: impermanence, suffering and lack of soul or essence."</ref><ref>Siderits, Mark, "Buddha", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2015 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2015/entries/buddha/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313135541/https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2015/entries/buddha/ |date=13 March 2021 }}</ref>
*The [[five hindrances]] (''pañca nīvaraṇāni''), which are obstacles to meditation: (1) sense-desire, (2) hostility, (3) sloth and torpor, (4) restlessness and worry, and (5) doubt.
*The [[Brahmavihara|Four Divine Abodes]] (''brahmavihārā''), also known as the four immeasurables (''appamaññā'').
*The [[Four Noble Truths]], which state, in brief: (1) there is [[Duḥkha|''dukkha'']] (suffering, unease); (2) there is a cause of ''dukkha'', mainly craving (''[[taṇhā]]''); (3) the removal of craving leads to the end (''[[nirodha]]'') of suffering; and (4) there is a path (''magga'') to follow to bring this about.<ref>Rahula, Walpola (1974). ''What the Buddha Taught,'' pp. 16-29.</ref>
*The framework of [[Pratītyasamutpāda|dependent arising]] (''paṭiccasamuppāda''), which explains how suffering arises (beginning with [[Avidyā (Buddhism)|ignorance]] and ending in birth, old age, and death) and how suffering can be brought to an end.<ref>Gombrich, Richard F. (2006). ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo'', p. 63. Routledge.</ref>
*The [[Middle Way]], which is seen as having two major facets. First, it is a middle path between extreme asceticism and sensual indulgence. It is also seen as a middle view between the idea that at death beings are annihilated and that there is an eternal self (Pali: ''atta''). 
*The [[Noble Eightfold Path]], one of the main outlines of the [[Buddhist paths to liberation]]. The eight factors are: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Conduct, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right ''[[Samadhi]]''. 
*The practice of taking [[Refuge (Buddhism)|refuge]] in the Triple Gems: the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]], the [[Dharma (Buddhism)|Dhamma]], and the [[Sangha (Buddhism)|Saṅgha]].
*The [[Seven Factors of Awakening]] (''satta bojjhaṅgā''): mindfulness (''[[Mindfulness (Buddhism)|sati]]''), investigation (''[[dhamma vicaya]]''), energy (''[[Vīrya|viriya]]''), bliss (''[[pīti]]'')'','' relaxation (''[[passaddhi]]''), [[Samādhi (Buddhism)|samādhi]], and equanimity (''[[upekkha]]''). 
*The [[Āyatana|six sense bases (''saḷāyatana'')]] and a corresponding theory of [[sense]] impression ([[Sparśa|''phassa'']]) and consciousness ([[Vijñāna|''viññana'']]).<ref>Ñāṇamoli, Bhikkhu (trans.) & Bodhi, Bhikkhu (ed.) (2001). ''The Middle-Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikāya'', pp. 1129–36, Boston: Wisdom Publications. {{ISBN|0-86171-072-X}}.</ref>
*Various frameworks for the practice of [[Sati (Buddhism)|mindfulness]] (''sati'')—mainly, the four ''[[satipatthana]]''s (establishments of mindfulness) and the 16 elements of [[Ānāpānasati Sutta|''anapanasati'']] (mindfulness of breathing).

=== Main doctrinal differences with other Buddhist traditions ===
[[File:Moggallana̞-statue.jpg|thumb|240px|A statue of the [[arahant]] [[Maudgalyayana|Moggallana]], who is identifiable by his dark (''nila'', i.e. blue/black) skin. He was one of the two most senior disciples of the Buddha and regarded as{{according to whom|date=August 2024}} the foremost in psychic powers.]]
The orthodox standpoints of Theravāda in comparison to other [[Buddhist denominations]] are presented in the ''[[Kathavatthu]]'' (Points of Controversy), as well as in other works by commentators like [[Buddhaghosa]].

Traditionally, Theravāda maintains the following key doctrinal positions, though not all Theravādins agree with the traditional points of view:<ref>James P. McDermott. ''Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Volume VII: Abhidharma Buddhism to 150 A.D'', see entry on the Kathavatthu.</ref><ref>Andre Bareau, ''Les sectes bouddhiques du Petit Véhicule'' (Ecole Fransaise d'Extreme-Orient, 1955), Chapitre I 'Les Mahasanghika', pp. 212-240.</ref>

*On the [[philosophy of time]], the Theravāda tradition follows [[philosophical presentism]]—the view that only present moment phenomena (''dhamma'') exist—rather than the [[Eternalism (philosophy of time)|eternalist]] view of the [[Sarvāstivādin]] tradition, which held that ''dhamma''s exist in all three times—past, present, and future.
*The ''arahant'' is never a layperson, for they have abandoned the fetters of a layperson, including married life, using money, etc.
*The power (''bala'') of a Buddha is unique and not common to the disciples (''savaka'') or ''arahant''s.
*[[Theravāda Abhidhamma]] holds that a single thought (''citta'') cannot last as long as a day.
*Theravāda Abhidhamma holds that insight into the Four Noble Truths happens instantaneously (''khaṇa''), rather than gradually (''anupubba''), as was held by [[Sarvastivada]]. The defilements (''[[Kleshas (Buddhism)|kilesa]]'') are also abandoned instantaneously, not gradually.{{Citation needed|reason=Is there a source for this? I have listened to Theravada dhamma talks, and as far as I can understand, it certainly does not happen in an instant but is rather a gradual process|date=October 2021}}
*Theravāda Abhidhamma traditionally rejects the view that there is an intermediate or transitional state ([[Bardo|''antarabhāva'']]) between rebirths, instead holding that rebirth happens instantaneously.<ref>Wayman, Alex (1984). ''Buddhist Insight: Essays'', p. 252, Motilal Banarsidass Publ.</ref> However, as has been noted by various modern scholars (e.g., [[Bhante Sujato|Bhikkhu Sujato]]), there are canonical passages that support the idea of an intermediate state (such as the ''Kutuhalasāla Sutta'').<ref name=":0y">Bhikkhu Sujato (2008). ''[https://santifm.org/santipada/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/RebirthandInbetweenState.pdf Rebirth and the in-between state in early Buddhism.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108093633/http://santifm.org/santipada/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/RebirthandInbetweenState.pdf|date=8 November 2020}}''</ref> Some Theravāda scholars (such as [[Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero]]) have defended the idea of an intermediate state. It is also a widespread belief some monks and laypersons in the Theravāda world (where it is commonly referred to as the ''[[Gandharva|gandhabba]]'' or ''antarabhāva'').<ref>Langer, Rita (2007). ''Buddhist Rituals of Death and Rebirth: Contemporary Sri Lankan Practice and Its Origins'', pp. 83-84. Routledge.</ref>
*Theravāda does not accept the Mahayana notion that there are two forms of ''nibbana''—an inferior "localized" or "abiding" (''pratiṣṭhita'') nirvana and [[Nirvana (Buddhism)#Apratiṣṭhita nirvāna|a non-abiding (''apratiṣṭhita'') nirvana]]. Such a dual nirvana theory is absent in the ''sutta''s.<ref>Thích Thiện Châu (1984), ''The Literature of the Personalists'', pp. 201-202.</ref> According to the ''Kathāvatthu'', there can be no dividing line separating the unconditioned element, and there is no superiority or inferiority in the unity of ''nibbana''.<ref>Hwang, Soonil (2006), ''Metaphor and Literalism in Buddhism: The Doctrinal History of Nirvana'', p. 68. Routledge.</ref>
*Theravāda exegetical works consider ''nibbana'' to be a ''real'' existent instead of a ''conceptual'' or ''nominal'' existent (''[[Prajñaptivāda|prajñapti]]''), referring to the mere destruction (''khayamatta'') of the defilements or non-existence of the five aggregates, as was held by some in the [[Sautrāntika]] school, for example.<ref>Hwang, Soonil (2006), ''Metaphor and Literalism in Buddhism: The Doctrinal History of Nirvana'', pp. 62, 75, 105. Routledge.</ref> In Theravāda scholasticism, ''nibbana'' is defined as the cessation (''nirodha'') of non-arising and exists separately from the mere destruction of passion, hatred, and delusion.<ref>Hwang, Soonil (2006), ''Metaphor and Literalism in Buddhism: The Doctrinal History of Nirvana'', p. 72. Routledge.</ref>
*In Theravāda exegetical works, mental phenomena last briefly or instantly (''khaṇa''), but physical phenomena do not.
*Theravāda holds that the Buddha resided in the human realm (''manussa-loka''). It rejects the [[Docetism|docetic view]] found in Mahayana that the Buddha's physical body was an incorporeal manifestation, emanation, or magical creation (''nirmāṇa'') of a transcendental being, and thus, that his birth and death were an illusion.<ref>James P. McDermott, ''Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies'', Volume VII: Abhidharma Buddhism to 150 A.D., p. 95.</ref> Also, the Theravāda school rejects the view that there are currently numerous Buddhas in all directions. 
*Theravāda holds that there is a ground level of consciousness called the [[bhavaṅga]], which conditions the rebirth consciousness.
*Theravāda rejects the [[Pudgalavada]] doctrine of the ''pudgala'' ("person" or "personal entity") as being more than a conceptual designation imputed on the five aggregates.<ref name="Doniger1980p168">{{Citation |author=James McDermott |title=Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4WZTj3M71y0C/page/n191 168]–170 |year=1980 |editor=Wendy Doniger |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4WZTj3M71y0C |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-03923-0}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |author=Bruce Mathews |title=Karma and Rebirth: Post Classical Developments |pages=123–126 |year=1986 |editor=Ronald Wesley Neufeldt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iaRWtgXjplQC |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0-87395-990-2}}</ref>
*Theravāda rejects the view of the [[Lokottaravāda]] schools that all acts done by the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]] (including all speech, defecation, and urination, etc.) were supramundane or transcendental (''lokuttara'').<ref>James P. McDermott, ''Kathavatthu: Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies'', Volume VII: Abhidharma Buddhism to 150 A.D.</ref> In Theravāda, a Buddha does not have the power to stop something that has already arisen from ceasing; they cannot stop a being from getting old, sick, or dying, and they cannot create a permanent thing (like a flower that does not die).
*Theravāda traditionally defends the idea that the Buddha himself taught the ''Abhidhamma Pitaka''.<ref>Skilling, Peter. ''"Scriptural Authenticity and the Śrāvaka Schools: An Essay towards an Indian Perspective."'' The Eastern Buddhist, vol. 41, no. 2, 2010, pp. 1–47. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/44362554. Accessed 25 February 2020.</ref> This is now being questioned by some modern Theravādins in light of modern Buddhist studies scholarship.
*In Theravāda, [[Nirvana (Buddhism)|''nibbana'']] is the only unconstructed phenomenon (''asankhata-dhamma, asankhatadhatu).'' Unlike in the [[Sarvastivada]] school, [[space]] (''[[Akasha|akasa]]''), is seen as a constructed ''dhamma'' in Theravāda. Even the four noble truths are not unconstructed phenomena, nor is the domain of cessation (''nirodhasamapatti''). "Thatness" (''[[Tathātā|tathatā]]'') is also a constructed phenomenon. According to the ''[[Dhammasaṅgaṇī|Dhammasangani]]'', ''nibbana'', the unconstructed element, is 'without condition' (''appaccaya'') and is different from the five aggregates which are 'with condition' (''sappaccaya'').<ref>Hwang, Soonil (2006), ''Metaphor and Literalism in Buddhism: The Doctrinal History of Nirvana'', p. 67. Routledge.</ref>
*In Theravāda, the [[Bodhisattva|bodhisatta path]] is suitable only for a few exceptional people (like Sakyamuni and Metteya).<ref>{{Citation |last=Samuels |first=Jeffrey |title=The Bodhisattva Ideal in Theravāda Buddhist Theory and Practice: A Reevaluation of the Bodhisattva-Śrāvaka Opposition |date=July 1997 |journal=Philosophy East and West |volume=47 |issue=3 |pages=399–415 |url=https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/phil_rel_fac_pub/12 |publisher=University of Hawai'i Press |doi=10.2307/1399912 |jstor=1399912|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Theravāda also defines a bodhisatta as someone who has made a vow in front of a living Buddha.<ref>Drewes, David, ''Mahāyāna Sūtras and Opening of the Bodhisattva Path'', Paper presented at the XVIII the IABS Congress, Toronto 2017, Updated 2019.</ref>
*In Theravāda, a physical sensory organ (''indriya'') conditions the mental consciousness (''manovinñāna'') and is the material support for consciousness. Some later Theravāda works like the ''Visuddhimagga'' locate this physical basis for consciousness at the [[heart]] (''hadaya-vatthu''), the Pali Canon itself is silent on this issue.<ref name=":12">Suwanda H. J. Sugunasiri. ''The Whole Body, Not Heart, as 'Seat of Consciousness': The Buddha's View.'' Vol. 45, No. 3 (Jul. 1995), pp. 409-430.</ref><ref name=":5">Jayasuriya, W. F. (1963) ''The Psychology and Philosophy of Buddhism.'' (Colombo, YMBA Press), Appendix A, pp. 288-292.</ref> Some modern Theravāda scholars propose alternative notions. For example, [[Suwanda H. J. Sugunasiri]] proposes that the basis for consciousness is the entire physical organism, which he ties with the canonical concept of ''[[jīvitindriya]]'' or life faculty.<ref name=":12" /> W. F. Jayasuriya meanwhile, argues that "''hadaya''" is not meant literally (it can also mean "essence", "core"), but refers to the entire [[nervous system]] (including the brain), which is dependent on the heart and blood.<ref name=":5" /> 
*Theravādins generally reject the [[Mahayana sutras]] as ''[[Buddhavacana]]'' (word of the Buddha), and do not study or see these texts (or Mahayana doctrines) as reliable sources. They reject the view that the ''Tipitaka'' is incomplete or inferior (i.e., "[[Hinayana]]") and that Mahayana texts are somehow more advanced.<ref name=":1">Karen Pechilis, Selva J. Raj (2013). ''South Asian Religions: Tradition and Today'', p. 115. Routledge.</ref>
*Theravādins traditionally believe that an awakened [[arhat|arahant]] has an "incorruptible nature" and is thus morally perfect.{{sfn|Warder|2000|p=283}} They have no ignorance or doubts. According to Theravāda doctrine, arahants (and the other three lesser ariyas: stream enterers, etc.) cannot fall back or regress from their state.<ref>Berkwitz, Stephen C. (2010). ''South Asian Buddhism: A Survey,'' p. 58. Routledge.</ref>

=== Abhidhamma philosophy ===
{{Main|Theravāda Abhidhamma}}
{{Cetasika}}
[[File:Ledi_Sayadaw_portrait.jpg|thumb|[[Ledi Sayadaw]] was one of the great Abhidhamma scholars of the 20th century as well as a teacher of meditation.]]
Theravāda scholastics developed a systematic exposition of the Buddhist doctrine called the [[Abhidharma|Abhidhamma]]. In the Pāli Nikayas, the Buddha teaches through an analytical method in which experience is explained using various conceptual groupings of physical and mental processes called "dhammas". Examples of lists of dhammas taught by the Buddha include the twelve sense 'spheres' or [[ayatana]]s, the [[Skandha|five aggregates]] or khandha, and the eighteen elements of cognition or [[Skandha#Eighteen Dhātus and Four Paramatthas|dhatus]].<ref>Ronkin, Noa (2005). ''Early Buddhist Metaphysics: The Making of a Philosophical Tradition'', p. 42. Taylor & Francis.</ref>

Theravāda traditionally promotes itself as the [[Vibhajyavāda|''Vibhajjavāda'']] "teaching of analysis" and as the heirs to the Buddha's analytical method. Expanding this model, Theravāda Abhidhamma scholasticism concerned itself with analyzing "[[Two truths doctrine|ultimate truth]]" (''paramattha-sacca''), which it sees as being composed of ''all possible'' dhammas and their relationships. The central theory of the Abhidhamma is thus known as the "[[dhamma theory]]".<ref name="Karunadasa">Y. Karunadasa (1996), ''[http://www.bps.lk/olib/wh/wh412_Karunadasa_Dhamma-Theory--Philosophical-Cornerstone-of-Abhidhamma.html The Dhamma Theory Philosophical Cornerstone of the Abhidhamma] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225021501/http://www.bps.lk/olib/wh/wh412_Karunadasa_Dhamma-Theory--Philosophical-Cornerstone-of-Abhidhamma.html |date=25 February 2021 }}'', Buddhist Publication Society Kandy, Sri Lanka.</ref><ref>Ronkin, Noa, Early Buddhist Metaphysics: The Making of a Philosophical Tradition (Routledge curzon Critical Studies in Buddhism) 2011, p. 2.</ref> "Dhamma" has been translated as "factors" (Collett Cox), "psychic characteristics" (Bronkhorst), "psycho-physical events" (Noa Ronkin), and "phenomena" ([[Nyanaponika Thera]]).<ref>Potter, Buswell, Jaini; Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies Volume VII Abhidharma Buddhism to 150 AD, p. 121.</ref><ref name="Crosby, Kate 2013 p. 2" />

According to the Sri Lankan scholar [[Y. Karunadasa]], a dhammas ("principles" or "elements") are "those items that result when the process of analysis is taken to its ultimate limits".<ref name="Karunadasa" /> However, this does not mean that they have an independent existence, for it is "only for the purposes of description" that they are postulated.<ref name="Karunadasa, Y p. 14">Karunadasa, Y (2015). ''Buddhist Analysis of Matter'', p. 14.</ref> Noa Ronkin defines dhammas as "the constituents of sentient experience; the irreducible 'building blocks' that make up one's world, albeit they are not static mental contents and certainly not substances."<ref>Ronkin, Noa (2005). ''Early Buddhist Metaphysics: The Making of a Philosophical Tradition'', p. 41. Taylor & Francis.</ref> Thus, while in Theravāda Abhidhamma, dhammas are the ultimate constituents of experience, they are not seen as [[Substance theory|substances]], [[essence]]s or independent particulars, since they are empty ([[Śūnyatā|''suñña'']]) of a self ([[Ātman (Hinduism)|''attā'']]) and conditioned.<ref>Crosby, 2013, 182.</ref> This is spelled out in the [[Patisambhidamagga|''Patisambhidhamagga'']], which states that dhammas are empty of [[svabhava]] (''sabhavena suññam'').<ref>Ronkin, Noa; ''Early Buddhist Metaphysics'', p. 92.</ref>

According to Ronkin, the canonical Pāli Abhidhamma remains pragmatic and psychological, and "does not take much interest in [[ontology]]" in contrast with the [[Sarvastivada]] tradition. Paul Williams also notes that the Abhidhamma remains focused on the practicalities of insight meditation and leaves ontology "relatively unexplored".<ref>Ronkin, Noa; ''Early Buddhist Metaphysics'', p. 77.</ref> Ronkin does note, however, that later Theravāda sub-commentaries (''ṭīkā'') do show a doctrinal shift towards ontological [[Philosophical realism|realism]] from the earlier epistemic and practical concerns.<ref>Ronkin, Noa (2005). ''Early Buddhist Metaphysics: The Making of a Philosophical Tradition'', p. 118. Taylor & Francis.</ref>

On the other hand, Y. Karunadasa contends that the tradition of realism goes back to the earliest discourses, as opposed to developing only in later Theravada sub-commentaries:

<blockquote>If we base ourselves on the Pali Nikayas, then we should be compelled to conclude that Buddhism is realistic. There is no explicit denial anywhere of the external world. Nor is there any positive evidence to show that the world is mind-made or simply a projection of subjective thoughts. That Buddhism recognizes the extra-mental existence of matter and, the external world is clearly suggested by the texts. Throughout the discourses it is the language of realism that one encounters. The whole Buddhist practical doctrine and discipline, which has the attainment of Nibbana as its final goal, is based on the recognition of the material world and the conscious living beings living therein.<ref>Karunadasa, Y. Buddhist Analysis of Matter, pp. 14, 172</ref></blockquote>

The Theravāda Abhidhamma holds that there is a total of 82 possible types of dhammas, 81 of which are conditioned (''[[sankhata]]''), while one is unconditioned, which is [[Nirvana (Buddhism)|''nibbana'']]. The 81 conditioned dhammas are divided into three broad categories: consciousness (''[[citta]]''), associated mentality ([[Mental factors (Buddhism)|''cetasika'']]) and materiality, or physical phenomena (''rupa'').<ref name=":4">Ronkin, Noa; ''Early Buddhist Metaphysics'', p. 47.</ref> Since no dhamma exists independently, every single dhamma of consciousness, known as a ''citta'', arises associated (''sampayutta'') with at least seven [[Mental factors (Buddhism)|mental factors (''cetasikas'')]].<ref name=":3">Crosby, 2013, 187.</ref> In Abhidhamma, all awareness events are thus seen as being characterized by [[intentionality]] and never exist in isolation.<ref name=":4" /> Much of Abhidhamma philosophy deals with categorizing the different consciousnesses and their accompanying mental factors as well as their conditioned relationships (''paccaya'').<ref name=":3" />

=== Cosmology ===
[[File:018 Sakka in Tavatimsa Heaven (30583616922).jpg|thumb|240px|Sakka in Tavatimsa Heaven, Wat Yang Thong, [[Songkhla]], Thailand]]
[[File:Ngaye (Naraka) in Burmese art.jpg|thumb|240px|A Burmese depiction of a hell scene]]
{{Main|Buddhist cosmology of the Theravada school}}
The Pāli Tipiṭaka outlines a hierarchical cosmological system with various [[Plane (esotericism)|planes of existence]] (''bhava'') into which sentient beings may be reborn depending on their past actions. Good actions lead one to the higher realms, and bad actions lead to the lower realms.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1t" /> However, even for the gods (''devas'') in the higher realms like [[Indra]], there is still death, loss and suffering.<ref>Crosby (2013), pp. 15-16.</ref>

The main categories of the planes of existence are:<ref name=":2">Sunthorn Na-Rangsi (2011). ''[https://www.bps.lk/olib/wh/wh462_Na-Rangsi_Four-Planes-of-Existence-in-Theravada-Buddhism.pdf The Four Planes of Existence in Theravada Buddhism.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210706234409/https://www.bps.lk/olib/wh/wh462_Na-Rangsi_Four-Planes-of-Existence-in-Theravada-Buddhism.pdf |date=6 July 2021 }}'' The Wheel Publication No. 462. Buddhist Publication Society.</ref><ref name=":1t">Gethin, Rupert. ''Cosmology and Meditation: From the Aggañña-Sutta to the Mahāyāna'', in "History of Religions" Vol. 36, No. 3 (Feb. 1997), pp. 183-217. The University of Chicago.</ref>

*'''''Arūpa-bhava''''', the formless or incorporeal plane. These are associated with the [[Dhyāna in Buddhism|four formless meditations]]: infinite space, infinite consciousness, infinite nothingness, and neither perception nor non-perception. Beings in these realms live extremely long lives (thousands of [[Kalpa (aeon)|kappas]]).
*'''''Kāma-bhava''''', the spiritual plane of desires. This includes numerous realms of existence such as: various [[hell]]s ([[Naraka (Buddhism)|''niraya'']]) which are devoid of happiness, the realms of animals, the hungry ghosts ([[Preta|''peta'']]), the realm of humans, and various [[heaven]] realms where the [[Deva (Buddhism)|devas]] live (such as [[Trāyastriṃśa|Tavatimsa]] and [[Tushita|Tusita]]).
*'''''Rūpa-bhava''''', the plane of form. The realms in this plane are associated with the four meditative absorptions (''jhanas''), and those who attain these meditations are reborn in these divine realms.

These various planes of existence can be found in countless world systems (''loka-dhatu''), which are born, expand, contract, and are destroyed in a cyclical nature across vast expanses of time (measures in kappas). This cosmology is similar to other ancient Indian systems, such as the [[Jain cosmology]].<ref name=":1t" /> This entire cyclical multiverse of constant birth and death is called [[Saṃsāra|samsara]]. Outside of this system of samsara is ''[[Nirvana (Buddhism)|nibbana]]'' ({{lit|vanishing, quenching, blowing out}}), a deathless (''amata'') and [[Transcendence (religion)|transcendent]] reality, which is a total and final release (''[[Moksha|vimutti]]'') from all suffering (''dukkha'') and rebirth.<ref>Buswell Jr., Robert E.; Lopez Jr., Donald S. (2013), ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', pp. 589-590. Princeton University, {{ISBN|978-1-4008-4805-8}}</ref>

=== Soteriology and Buddhology ===
According to Theravāda doctrine, release from suffering (i.e. ''nibbana'') is attained in [[four stages of enlightenment|four stages]] of awakening (''[[Enlightenment in Buddhism|bodhi]]''):<ref group="web">{{Citation |url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.12.0.than.html|title=Lohicca Sutta | access-date=27 March 2009|publisher=Access to Insight}}</ref><ref name="supramundane" group="web" />

# ''[[Sotapanna|Stream-Enterers]]'': Those who have destroyed the first three [[Fetter (Buddhism)|fetters]] (the false [[View (Buddhism)|view]] of self, doubt/indecision, and clinging to ethics and vows);<ref group="web">S [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/study/into_the_stream.html Thanissaro Bhikkhu, ''Into the Stream A Study Guide on the First Stage of Awakening''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324005428/https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/study/into_the_stream.html |date=24 March 2019 }}</ref><ref group="web">{{Citation |url=http://www.ajahnchah.org/book/Opening_Dhamma_Eye1.php|title=Opening the Dhamma Eye|website=www.ajahnchah.org}}</ref>
# ''[[Sakadagami|Once-Returners]]'': Those who have destroyed the first three fetters and have weakened the fetters of desire and ill-will;
# ''[[Anagami|Non-Returners]]'': Those who have destroyed the five lower fetters, which bind beings to the world of the senses;<ref name="Shaw 8">{{Citation |last=Shaw|first=Sarah|title=Buddhist Meditation Practices in the West|url=http://202.28.52.45/vesak50/article/pdf_file/13_Buddhist_%20Meditation_Practices_West.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110704102316/http://202.28.52.45/vesak50/article/pdf_file/13_Buddhist_%20Meditation_Practices_West.pdf|archive-date=4 July 2011|access-date=27 March 2009|publisher=Department of Continuing Education, Oxford University|page=8}}</ref>
# ''[[Arahants]]'' (lit. "honorable" or "worthies"): Those who have realized ''[[Nirvana (Buddhism)|Nibbana]]'' and are free from all defilements. They have abandoned all ignorance, craving for existence, restlessness (''[[uddhacca]]'') and subtle pride (''[[māna]]'').<ref name="Shaw 8" />

In Theravāda Buddhism, a [[Buddhahood|Buddha]] is a sentient being who has discovered the path out of samsara by themselves, has reached Nibbana, and then makes the path available to others by teaching (known as "turning the wheel of the Dhamma"). A Buddha is also believed to have extraordinary powers and abilities ([[Abhijñā|''abhiññā'']]), such as the ability to read minds and fly through the air.<ref>Crosby (2013), p. 16.</ref>

The Theravāda canon depicts [[Gautama Buddha]] as the most recent Buddha in a line of previous Buddhas stretching back for aeons. They also mention the future Buddha, named [[Maitreya|Metteyya]].<ref>Crosby (2013), pp. 22-23.</ref> Traditionally, the Theravāda school also rejects the idea that there can be numerous Buddhas active in the world simultaneously.<ref>Crosby (2013), p. 23.</ref> 
[[File:Sumedha and Dīpankara Buddha, Burmese manuscript.png|thumb|240px|A Burmese illustrated manuscript depicting Sumedha (the future Buddha Gautama) and [[Dīpankara Buddha|Dīpankara]] Buddha]]
Regarding how a sentient being becomes a Buddha, the Theravāda school also presents this path. Indeed, according to [[Buddhaghosa]], there are three main soteriological paths: the path of the Buddhas (''buddhayāna''); the way of the individual Buddhas (''paccekabuddhayāna''); and the way of the disciples (''sāvakayāna'').<ref>Crosby (2013), pp. 34-35.</ref>

However, unlike in Mahayana Buddhism, the Theravāda holds that the Buddha path is not for everyone and that beings on the Buddha path ([[Bodhisattva|''bodhisattas'']]) are quite rare.<ref>Crosby (2013), p. 35.</ref> While in Mahayana, bodhisattas refers to beings who have developed the [[Bodhicitta|wish to become Buddhas]], Theravāda (like other early Buddhist schools), defines a bodhisatta as someone who has resolved (''abhinīhāra'') to become a Buddha in front of a living Buddha, and has also received a confirmation from that Buddha that they will reach Buddhahood.<ref name=":02">Drewes, David, ''[https://www.academia.edu/34935437/Mahayana_Sutras_and_the_Opening_of_the_Bodhisattva_Path_Updated_2019_?email_work_card=title Mahāyāna Sūtras and Opening of the Bodhisattva Path] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305083827/https://www.academia.edu/34935437/Mahayana_Sutras_and_the_Opening_of_the_Bodhisattva_Path_Updated_2019_?email_work_card=title |date=5 March 2021 }}'', Paper presented at the XVIII the IABS Congress, Toronto 2017, Updated 2019.</ref> ''[[Cariyapitaka|Cariyāpiṭaka]]'' is a Theravāda text which focuses on the path of the Buddhas, while the [[Jataka tales|''Nidānakathā'']] and the ''[[Buddhavamsa|Buddhavaṃsa]]'' are also Theravāda texts which discuss the Buddha's path.<ref name=":02" />

=== Modern developments ===
The modern era saw new developments in Theravāda scholarship due to the influence of Western thought. As Donald K. Swearer writes: <blockquote>Although monastic education is still grounded in the study of Buddhist texts, doctrine, and the Pali language, the curricula of monastic colleges and universities also reflect subject matter and disciplines associated with Western education.<ref name="Swearer, Donald K p. 1642">Swearer, Donald K. The Buddhist World of Southeast Asia: Second Edition, p. 164.</ref></blockquote>[[Buddhist modernism|Buddhist modernist]] trends can be traced to figures like [[Anagarika Dharmapala|Anagarika Dhammapala]], King [[Mongkut]], and the first prime minister of Burma [[U Nu]].<ref>McMahan, David L. 2008. The Making of Buddhist Modernism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 91–97.</ref> They promoted a form of Buddhism that was compatible with [[rationalism]] and science, and opposed to superstition and certain folk practices. [[Walpola Rahula Thero|Walpola Rahula]]'s ''[[What the Buddha Taught]]'' is seen by scholars as an introduction to modernist Buddhist thought, and the book continues to be widely used in universities.<ref name="Swearer, Donald K p. 1642" />

Another modern phenomenon is Buddhist philosophers who received an education in the West, such as [[K. N. Jayatilleke]] (a student of [[Ludwig Wittgenstein|Wittgenstein]] at [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]]) and [[Hammalawa Saddhatissa]] (who received his Phd at [[University of Edinburgh|Edinburgh]]), going on to write modern works on [[Buddhist philosophy]] (''Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge'', 1963 and ''Buddhist Ethics'', 1987 respectively). [[Henepola Gunaratana]] is another modern Theravāda scholar who studied philosophy in the West (at the [[American University]]). The modern encounter with Christian missionaries also led to new debates (such as the [[Migettuwatte Gunananda Thera#Panadura Debate පානදුරාවාදය|Panadura debate]]) and doctrinal works written in defense of Buddhism or attacking Christian ideas, such as Gunapala Dharmasiri's ''A Buddhist critique of the Christian concept of God'' (1988).

There have also been several modern Theravāda scholars who have taken a historical-critical perspective on Theravāda literature and doctrine, attempting to understand its historical development. Some of these figures, such as [[David Kalupahana]], [[Buddhadasa]], and [[Bhante Sujato|Bhikkhu Sujato]], have criticized traditional Theravāda commentators like Buddhaghosa for their doctrinal innovations which differ in significant ways from the early Buddhist texts.<ref>S. Payulpitack (1991), ''Buddhadasa and His Interpretation of Buddhism.''</ref><ref>Kalupahana, David J. (1994), ''A history of Buddhist philosophy'', pp. 206-216. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited.</ref><ref>Sujato, Bhante (2012), ''A History of Mindfulness'', Santipada, p. 332, {{ISBN|9781921842108}}</ref>

The modern era also saw new Buddhist works on topics which pre-modern Buddhists avoided, such as socially [[engaged Buddhism]] and [[Buddhist economics]]. Thinkers such as Buddhadasa, [[Sulak Sivaraksa]], [[Prayudh Payutto]], [[Neville Karunatilake]], and Padmasiri de Silva have written on these topics. Modern scholarship in Western languages by Western Buddhist monks such as [[Nyanatiloka]], [[Nyanaponika Thera|Nyanaponika]], [[Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu|Nyanamoli]], [[Bhikkhu Bodhi]], and [[Bhikkhu Analayo|Analayo]] is another recent development in the Theravāda world.

==Practice (''paṭipatti'')==
[[File:Dharmachakra, withprint (en).svg|thumb|right|300px|The [[Dharmachakra|Dhamma Wheel]] with eight spokes usually symbolizes the [[Noble Eightfold Path]].]]

===Textual basis===
In the [[Pāli Canon]], the path (''magga'') or way (''patipada'') of Buddhist practice is [[Buddhist paths to liberation|described in various ways]], one of the most widely used frameworks in Theravāda is the [[Noble Eightfold Path]]:

{{blockquote|The Blessed One said, "Now what, monks, is the Noble Eightfold Path? Right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration."<ref group=web>{{Citation |url=https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn45/sn45.008.than.html|title=Magga-vibhanga Sutta: An Analysis of the Path|website=www.accesstoinsight.org}}</ref>}}

The Noble Eightfold Path can also be summarized as the Three Noble Disciplines of [[śīla|sīla]] (moral conduct or discipline), [[Samadhi|Samādhi]] (meditation or concentration) and [[Prajñā (Buddhism)|Paññā]] (understanding or wisdom).<ref group="web">{{Citation |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/contextualize.pl?p.4.pali.103879|title=The Pali Text Society's Pali-English dictionary|publisher=Dsal.uchicago.edu|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708195133/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/contextualize.pl?p.4.pali.103879|archive-date=8 July 2012|url-status=dead|access-date=17 August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.2:1:989.pali|title=The Pali Text Society's Pali-English dictionary|publisher=Dsal.uchicago.edu|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708071648/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.2:1:989.pali|archive-date=8 July 2012|url-status=dead|access-date=17 August 2012}}</ref><ref group="web">{{Citation |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.3:1:3397.pali|title=The Pali Text Society's Pali-English dictionary|publisher=Dsal.uchicago.edu|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120709035335/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.3:1:3397.pali|archive-date=9 July 2012|url-status=dead|access-date=17 August 2012}}</ref>

Theravāda orthodoxy takes the [[Visuddhimagga#Seven Stages of Purification|seven stages of purification]] as outlined in the ''[[Visuddhimagga]]'' as the basic outline of the path to be followed. The ''[[Visuddhimagga]]'', a Sinhala Theravāda doctrinal ''[[summa]]'' written in the fifth century by [[Buddhaghosa]], became the orthodox account of the Theravāda path to liberation in Sri Lanka after the 12th century and this influence spread to other Theravāda nations.<ref name="Crosby, 2013, p. 86"/> It gives the sequence of seven purifications, in three sections:
*The first section (part 1) explains the rules of discipline, and the method for finding a correct temple to practice, or how to meet a [[Kalyāṇa-mittatā|good teacher]].
*The second section (part 2) describes [[Samatha]] (calming) practice, object by object (see [[Kammaṭṭhāna]] for the list of the forty traditional objects). It mentions different stages of [[Samadhi|Samādhi]].
*The third section (parts 3–7) is a description of the five [[Skandha|khandhas]], [[ayatana]]s, the [[Four Noble Truths]], [[Pratītyasamutpāda|dependent origination]], and the practise of [[Vipassanā]] (insight) through the development of wisdom. It emphasizes [[Vipassanā-ñāṇa|different forms of knowledge]] emerging because of the practice. This part shows a great analytical effort specific to [[Buddhist philosophy]].

This basic outline is based on the threefold discipline. The emphasis is on understanding the [[three marks of existence]], which removes [[avijja|ignorance]]. Understanding destroys the ten [[Fetter (Buddhism)|fetters]] and leads to [[Nirvana (Buddhism)|Nibbana]].

Theravādins believe that every individual is personally responsible for achieving their own self-awakening and liberation, each being responsible for their own [[karma in Buddhism|karma]] (actions and consequences). Applying knowledge acquired through direct experience and personal realization is more heavily emphasized than beliefs about the nature of reality as revealed by the Buddha.

===Moral conduct===
Giving (Dana) is an important Buddhist virtue. The community of monastics is seen as the most meritorious field of karmic fruitfulness.

[[Buddhist ethics|Sīla]], meaning moral conduct, is mainly defined as [[right speech]], [[Noble Eightfold Path#Right action|right action]], and [[right livelihood]]. It is primarily understood through the doctrine of [[Karma in Buddhism|kamma]]. In Theravāda, one's previous intentional actions strongly influence one's present experience. Whatever intended actions are carried out will have future consequences, whether in this life or subsequent lives.<ref>Crosby, 2013, p. 113.</ref> Intention is central to the idea of kamma. Actions done with good intentions, even if they have bad results, will not have negative kammic consequences.

Several sets of precepts or moral trainings (''sikkhāpada'') guide right action. After taking [[Refuge (Buddhism)|Refuge]] in the Triple Gems, lay Theravādin Buddhists traditionally take the [[Five precepts]] (whether for life or for a limited time) in the presence of Sangha.<ref>Crosby, 2013, p. 116.</ref> Laypeople also sometimes take an extended set of [[Eight precepts]], which includes chastity during sacred days of observance such as [[Uposatha]].

Performing good deeds is another important feature of Theravādin Buddhist ethics. Doing so is said to make "merit" ([[Merit (Buddhism)|puñña]]), which results in a better rebirth. The "ten wholesome actions" is a common list of good deeds:<ref>Crosby, 2013, 118–119.</ref>

# Generosity (Dāna); This typically involves providing monks with "the four requisites"; food, clothing, shelter, and medicine; however, giving to charity and the needy is also considered dāna.
# Moral conduct (Sīla); Keeping the five precepts and generally refraining from doing harm.
# Meditation (Bhāvanā).
# Dedication of merit; doing good deeds in the name of someone who has passed away or in the name of all sentient beings.
# Rejoicing in merit of good deeds done by others, this is common in communal activities.
# Rendering service to others; looking after others or needy.
# Honoring others; showing appropriate deference, particularly to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, and to seniors and parents. Usually done by placing the hands together in [[Añjali Mudrā]], and sometimes bowing.
# [[Dharma talk|Preaching or sharing the Dhamma]]; the gift of Dhamma is seen as a form of highest gift. (Dhammapada 354)
# Listening to Dhamma
# Having right view or Sammādiṭṭhi; mainly the [[Four Noble Truths]] and the [[three marks of existence]].

===Meditation===
{{Main|Buddhist meditation}}
[[File:Buddhist Man Meditating.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Theravādin monks meditating in [[Bodh Gaya]] ([[Bihar]], India)]]

Meditation (Pāli: ''Bhāvanā,'' literally "causing to become" or cultivation) means the positive cultivation of one's mind.

====Forms====
Theravāda Buddhist meditation practice varies considerably in technique and objects.<ref>Crosby, 2013, p. 138.</ref> Currently, there are also various traditions of Theravāda meditation practice, such as the [[Vipassana movement|Burmese Vipassana tradition]], the [[Thai Forest Tradition]], the esoteric ''[[Tantric Theravada|Borān kammaṭṭhāna]]'' ('ancient practices'), the Burmese [[Weizza|Weikza]] tradition, [[Dhammakaya meditation]] and the Western [[Insight Meditation Society|Insight Meditation]] movement.

Theravāda Buddhist meditation practices or [[Bhavana]] (mental cultivation) are categorized into two broad categories: [[Samatha]] bhavana (calming), and [[Vipassanā]] bhavana (investigation, insight).<ref group="web">{{Citation |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.2:1:3558.pali |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120711062331/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.2:1:3558.pali |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 July 2012 |title=The Pali Text Society's Pali-English dictionary |publisher=Dsal.uchicago.edu |access-date=17 August 2012 }}</ref> Originally these referred to effects or qualities of meditation, but after the time of [[Buddhaghosa]], they also referred to two distinct meditation types or paths (''yāna'').<ref>Crosby, 2013, 139–140.</ref><ref name="Vajiranāṇa-Mahathera">Vajiranāṇa Mahathera (author), Allan R. Bomhard (editor) (20100, ''Buddhist Meditation in Theory and Practice'', p. 270.</ref><ref group="web" name="supramundane">[http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/gunaratana/wheel351.html Henepola Gunaratana, ''The Jhanas in Theravāda Buddhist Meditation''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709025909/https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/gunaratana/wheel351.html |date=9 July 2018 }}.</ref>

''[[Samatha]]'' ("calm") consists of meditation techniques in which the mind is focused on a single object, thought, or gatha, leading to ''[[Samādhi]]'''. In traditional Theravāda it is considered to be the base for ''vipassanā'' ("insight"). In the Theravāda-tradition, as early as the [[Nikāya|Pāli Nikayas]], the four ''[[Dhyāna in Buddhism|jhānas]]'' are regarded as a ''samatha''-practice. The eighth and final step of the Eightfold Path, Right Samadhi, is often defined as the four jhanas.<ref>Henepola Gunaratana, The Jhanas in Theravada Buddhist Meditation, 1995.</ref> In the [[Nikāya|Pāli Nikayas]], Jhānas are described as preceding the awakening insight of the Buddha, which turned him into an awakened being.<ref group="web">{{Citation |url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/buddha.html|title=A Sketch of the Buddha's Life|publisher=Access to Insight|access-date=26 March 2009}}</ref> Yet the interpretation of ''jhana'' as single-pointed concentration and calm may be a later re-interpretation in which the original aim of ''jhana'' was lost.{{sfn|Polak|2011}}

''Vipassana'' ("insight", "clear seeing") refers to practices that aim to develop an inner understanding or knowledge of the nature of phenomena (''dhammas''), especially the characteristics of ''[[dukkha]]'', ''[[anatta]]'' and ''[[anicca]]'', which are seen as being universally applicable to all constructed phenomena (''sankhata-dhammas''). ''Vipassana'' is also described as insight into [[Pratītyasamutpāda|dependent origination]], the [[Skandha|five aggregates]], the [[Ayatana|sense spheres]] and the [[Four Noble Truths]].<ref name=":10">[[Nyanaponika Thera|Nyanaponika]], The Heart of Buddhist meditation, Buddhist publication Society, 2005, p. 40.</ref><ref name="Vajiranāṇa-Mahathera" /> It is the primary focus of the modernist Burmese Vipassana movement. In western countries it is complemented with the [[Brahmavihara|four divine abidings]], the development of loving-kindness and compassion.{{sfn|Fronsdal|1998}}<ref>Crosby, 2013, p. 149.</ref>

''Vipassana'' practice begins with the preparatory stage, the practice of ''[[Śīla|sila]]'', morality, giving up worldly thoughts and desires.{{sfn|Wilson|2014|pp=54–55}}<ref>Mahāsi Sayādaw, ''Manual of Insight'', Chapter 5.</ref> The practitioner then engages in ''[[anapanasati]]'', mindfulness of breathing, which is described in the [[Satipatthana Sutta]] as going into the forest and sitting beneath a tree and then simply to watch the breath. If the breath is long, to notice that the breath is long, if the breath is short, to notice that the breath is short.<ref>Majjhima Nikaya, Sutta No. 118, Section No. 2, translated from the Pali.</ref><ref>[[Satipatthana Sutta]].</ref> In the "New Burmese Method" the practitioner [[Sati (Buddhism)|pays attention]] to any arising mental or physical phenomenon, engaging in [[vitaka]], noting or naming physical and mental phenomena ("breathing, breathing"), without engaging the phenomenon with conceptual thinking.<ref name="Practical">Mahasi Sayadaw, ''Practical Vipassana Instructions''.</ref><ref>Bhante Bodhidhamma, [https://buddhismnow.com/2013/09/12/vipassana-as-taught-by-the-mahasi-sayadaw-of-burma/ ''Vipassana as taught by The Mahasi Sayadaw of Burma''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324061800/https://buddhismnow.com/2013/09/12/vipassana-as-taught-by-the-mahasi-sayadaw-of-burma/ |date=24 March 2019 }}.</ref> By noticing the arising of physical and mental phenomena the meditator becomes aware of how sense impressions arise from the contact between the senses and physical and mental phenomena,<ref name="Practical"/> as described in the five ''[[skandhas]]'' and ''[[paṭiccasamuppāda]]''. The practitioner also becomes aware of the perpetual changes involved in breathing, and the arising and passing away of mindfulness.<ref name="Art"/> This noticing is accompanied by reflections on [[paṭiccasamuppāda|causation]] and other Buddhist teachings, leading to insight into [[dukkha]], [[anatta]], and [[anicca]].<ref>Mahasi Sayadaw, ''Practical Vipassana Instructions'', pp. 22–27.</ref><ref name="Art">{{Citation |url=http://www.dhamma.org/en/art.shtml |title=The Art of Living: Vipassana Meditation |publisher=Dhamma.org |access-date=30 May 2013}}</ref> When the three characteristics have been comprehended, reflection subdues and the process of noticing accelerates, noting phenomena in general without necessarily naming them.<ref>PVI, p. 28.</ref>{{sfn|Nyanaponika|1998}}{{sfn|Gombrich|1997|p=133}}

According to Vajiranāṇa Mahathera, writing from a traditional and text-based point of view, in the Pāli Canon whether one begins the practice by way of samatha or by way of vipassanā is generally seen as depending on one's temperament. According to Vajiranāṇa Mahathera, it is generally held that there are two kinds of individuals. Those of a passionate disposition (or those who enter the path by faith) attain Arahatship through vipassanā preceded by samatha. Those of a skeptical disposition (or those who enter by way of wisdom or the intellect) achieve it through samatha preceded by vipassanā.<ref name="Vajiranāṇa-Mahathera"/>

====Aims of meditation====
[[File:Portrait of Ajahn Mun.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Ajahn Mun, a key figure in the founding of the [[Thai Forest Tradition]], is widely considered to have been an Arahant in Thailand.<ref>Gethin, Rupert, The Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, p. 234.</ref>]]

Traditionally, the ultimate goal of the practice is to achieve mundane and supramundane wisdom. Mundane wisdom is the insight in the [[three marks of existence]].<ref group="web" name="supramundane" /> The development of this insight leads to four supramundane paths and fruits, these experiences consist a direct apprehension of Nibbana.<ref name="supramundane2" group="web">{{Citation |last=Gunaratana |first=Henepola |title= The Jhanas in Theravada Buddhist Meditation |url=https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/gunaratana/wheel351.html |website=[[Access to Insight]] |date=1995 |access-date=13 March 2020}}</ref> Supramundane (''lokuttara)'' wisdom refers to that which transcends the world of [[Saṃsāra|samsara]].<ref group="web" name="supramundane2" />

Apart from [[Nirvana (Buddhism)|nibbana]], there are various reasons why traditional Theravāda Buddhism advocates meditation, including a good [[Rebirth (Buddhism)|rebirth]], [[Ṛddhi|supranormal powers]], combating fear and preventing danger. Recent modernist Theravādins have tended to focus on the [[Research on meditation|psychological benefits]] and psychological [[well-being]].<ref>Crosby, 2013, p. 156.</ref>

====Historical development and sources====
The practice of Theravāda meditation can be traced back to the 5th century exegete [[Buddhaghosa]], who systematized the classic Theravāda meditation, dividing them into samatha and vipassana types and listing [[Kammaṭṭhāna|40 different forms]] (known as "''kammaṭṭhānas''", "workplaces") in his magnum opus, the [[Visuddhimagga]].<ref>Buddhaghosa & Nanamoli (1999), pp.&nbsp;90–91 (II, 27–28, "Development in Brief"), 110ff. (starting with III, 104, "enumeration"). &nbsp;It can also be found sprinkled earlier in this text as on p. 18 (I, 39, v. 2) and p. 39 (I, 107). &nbsp;Throughout Nanamoli translates this term as "meditation subject."</ref><ref>Crosby, Kate (2013), ''Theravada Buddhism: Continuity, Diversity, and Identity,'' John Wiley & Sons, p. 141.</ref> This text has remained central for the study and practice of Theravāda meditation. Buddhaghosa's commentary on the [[Satipatthana Sutta|''Satipatthana sutta'']] ("Bases of mindfulness discourse"), as well as the source text itself, are also another important source for meditation in this tradition.<ref name="crosby2013">Crosby, Kate (2013), ''Theravada Buddhism: Continuity, Diversity, and Identity,'' John Wiley & Sons, p. 145.</ref> Buddhaghosa's work drew heavily on the Pali suttas as well as the Pali [[Abhidharma|Abhidhamma]]. Kate Crosby notes that Buddhaghosa's work also "explicitly refers to the contemporaneous existence of secret meditation manuals but not to their content."<ref name="crosby2013" />

Regarding post Visuddhimagga Theravāda meditation, according to Kate Crosby, <blockquote>In the period between the Visuddhimagga and the present, there have been numerous meditation texts, both manuals and descriptive treatises. Many of the texts found in manuscript collections relate to meditation, some on a single, simple subject such as the recollection of the qualities of the Buddha, others more complex. Little research has been done to assess their variety. One difficulty is that meditation manuals as such are often in a mixture of a classical language, that is, Pali, and a vernacular that may or may not be a currently used language. Also, actual manuals often contain prompts or reminders rather than an in-depth explanation. In recent years it has emerged that there is still extant a relatively high number of manuals and related texts pertaining to a system of meditation called – among other things – borān kammaṭṭhāna or yogāvacara. Its core text, the Mūla-kammaṭṭhāna "original, fundamental or basic meditation practice," circulated under a number of different titles, or without a title, throughout the Tai–Lao–Khmer and Sri Lankan Buddhist worlds. Some versions of this text are simple lists of kammaṭṭhāna and from that perspective look entirely in accord with the Visuddhimagga or Theravada Abhidhamma texts. Other versions contain extensive narratives, explanations of symbolism, and of the somatic locations involved in the practice that make it clear that we are dealing with techniques of practice not described in the Canon or Visuddhimagga.<ref name="crosby2013"/></blockquote>According to Crosby, the esoteric borān kammaṭṭhāna or yogāvacara meditation tradition was the dominant form of meditation in the Theravāda world during the 18th century, and may date as far back as the 16th century. Crosby notes that this tradition of meditation involved a rich collection of symbols, somatic methods and visualizations which included "the physical internalisation or manifestation of aspects of the Theravada path by incorporating them at points in the body between the nostril and navel."<ref>Crosby et al. ''The Sutta on Understanding Death in the Transmission of Bora ̄n Meditation From Siam to the Kandyan Court.'' J Indian Philos (2012) 40:177–198 {{doi|10.1007/s10781-011-9151-y}}</ref> In spite of the novel elements in this meditation tradition, close study of borān kammaṭṭhāna texts reveals that they are closely connected to Theravada Abhidhamma and the works of Buddhaghosa.<ref>Andrew Skilton; Phibul ChoomPolPaisal. ''The Ancient Theravāda Meditation System, Borān Kammaṭṭhāna: Ānāpānasati or 'Mindfulness of The Breath' in Kammatthan Majjima Baeb Lamdub.'' Buddhist Studies Review 0256-2897.</ref> Modernist reforms which emphasized Pali Canon study, a shift in state support to other traditions and modern wars in Indochina led to this tradition's decline, and it now only survives in a few Cambodian and Thai temples.<ref name=":7">Crosby, Kate (2013), ''Theravada Buddhism: Continuity, Diversity, and Identity,'' John Wiley & Sons, p. 157.</ref> 
[[File:Mahasi Sayadaw.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Mahasi Sayadaw]]]]
During the 19th and 20th centuries, the Theravāda world saw a modernist revival and reinvention of meditation practice, as exemplified by the Burmese Vipassana movement.{{sfn|Buswell|2004|p=890}}{{sfn|McMahan|2008|p=189}} According to Buswell ''vipassana,'' "appears to have fallen out of practice" by the 10th century, due to the belief that Buddhism had degenerated, and that liberation was no longer attainable until the coming of ''Maitreya''.{{sfn|Buswell|2004|p=889}} The practice was revived in Myanmar (Burma) in the 18th century by [[Medawi]] (1728–1816) and by later figures such as [[Ledi Sayadaw]] and [[Mahasi Sayadaw|Mahāsī Sayadaw]] during the 19th and 20th centuries. These Burmese figures re-invented ''vipassana''-meditation and developed simplified meditation techniques, based on the ''[[Satipatthana sutta]]'', the ''[[Visuddhimagga]]'', and other texts, emphasizing ''[[satipatthana]]'' and bare insight.{{sfn|Buswell|2004|p=890}}{{sfn|McMahan|2008|p=189}} These techniques were globally popularized by the [[Vipassana movement]] in the second half of the 20th century.

Similar revival movements developed in [[Thailand]], such as the Thai forest tradition and Dhammakaya meditation. These traditions are influenced by the older borān kammaṭṭhāna forms.<ref>Crosby, Kate (2013), ''Theravada Buddhism: Continuity, Diversity, and Identity,'' John Wiley & Sons, pp. 160, 166.</ref> Thailand and Cambodia also saw attempts to preserve and revive the ancient "borān kammaṭṭhāna" tradition of meditation.<ref>Crosby, Kate (2013), ''Theravada Buddhism: Continuity, Diversity, and Identity,'' John Wiley & Sons, p. 146.</ref> In Sri Lanka, the new Buddhist traditions of the [[Amarapura Nikaya|Amarapura]] and [[Ramanna Nikaya|Rāmañña Nikāyas]] developed their own meditation forms based on the Pali Suttas, the Visuddhimagga, and other manuals, while borān kammaṭṭhāna mostly disappeared by the end of the 19th century.<ref>Crosby, Kate (2013), ''Theravada Buddhism: Continuity, Diversity, and Identity,'' John Wiley & Sons, p. 164.</ref>

Though the ''Vipassana movement'' has popularised meditation both in traditional Theravāda countries among the laity, and in western countries, "meditation plays a minor if not negligible role in the lives of the majority of Theravāda monks."{{sfn|Sharf|1995|p=242}}{{sfn|Crosby|2013|p=147}}<ref name="Braun2014" group="web" /> Meditation is especially popular laypersons,{{sfn|Sharf|1995}} especially during special religious holidays or in their old age, when they have more free time to spend at the temple.{{sfn|Crosby|2013|p=147}} Buddhist modernists tend to present Buddhism as rational and scientific, and this has also affected how Vipassana meditation has been taught and presented. This has led in some quarters to a playing down of older non-empirical elements of Theravāda, associated with '[[superstition]]'.<ref>Crosby, 2013, 142.</ref> Strains of older, traditional Theravāda meditation known as "borān kammaṭṭhāna" still exist, but this tradition has mostly been eclipsed by the [[Buddhist modernism|Buddhist modernist]] meditation movements.<ref name=":7" />

=== Other practices ===
[[File:Walk_with_lighted_candles_in_hand_around_a_temple.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Circumambulation]] around a temple or a stupa is also a common devotional practice.]]
Laypersons and monks also perform various types of religious practices daily or during [[Buddhist holidays]]. One of these is keeping a [[Buddhist shrine]] with a picture or statue of the Buddha for devotional practice in one's home, mirroring the larger shrines at temples.<ref name=":6">[https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/khantipalo/wheel206.html Bhikkhu Khantipalo, Lay Buddhist Practice The Shrine Room, Uposatha Day, Rains Residence] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515043013/https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/khantipalo/wheel206.html |date=15 May 2019 }}.</ref> It is common to offer candles, incense, flowers and other objects to these shrine.<ref name=":6" /> Gestures of respect are also done in front of Buddha images and shrines, mainly the respectful salutation with the hands (''añjalikamma''), and the five-limb [[Prostration (Buddhism)|prostration]] (''pañc'anga-vandana'').<ref name=":6" />

[[Buddhist chant|Buddhist forms of chanting]] is also widely practiced by both monks and laypersons, who may recite famous phrases such as the taking of [[Refuge (Buddhism)|refuge]], the [[Metta Sutta]] and the [[Mangala Sutta]] in front of their shrine. Chanting may also be part of the practice of recollection ([[anussati]]), which refers to contemplating various topics such as the sublime qualities of [[the Buddha]], Dhamma and Sangha or the [[Upajjhatthana Sutta|five subjects for daily recollection]].<ref name=":6" /> This may be done as part of a daily [[Puja (Buddhism)|puja]] ritual.

Another important religious practice for the devout is the keeping of special religious holidays known as [[Uposatha]] which are based on a lunar calendar. Laypersons commonly take the eight precepts while visiting a temple or monastery and commit to focusing on Buddhist practice for the day.<ref name=":6" />

Study (''ganthadhura'') of the Buddhist texts and listening to [[Dharma talk|Dhamma talks]] by monks or teachers are also important practices.

==Lay and monastic life==
{{See also|Buddhist monasticism}}
[[File:Young monk.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Young Burmese monk]]

===Distinction between lay and monastic life===
Traditionally, Theravāda Buddhism has observed a distinction between the practices suitable for a [[Householder (Buddhism)|lay person]] and the practices undertaken by ordained [[Bhikkhu|monks]] (in ancient times, there was a separate body of practices for nuns). While the possibility of significant attainment by laymen is not entirely disregarded by the Theravāda, it generally occupies a position of less prominence than in the [[Mahayana|Mahāyāna]] and [[Vajrayana|Vajrayāna]] traditions, with monastic life being hailed as a superior method of achieving [[Nirvana (Buddhism)|Nibbana]].<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.asiasocietymuseum.org/buddhist_trade/glossary.html#Theravāda|title=Glossary of Buddhism|work=Buddhist Art and the Trade Routes|publisher=[[Asia Society]]|year=2003|access-date=17 September 2010}}</ref> The view that Theravāda, unlike other Buddhist schools, is primarily a monastic tradition has, however, been disputed.
{{blockquote|Some Western scholars have erroneously tried to claim that Mahāyāna is primarily a religion for laymen and Theravāda is a primarily monastic religion. Both Mahāyāna and Theravāda have as their foundation strong monastic communities, which are almost identical in their regulations. Schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism without monastic communities of fully ordained monks and nuns are relatively recent and atypical developments, usually based on cultural and historical considerations rather than differences in fundamental doctrine. Both Mahāyāna and Theravāda also provided a clear and important place for lay followers.|Ron Epstein, "Clearing Up Some Misconceptions about Buddhism"<ref>{{Citation |last1=Epstein |first1=Ron |year=1999 |title=Clearing Up Some Misconceptions about Buddhism |journal= Vajra Bodhi Sea|pages=41–43 |url=http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/Misconceptions%20about%20Buddhism.htm}}</ref>}}{{dead link|date=May 2023}}

This distinction between ordained monks and laypeople&nbsp;– as well as the distinction between those practices advocated by the Pāli Canon, and the folk religious elements embraced by many monks&nbsp;– have motivated some scholars to consider Theravāda Buddhism to be composed of multiple separate traditions, overlapping though still distinct.  Most prominently, the anthropologist [[Melford Spiro]] in his work ''Buddhism and Society'' separated Burmese Theravāda into three groups: Apotropaic Buddhism (concerned with providing protection from evil spirits), Kammatic Buddhism (concerned with making [[Merit (Buddhism)|merit]] for a future birth), and Nibbanic Buddhism (concerned with attaining the liberation of [[Nirvana (Buddhism)|Nibbana]], as described in the Tipitaka). He stresses that all three are firmly rooted in the Pāli Canon. These categories are not accepted by all scholars, and are usually considered non-exclusive by those who employ them.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

The role of lay people has traditionally been primarily occupied with activities that are commonly termed ''[[Merit (Buddhism)|merit-making]]'' (falling under Spiro's category of kammatic Buddhism). Merit-making activities include offering food and other basic necessities to monks, making donations to temples and monasteries, burning incense or lighting candles before images of the Buddha, chanting protective or scriptural verses from the [[Pali Canon]], building roads and bridges, charity to the needy and providing drinking water to strangers along roadside. Some lay practitioners have always chosen to take a more active role in religious affairs, while still maintaining their lay status. Dedicated lay men and women sometimes act as trustees or custodians for their temples, taking part in the financial planning and management of the temple. Others may volunteer significant time in tending to the mundane needs of local monks (by cooking, cleaning, maintaining temple facilities, etc.). [[Pariyatti|Study of the Pāli scriptures]] and the practice of [[Buddhist meditation|meditation]] are less common among the lay community in the past, though in the 20th century these areas have become more popular to the lay community, especially in Thailand.

[[File:Monk on pilgrimage.jpg|thumb|Thai monks on [[pilgrimage]] in their orange robes]]
A number of senior monastics in the Thai Forest Tradition, including [[Buddhadasa]], [[Ajahn Maha Bua]], Ajahn Plien Panyapatipo, [[Ajahn Pasanno]], and [[Ajahn Jayasaro]], have begun teaching meditation retreats outside of the monastery for lay disciples. [[Ajahn Sumedho]], a disciple of [[Ajahn Chah]], founded the [[Amaravati Buddhist Monastery]] in Hertfordshire, which has a retreat center specifically for lay retreats. Sumedho extended this to Harnham in Northumberland as [[Aruna Ratanagiri]] under the present guidance of [[Ajahn Munindo]], another disciple of Ajahn Chah.{{citation needed|date=November 2017}}

===Lay devotee===
[[File:Vesak_in_Uttaradit_(Thailand)_1.jpg|left|thumb|The ceremony walks with lighted candles in hand around a temple on [[Vesak]]ha Puja in [[Uttaradit]], Thailand.]]
In Pāli the word for a male lay devotee is [[Upasaka]] and a female devotee is Upasika. One of the duties of the lay followers, as taught by the Buddha, is to look after the needs of the monk/nuns. They are to see that the monk/nuns do not suffer from lack of the four requisites: food, clothing, shelter and medicine. As neither monks nor nuns are allowed to have an occupation, they depend entirely on the laity for their sustenance. In return for this charity, they are expected to lead exemplary lives.

In Myanmar and Thailand, the monastery was and is still regarded as a seat of learning. Theravādin monasteries have been providing free education to many children since ancient times. In fact, today about half of the primary schools in Thailand are located in monasteries. Religious rituals and ceremonies held in a monastery are always accompanied by social activities. In times of crisis, it is to the monks that people bring their problems for counsel and monks often took up the role of mediators in most disputes. Traditionally, a ranking monk will deliver a sermon [[Uposatha|four times a month]]: when the moon waxes and wanes and the day before the new and full moons. The laity also have a chance to learn meditation from the monks during these times.

It is also possible for a lay disciple to become enlightened. As [[Bhikkhu Bodhi]] notes, "The Suttas and commentaries do record a few cases of lay disciples attaining the final goal of Nirvana. However, such disciples either attain Arahantship on the brink of death or enter the monastic order soon after their attainment. They do not continue to dwell at home as Arahant householders, for dwelling at home is incompatible with the state of one who has severed all craving."<ref>Bhikkhu Bodhi, ''In the Buddha's Words'', Wisdom Publications 2005; p. 376.</ref>

In the modern era, it is now common for lay disciples to practice meditation, attend lay meditation centers and even aim for awakening. The impetus for this trend began in Myanmar and was supported by prime minister [[U Nu]] who himself established the International Meditation Center (IMC) in [[Yangon]].<ref name=":9">Swearer, Donald K. The Buddhist World of Southeast Asia: Second Edition, p. 178.</ref> Modern lay teachers such as [[Ba Khin|U Ba Khin]] (who was also the Accountant General of the [[Post-independence Burma, 1948–62|Union of Burma]]) promoted meditation as part of a laypersons daily routine.<ref name=":9" /> According to Donald K Swearer, another development in modern Theravāda is "the formation of lay Buddhist associations that have partially assumed the social service responsibilities formerly associated with the monastery".<ref name=":9" /> These include social service and activist organizations such as the [[Young Men's Buddhist Association]] of Colombo, the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress, the [[Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement|Sarvodaya Shramadana]] of A. T. Ariyaratne, the NGO's founded by [[Sulak Sivaraksa]] such as Santi Pracha.<ref>Swearer, Donald K. ''The Buddhist World of Southeast Asia'': Second Edition, p. 187.</ref>

===Monastic vocation===
[[Image:Na_uyana_aranya_cave_kuti.jpg|thumb|A cave ''kuti'' (hut) in the Sri Lankan forest monastery [[Na Uyana Aranya]]]]
Theravāda sources dating back to medieval Sri Lanka (2nd century BCE to 10th century CE) such as the [[Mahavamsa]] show that monastic roles in the tradition were often seen as being in a polarity between urban monks ([[Sinhala language|Sinhala]]: {{Transliteration|si|khaamawaasii}}, Pāli: ''gāmavasī'') on one end and rural forest monks ([[Sinhala language|Sinhala]]: {{Transliteration|si|aranyawaasii}}, Pali: ''araññavasi, nagaravasi'', also known as ''Tapassin'') on the other.<ref>Taylor, J.L. Forest Monks and the Nation-state: An Anthropological and Historical Study, pp. 12, 15.</ref> The ascetic focused monks were known by the names ''Pamsukulikas'' (rag robe wearers) and ''Araññikas'' (forest dwellers).<ref>Tambiah, Stanley Jeyaraja, The Buddhist Saints of the Forest and the Cult of Amulets (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology), 1984, p. 55.</ref>

The Mahavamsa mentions forest monks associated with the [[Mahavihara]]. The Pāli [[Dhammapada]] Commentary mentions another split based on the "duty of study" and the "duty of contemplation".<ref>Taylor, J.L. Forest Monks and the Nation-state: An Anthropological and Historical Study, p. 12.</ref> This second division has traditionally been seen as corresponding with the city – forest split, with the city monks focusing on the vocation of books (''ganthadhura'') or learning (''pariyatti'') while the forest monks leaning more towards meditation (''vipassanadhura'') and practice (''patipatti'').<ref name=":0">Tambiah, Stanley Jeyaraja, The Buddhist Saints of the Forest and the Cult of Amulets (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology), 1984, pp. 53, 58.</ref> However this opposition is not consistent, and urban monasteries have often promoted meditation while forest communities have also produced excellent scholars, such as the [[Island Hermitage]] of [[Nyanatiloka]].<ref name=":0" />

Scholar monks generally undertake the path of studying and preserving Theravāda's [[Pali literature|Pāli literature]].<ref>Prapod Assavavirulhakarn, The Ascendency of Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia 1990, p. 258.</ref> Forest monks tend to be the minority among Theravāda sanghas and also tend to focus on [[asceticism]] (''[[dhutanga]]'') and meditative praxis.<ref>Taylor, J.L. Forest Monks and the Nation-state: An Anthropological and Historical Study, p. 9.</ref> They view themselves as living closer to the ideal set forth by the Buddha, and are often perceived as such by lay folk, while at the same time often being on the margins of the Buddhist establishment and on the periphery of the social order.<ref>Taylor, J.L. Forest Monks and the Nation-state: An Anthropological and Historical Study, pp. 9–13.</ref>

While this divide seems to have been in existence for some time in the Theravāda school, only in the 10th century is a specifically forest monk monastery, mentioned as existing near [[Anuradhapura]], called "Tapavana".<ref>Taylor, J.L. ''Forest Monks and the Nation-state: An Anthropological and Historical Study'', p. 15.</ref> This division was then carried over into the rest of Southeast Asia as Theravāda spread.

Today there are forest based traditions in most Theravāda countries, including the [[Sri Lankan Forest Tradition]], the [[Thai Forest Tradition]] as well as lesser known forest based traditions in Burma and Laos, such as the Burmese forest based monasteries (''taw"yar'') of the [[Bhaddanta Āciṇṇa|Pa Auk Sayadaw]].<ref>{{Citation |url=https://www.paaukforestmonastery.org/about-us|title=About Us|website=Pa-Auk Tawya}}</ref> In Thailand, forest monks are known as ''phra thudong'' (ascetic wandering monks) or ''phra thudong kammathan'' (wandering ascetic meditator).<ref>Tiyavanich, Kamala, nForest Recollections: Wandering Monks in Twentieth-Century Thailand p1.</ref>

===Ordination===
[[File:Candidate for the Buddhist priesthood is ordaining to is a monk in a church.jpg|thumb|upright|Candidates for the Buddhist monkhood being ordained as monks in Thailand]]

The minimum age for ordaining as a Buddhist monk is 20 years, which is calculated from conception. Those under this age can perform traditional ceremonies such as ''[[shinbyu]],'' in Myanmar, in order to ordain as novices ([[śrāmaṇera|sāmaṇera]]). Novices shave their heads, wear the yellow robes, and observe the Ten Precepts. While there is no explicit minimum age for novices prescribed in the scriptures, it is traditionally accepted that boys as young as seven can be accepted for ordination. This tradition echoes the story of the Buddha's son, Rahula, who was allowed to become a novice at the age of seven. Both monks and nuns are expected to adhere to a specific code of discipline, of which monks follow 227 rules, and nuns follow 311.

In most Theravāda countries, it is a common practice for young men to ordain as monks for a fixed period of time. In Thailand and Myanmar, young men typically ordain for the retreat during [[Vassa]], the three-month monsoon season, though shorter or longer periods of ordination are not rare. Traditionally, temporary ordination was even more flexible among Laotians. Once they had undergone their initial ordination as young men, Laotian men were permitted to temporarily ordain again at any time, though married men were expected to seek their wife's permission. Throughout Southeast Asia, there is little stigma attached to leaving the monastic life. Monks regularly leave the robes after acquiring an education, or when compelled by family obligations or ill health.

Ordaining as a monk, even for a short period, is seen as having many virtues. In many Southeast Asian cultures, it is seen as a means for a young man to "repay his gratitude" to his parents for their work and effort in raising him, because the merit from his ordination is dedicated for their well-being. Thai men who have ordained as a monk may be seen as more mature and suitable husbands by Thai women, who refer to men who have served as monks with a colloquial term meaning "ripe" to indicate that they are more mature and ready for marriage. Particularly in rural areas, temporary ordination of boys and young men traditionally offered peasant boys an opportunity to receive free education in temple schools with sponsorship and accommodation.

In Sri Lanka, temporary ordination is not practised, and a monk leaving the order is frowned upon but not condemned. The continuing influence of the [[caste system in Sri Lanka]] plays a role in the taboo against temporary or permanent ordination as a bhikkhu in some orders. Though Sri Lankan orders are often organized along caste lines, men who ordain as monks temporarily pass outside of the conventional caste system, and as such during their time as monks may act (or be treated) in a way that would not be in line with the expected duties and privileges of their caste.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

For those born in Western countries who wish to become Buddhist monks or nuns, it is possible to undertake the lifestyle in their home countries, among other Buddhist monastics in Western countries, or to travel and take up residence in a Buddhist monastery in Asian countries such as Sri Lanka or Thailand. In countries where Buddhism is deeply rooted, it can often be easier to adhere to the lifestyle of a monk or nun, as it requires considerable discipline to successfully live by the non-secular rules and regulations for which Buddhist practices are known. For instance, Theravāda monastics are typically required to abstain from activities such as working, handling money, listening to music and cooking. Such obligations can be especially challenging in non-Buddhist societies.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

Some of the more well-known Theravādin monks are [[Ajahn Mun]], [[Ajahn Chah]], [[Ledi Sayadaw]], [[Webu Sayadaw]], [[Narada Maha Thera]], Ajahn Plien Panyapatipo, [[Buddhadasa]], [[Mahasi Sayadaw]], [[Nyanatiloka Mahathera]], [[Nyanaponika Thera]], [[Preah Maha Ghosananda]], [[U Pandita]], [[Ajahn Sumedho]], [[Ajahn Khemadhammo]], [[Bhikkhu Bodhi]], [[Ajahn Amaro]], [[Ajahn Sucitto]], [[Ajahn Jayasaro]], [[Thanissaro Bhikkhu]], [[Walpola Rahula Thero]], [[Henepola Gunaratana]], [[Bhaddanta Āciṇṇa]], Bhante Yogavacara Rahula, [[Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro]], [[K. Sri Dhammananda]], [[Sayadaw U Tejaniya]] and [[Bhikkhu Analayo]].

===Monastic practices===
[[File:EveningPrayers01a.jpg|thumb|upright|A Buddhist Monk chants evening prayers inside a monastery located near the town of [[Kantharalak]], Thailand.]]

The practices usually vary in different sub-schools and monasteries within Theravāda. But in the most orthodox forest monastery, the monk usually models his practice and lifestyle on that of the Buddha and his first generation of disciples by living close to nature in forest, mountains and caves. Forest monasteries still keep alive the ancient traditions through following the Buddhist monastic code of discipline in all its detail and developing meditation in secluded forests.

In a typical daily routine at the monastery during the 3-month vassa period, the monk will wake up before dawn and will begin the day with group chanting and meditation. At dawn the monks will go out to surrounding villages bare-footed on alms-round and will have the only meal of the day before noon by eating from the bowl by hand. Most of the time is spent on Dhamma study and meditation. Sometimes the abbot or a senior monk will give a Dhamma talk to the visitors. Laity who stay at the monastery will have to abide by the traditional [[Eight precepts|eight Buddhist precepts]].

The life of the monk or nun in a community is much more complex than the life of the forest monk. In the Buddhist society of Sri Lanka, most monks spend hours every day in taking care of the needs of lay people such as preaching ''bana,''<ref>Mahinda Deegalle, ''Popularizing Buddhism: Preaching as Performance in Sri Lanka'', State University of New York Press, Albany,  2006.</ref> accepting alms, officiating funerals, teaching ''dhamma'' to adults and children in addition to providing social services to the community.

After the end of the Vassa period, many of the monks will go out far away from the monastery to find a remote place (usually in the forest) where they can hang their umbrella tents and where it is suitable for the work of self-development. When they go wandering, they walk barefoot, and go wherever they feel inclined. Only those requisites which are necessary will be carried along.  These generally consist of the bowl, the three robes, a bathing cloth, an umbrella tent, a mosquito net, a kettle of water, a water filter, razor, sandals, some small candles, and a candle lantern.

The monks do not fix their times for walking and sitting meditation, for as soon as they are free, they just start doing it; nor do they determine for how long they will go on to meditate. Some of them sometimes walk from dusk to dawn whereas at other times they may walk from between two and seven hours. Some may decide to fast for days or stay at dangerous places where ferocious animals live in order to aid their meditation.

Those monks who have been able to achieve a high level of attainment will be able to guide the junior monks and lay Buddhists toward the four degrees of spiritual attainment.

===Bhikkhunis===
{{See also|Women in Buddhism|Ordination of women in Buddhism|Criticism of Buddhism#Women in Buddhism}}
[[File:Dhammananda09.jpg|thumb|[[Dhammananda Bhikkhuni]]]]
A few years after the arrival of [[Mahinda (Buddhist monk)|Mahinda]], the bhikkhu [[Sanghamitta|Saṅghamittā]], who is also believed to have been the daughter of Ashoka, came to Sri Lanka. She ordained the first nuns in Sri Lanka. In 429, by request of China's emperor, nuns from [[Anuradhapura]] were sent to China to establish the order there, which subsequently spread across East Asia. The [[prātimokṣa]] of the nun's order in [[East Asian Buddhism]] is the [[Dharmaguptaka]], which is different from the prātimokṣa of the current Theravāda school; the specific ordination of the early Sangha in Sri Lanka not known, although the Dharmaguptaka sect originated with the Sthāvirīya as well.

The nun's order subsequently died out in Sri Lanka in the 11th century and in Burma in the 13th century. It had already died out around the 10th century in other Theravādin areas. Novice ordination has also disappeared in those countries. Therefore, women who wish to live as renunciates in those countries must do so by taking eight or ten precepts. Neither laywomen nor formally ordained, these women do not receive the recognition, education, financial support or status enjoyed by Buddhist men in their countries.  These "precept-holders" live in Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, and Thailand. In particular, the governing council of Burmese Buddhism has ruled that there can be no valid ordination of women in modern times, though some Burmese monks disagree. Japan is a special case as, although it has neither the bhikkhuni nor novice ordinations, the precept-holding nuns who live there do enjoy a higher status and better education than their precept-holder sisters elsewhere, and can even become Zen priests.<ref>{{Citation |url=http://lhamo.tripod.com/4ordin.htm|title=Resources on Women's Ordination|publisher=Lhamo.tripod.com|access-date=19 November 2010}}</ref> In Tibet there is currently no bhikkhuni ordination, but the [[Dalai Lama]] has authorized followers of the Tibetan tradition to be ordained as nuns in traditions that have such ordination.

In 1996, 11 selected Sri Lankan women were ordained fully as Theravāda bhikkhunis by a team of Theravāda monks in concert with a team of Korean nuns in India. There is disagreement among Theravāda [[vinaya]] authorities as to whether such ordinations are valid. The [[Dambulla]] chapter of the [[Siam Nikaya]] in Sri Lanka also carried out a nun's ordination at this time, specifically stating their ordination process was a valid Theravādin process where the other ordination session was not.{{sfn|Salgado|2013|pp=166–169}} This chapter has carried out ordination ceremonies for hundreds of nuns since then.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} This has been criticized by leading figures in the Siam Nikaya and [[Amarapura Nikaya]], and the governing council of [[Buddhism in Myanmar]] has declared that there can be no valid ordination of nuns in modern times, though some Burmese monks disagree with this.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Kawanami|first1=Hiroko|date=2007|title=The bhikkhunī ordination debate: global aspirations, local concerns, with special emphasis on the views of the monastic community in Myanmar. Kawanami, H. 11/2007 In|journal=Buddhist Studies Review|volume=24|issue=2|pages=226–244|doi=10.1558/bsrv.v24i2.226}}</ref>

In 1997 [[Dhamma Cetiya Vihara]] in Boston was founded by Ven. Gotami of Thailand, then a 10 precept nun; when she received full ordination in 2000, her dwelling became America's first Theravāda Buddhist bhikkhuni vihara.

A 55-year-old Thai Buddhist 8-precept white-robed maechee nun, Varanggana Vanavichayen, became the first woman to receive the going-forth ceremony of a novice (and the gold robe) in Thailand, in 2002.<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.warren-wilson.edu/~religion/thailand/ordination.shtml|title=Socially Engaged Buddhism in Thailand: Ordination of Thai Women Monks|last=Sommer, PhD|first=Jeanne Matthew|publisher=Warren Wilson College|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204105319/http://www.warren-wilson.edu/~religion/thailand/ordination.shtml|archive-date=4 December 2008|url-status=dead|access-date=6 December 2011}}</ref> On 28 February 2003, [[Dhammananda Bhikkhuni]], formerly known as Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, became the first Thai woman to receive bhikkhuni ordination as a Theravāda nun.<ref name="thebuddhadharma">{{Citation |url=http://www.thebuddhadharma.com/issues/2003/summer/dhammananda.html|title=Ordained at Last|date=28 February 2003|publisher=Thebuddhadharma.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040206044757/http://www.thebuddhadharma.com/issues/2003/summer/dhammananda.html|archive-date=6 February 2004|url-status=dead|access-date=19 November 2010}}</ref>
Dhammananda Bhikkhuni was ordained in Sri Lanka.<ref name="bhikkhunis">{{Citation |url=http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/globalpers/gp051403.htm|title=Bhikkhunis: Ordaining Buddhist Women|author=Rita C. Larivee, SSA|date=14 May 2003|publisher=Nationalcatholicreporter.org|access-date=19 November 2010}}</ref> The Thai Senate has reviewed and revoked the secular law passed in 1928 banning women's full ordination in Buddhism as unconstitutional for being counter to laws protecting freedom of religion. However, Thailand's two main Theravāda Buddhist orders, the Mahanikaya and Dhammayutika Nikaya, have yet to officially accept fully ordained women into their ranks.

In 2009 in Australia four women received bhikkhuni ordination as Theravāda nuns, the first time such ordination had occurred in Australia.<ref>{{Citation|url=http://www.wa.buddhistcouncil.org.au/home/therevadan-bhikkhunni-ordination-in-western-australia/|title=Thai monks oppose West Australian ordination of Buddhist nuns|publisher=Wa.buddhistcouncil.org.au|access-date=19 November 2010|archive-date=6 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006003315/http://www.wa.buddhistcouncil.org.au/home/therevadan-bhikkhunni-ordination-in-western-australia/|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was performed in Perth, Australia, on 22 October 2009 at Bodhinyana Monastery. Abbess Vayama together with Venerables Nirodha, Seri, and Hasapanna were ordained as Bhikkhunis by a dual Sangha act of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis in full accordance with the Pāli Vinaya.<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.dhammasara.org.au/bhikkhuni-ordination.html|title=Bhikkhuni Ordination|date=22 October 2009|publisher=Dhammasara.org.au|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219112534/http://www.dhammasara.org.au/bhikkhuni-ordination.html|archive-date=19 February 2011|url-status=dead|access-date=19 November 2010}}</ref>

In 2010, in the US, four novice nuns were given the full bhikkhuni ordination in the Thai Theravāda tradition, which included the double ordination ceremony. [[Henepola Gunaratana]] and other monks and nuns were in attendance. It was the first such ordination ever in the Western hemisphere.<ref name="Boorstein">{{Citation |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sylvia-boorstein/ordination-of-bhikkhunis-_b_702921.html#s133846|title=Ordination of Bhikkhunis in the Theravada Tradition|last=Boorstein|first=Sylvia|author-link=Sylvia Boorstein|date=25 May 2011|work=Huffington Post}}</ref>

The first bhikkhuni ordination in Germany, the ordination of German woman Samaneri Dhira, occurred on 21 June 2015 at Anenja Vihara.<ref>[http://www.bhikkhuni.net/news/ Bhikkhuni Happenings – Alliance for Bhikkhunis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150629140312/http://www.bhikkhuni.net/news/ |date=29 June 2015 }}. Bhikkhuni.net. Retrieved 28 June 2015.</ref>

In Indonesia, the first Theravāda ordination of bhikkhunis in Indonesia after more than a thousand years occurred in 2015 at Wisma Kusalayani in Lembang, [[Bandung]] in [[West Java]].<ref name="bhikkhuni1">{{Cite web |title=First Theravada Ordination of Bhikkhunis in Indonesia After a Thousand Years |url=https://www.bhikkhuni.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/FirstTheravadaordinationofbhikkhunisinIndonesiaAfteraThousandYears.pdf |access-date=30 September 2023 |website=www.bhikkhuni.net}}</ref> Those ordained included Vajiradevi Sadhika Bhikkhuni from Indonesia, Medha Bhikkhuni from Sri Lanka, Anula Bhikkhuni from Japan, Santasukha Santamana Bhikkhuni from Vietnam, Sukhi Bhikkhuni and Sumangala Bhikkhuni from Malaysia, and Jenti Bhikkhuni from Australia.<ref name="bhikkhuni1" />

===Monastic orders===
[[File:Thai Buddhist monk blesses.jpg|thumb|Thai monks blessing the [[Bhumibol Adulyadej|King of Thailand]] in Wat Nong Wong, [[Sawankhalok District|Amphoe Sawankhalok]], [[Sukhothai Province|Sukhothai]], Thailand]]

Theravāda monks typically belong to a particular ''[[nikaya]]'', variously referred to as monastic orders or fraternities. These different orders do not typically develop separate doctrines, but may differ in the manner in which they observe monastic rules. These monastic orders represent lineages of ordination, typically tracing their origin to a particular group of monks that established a new ordination tradition within a particular country or geographic area. 

In Myanmar, all the monastic orders are called gaing ({{lang|my|ဂိုဏ်း}}) or [[gana|gaṇa]] ({{lang|my|ဂဏ}}) instead of nikāya, although some orders include Nikāya ({{lang|my|နိကာယ}}) in addition to Gaing in their names. Currently, it is prohibited by law to establish gaings other than the [[Buddhist sects in Myanmar#The nine sects of Sangha|nine major gaings]] sanctioned in 1980. Other monastic orders and sects have to merge with these nine gaings, while some sects are totally banned.

In Sri Lanka caste plays a major role in the division into nikayas. Some Theravāda Buddhist countries appoint or elect a [[sangharaja]], or Supreme Patriarch of the Sangha, as the highest ranking or seniormost monk in a particular area, or from a particular nikaya.  The demise of monarchies has resulted in the suspension of these posts in some countries, but patriarchs have continued to be appointed in Thailand.  Cambodia ended the practice of appointing a sangharaja for some time, but the position was later restored, though it lapsed again.{{citation needed|date=November 2017}}
*''[[Bangladesh]]'':
** [[Mahasthabir Nikaya]]
** [[Sangharaj Nikaya]]
*''[[Myanmar]]'':
** [[Thudhamma Gaing]]
** [[Shwekyin Nikaya|Shwegyin Nikāya]] Shwegyin Gaing
** Dhammānudhamma [[Mahādvāra Nikāya]] Gaing
** Dhammavinayānuloma [[Mūladvāra Nikāya]] Gaing
** Anaukchaung Dvāra Gaing
** [[Veḷuvan Nikāya]] Gaing
** Catubhummika Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna [[Hngettwin Gaing]]
** Gaṇavimut Kudo Gaing
** [[Dhammayuttika Nikaya|Dhammayutti Nikāya]] Mahā Yin Gaing
*''[[Sri Lanka]]'':
** [[Amarapura Nikaya]] has many Sub orders including
*** Dharmarakshitha
*** Kanduboda (or Swejin Nikaya)
*** Tapovana (or Kalyanavamsa)
** [[Ramanna Nikaya|Ramañña Nikaya]]
*** Delduwa
*** [[Sri Kalyani Yogasrama Samstha]] (or 'Galduwa Tradition')
** [[Siam Nikaya]]
*** Asgiriya
*** Malwaththa
*** Rohana
*** Waturawila (or Mahavihara Vamshika Shyamopali Vanavasa Nikaya)
*''Thailand and Cambodia''
** [[Dhammayuttika Nikaya]]
** [[Maha Nikaya]]

== Impact on modern society ==
[[File:Meal_Blessing_at_Birken_Forest_Monastery.webm|thumb|Theravada monks meditating and practicing mindfulness over simple things like the meal they are about to have]]
Theravāda Buddhism's emphasis on mindfulness and meditation practices has influenced modern society by promoting mental well-being and stress reduction techniques leading to the integration of mindfulness in various therapeutic and self-improvement programs. Additionally, its teachings on ethical conduct and compassion continue to inspire individuals and organizations to prioritize moral values and social responsibility in their actions and decision-making.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schober |first=Juliane |date=2009 |title=The Theravāda Buddhist Engagement with Modernity in Southeast Asia: Whither the Social Paradigm of the Galactic Polity? |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-southeast-asian-studies/article/abs/theravada-buddhist-engagement-with-modernity-in-southeast-asia-whither-the-social-paradigm-of-the-galactic-polity/243846ECB251224A3F069C5D8BF75BFA |journal=Journal of Southeast Asian Studies |language=en |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=307–325 |doi=10.1017/S0022463400007128 |s2cid=146408897 |issn=1474-0680 |via=Cambridge Core|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The emphasis on ethical conduct in Theravada Buddhism encourages individuals to lead virtuous lives. This includes refraining from actions that harm others, such as lying, stealing, and harming living beings. These principles promote personal integrity and honesty in modern society. Buddhism encourages the cultivation of compassion and loving-kindness ([[Maitrī|metta]]) towards all sentient beings. In contemporary society, these teachings inspire individuals and organizations to prioritize social responsibility, charitable activities, and humanitarian efforts aimed at alleviating suffering and promoting the welfare of others.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Love |first=Thomas T. |date=1965 |title=Theravāda Buddhism: Ethical Theory and Practice |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1459491 |journal=Journal of Bible and Religion |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=303–313 |jstor=1459491 |issn=0885-2758}}</ref> Theravada Buddhism places significant emphasis on self-awareness and self-transformation. Practitioners are encouraged to explore the nature of the self ([[Anattā|anatta]]), impermanence ([[anicca]]), and the nature of suffering ([[Duḥkha|dukkha]]). These teachings have inspired individuals in modern society to embark on journeys of self-discovery, self-improvement, and personal growth. The teachings on mindfulness and the impermanence of life have provided individuals with effective tools for coping with stress and life's challenges. In today's fast-paced and often stressful world, these teachings offer valuable strategies for maintaining balance and emotional stability.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Malalasekera |first=G. P. |date=1964 |title=The Status of the Individual in Theravāda Buddhism |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1396982 |journal=Philosophy East and West |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=145–156 |doi=10.2307/1396982 |jstor=1396982 |issn=0031-8221|url-access=subscription }}</ref> This journey of mindfulness and mental health has been strengthened by top institutions encouraging the idea of mindfulness and the effects it has on people. The mindfulness classes/courses/programs provided by many top universities and institutions such as Yale, Stanford, etc. to their students, staff, and general public have benefited them<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dhiman |first=Satinder K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5C34DwAAQBAJ&dq=mindfulness+and+mental+health+in+top+institutions&pg=PT375 |title=The Routledge Companion to Mindfulness at Work |date=2020-09-08 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-53486-7 |language=en}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- valign="top"
! Rank
! Country
! Population
! [[Buddhism by country|Buddhist %]]
! [[Buddhism by country|Buddhist total]]
! [[Importance of religion by country|Importance of religion]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |{{sort|01|1}}
| style="text-align:left;" |{{sort|Thailand|{{flag|Thailand}}}}
| style="text-align:center;" |{{sort|01|66,720,153<ref group=web>{{Citation |url=http://203.113.86.149/stat/pk/pk53/pk_53.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=16 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716001724/http://203.113.86.149/stat/pk/pk53/pk_53.pdf |archive-date=16 July 2011}}</ref>}}
| style="text-align:center;" |{{sort|02|95%<ref group=web>{{Citation |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/thailand/ |title=The World Factbook |publisher=Cia.gov |access-date=17 August 2012}}</ref>}}
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| style="text-align:center;" |{{sort|03|97%<ref group=web name="bare_url">[https://worldview.gallup.com/default.aspx Gallup WorldView] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407080004/https://worldview.gallup.com/default.aspx |date=7 April 2020 }}. data accessed on 7 September 2012</ref>}}
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| style="text-align:left;" |{{sort|Myanmar|{{flag|Myanmar}}}}
| style="text-align:center;" |{{sort|02|56,280,000<ref group=web>{{Citation |url=http://www.adb.org/Documents/Fact_Sheets/MYA.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024100243/http://www.adb.org/Documents/Fact_Sheets/MYA.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 October 2007|title=Retrieved 8 July 2010.}}</ref>}}
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| style="text-align:left;" |{{sort|Cambodia|{{flag|Cambodia}}}}
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| style="text-align:left;" |{{sort|Laos|{{flag|Laos}}}}
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|}[[File:Buddhist sects.png|thumb|240px|Map showing the [[Schools of Buddhism|three major Buddhist divisions]] in Tibet, [[Mongolia]], [[Nepal]], [[East Asia|East]] and Southeast Asia]]Theravāda Buddhism is practiced in the following countries and by people worldwide:
*East Asia:
** [[Chinese Buddhism|China]] (mainly by the [[Shan people|Shan]], [[Tai peoples|Tai]], [[Dai people|Dai]], [[Hani people|Hani]], [[Wa people|Wa]], [[Achang people|Achang]], [[Blang people|Blang]] ethnic groups mainly in [[Yunnan]])
*South Asia:
** [[Buddhism in Bangladesh|Bangladesh]] (by 2% of the population) mainly in [[Chittagong Hill Tracts]] and Kuwakata, Barishal
** [[Buddhism in India|India]], traditional Theravāda mainly in the [[Seven Sister States]]
** [[Buddhism in Nepal|Nepal]]
** [[Buddhism in Sri Lanka|Sri Lanka]] (by 70% of the population)
*Southeast Asia:
** [[Buddhism in Cambodia|Cambodia]] (by 97% of the population)
** [[Buddhism in Indonesia|Indonesia]]
** [[Buddhism in Laos|Laos]] (by 66% of the population)
** [[Buddhism in Malaysia|Malaysia]] (in peninsular Malaysia especially north-western parts of Malaysia, primarily by the [[Malaysian Siamese]] and [[Sri Lankans in Malaysia|Malaysian Sinhalese]])
** [[Buddhism in Myanmar|Myanmar]] (by 89% of the population)
** [[Buddhism in Singapore|Singapore]]
** [[Buddhism in Thailand|Thailand]] (by 90% of the population, 94% of the population that practices religion)
** [[Buddhism in Vietnam|Vietnam]] (by the [[Khmer Krom]] in the south and central parts of Vietnam and [[Tai Dam people|Tai Dam]] in northern Vietnam)
*Theravāda has also recently gained popularity in the [[Buddhism in the West|Western world]].

Today, Theravādins number over 150&nbsp;million worldwide, and during the past few decades Theravāda Buddhism has begun to [[Vipassana movement|take root in the West]]{{efn|John Bullit: "In the last century, however, the West has begun to take notice of Theravāda's unique spiritual legacy and teachings of Awakening. In recent decades, this interest has swelled, with the monastic Sangha from the schools within Theravāda, establishing dozens of monasteries across Europe and North America."<ref group=web>{{Citation |url=http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/whats-thera.htm |title=What is Theravāda Buddhism? |first=John |last=Bullitt |work=BuddhaNet |access-date=15 August 2010 |archive-date=10 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120810071004/http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/whats-thera.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>}} and in the [[History of Buddhism in India#Revival of Buddhism in India|Buddhist revival in India]].<ref group=web>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20031206110103/http://adherents.com/Na/Na_630.html#3875 Adherents.com]}} – See the citations under 'Theravāda Buddhism&nbsp;– World'.</ref>

==See also==
<!-- Please respect alphabetical order -->

*[[Access to Insight]]
*[[Adhiṭṭhāna]]
*[[Arahant]]
*[[Awgatha]]
*[[Buddha's Dispensation|Buddha Sasana]]
*[[Buddhism in Southeast Asia]]
*[[Buddhist pilgrimage]]
*[[Buddhist Publication Society]]
*[[Cetiya]]
*[[Fruits of the noble path]]
*[[Mahanayaka]]
*[[Pariyatti, paṭipatti, paṭivedha]]
*[[Sacca-kiriya]]
*[[Sambuddhatva jayanthi]]
*[[Sangharaja]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Sources==

===Printed sources===
{{refbegin}}
*{{Citation |last=Braun |first=Eric |title=The Insight Revolution |url=https://www.lionsroar.com/the-insight-revolution/ |year=2018 |publisher=[[Lion's Roar (magazine)|Lion's Roar]]}}
*{{Citation |title=Encyclopedia of Buddhism |year=2004 |editor-last=Buswell |editor-first=Robert |publisher=MacMillan}}
*{{Citation |last=Crosby |first=Kate |title=Theravada Buddhism: Continuity, Diversity, and Identity |year=2013 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell}}
*{{Citation |last=Dutt |first=Nalinaksha |title=Buddhist Sects in India |year=1998 |place=Delhi |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited}}
*{{Citation |last=Fronsdal | first =Gil | year =1998 | title =Insight Meditation in the United States: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness | url =http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/articles/insight-meditation-in-the-united-states-life-liberty-and-the-pursuit-of-happiness/ | access-date =8 January 2017}}
*{{Citation |last=Gombrich |first=Richard F. |title=Theravāda Buddhism. A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo |year=1996 |place=London and New York |publisher=Routledge}}
*{{Citation |last=Gombrich |first=Richard F. |title=How Buddhism Began. The Conditioned Genesis of the Early Teachings |year=1997 |place=New Delhi |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd.}}
*{{Citation |last=Gomez |first=Luis O. |title=Purifying Gold: The Metaphor of Effort and Intuition in Buddhist Thought and Practice. In: Peter N. Gregory (editor)(1991), ''Sudden and Gradual. Approaches to Enlightenment in Chinese Thought'' |year=1991 |place=Delhi |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited}}
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*{{Citation |last=Nyanaponika |title=Het hart van boeddhistische meditatie (The heart of Buddhist Meditation) |year=1998 |publisher=Asoka}}
*{{Citation |last=Polak |first=Grzegorz |title=Reexamining Jhana: Towards a Critical Reconstruction of Early Buddhist Soteriology |year=2011 |publisher=UMCS}}
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* {{Citation | last =Sharf | first =Robert H. | date = October 1995 | title =Buddhist Modernism and the Rhetoric of Meditative Experience | journal =[[Numen (journal)|Numen]] | volume =42 |issue= 3 | pages =228{{en dash}}283 | url =http://buddhiststudies.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/sharf/documents/Sharf1995,%20Buddhist%20Modernism.pdf | publisher =[[Brill Publishers]] | location =[[Leiden]] | doi =10.1163/1568527952598549 | hdl =2027.42/43810 | via =[[University of California, Berkeley]] | issn = 0029-5973 | access-date =20 January 2016| hdl-access =free }} (from author website at Dept. of Buddhist Studies, UC Berkeley)
*{{Citation |last=Tiyavanich |first=K. |title=Forest Recollections: Wandering Monks in Twentieth-Century Thailand |year=1997 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press}}
*{{Citation |last=Tuchrello |first=William P. |title=The Society and Its Environment. (Religion: Historical Background section) |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/thtoc.html |year=n.d. |publisher=Federal Research Division, Library of Congress}}
*{{Citation |last=Warder |first=A.K. |title=Indian Buddhism |year=2000 |place=Delhi |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers}}
*{{Citation |last=Wilson |first=Jeff |date=2014 |title=Mindful America: The Mutual Transformation of Buddhist Meditation and American Culture |publisher=Oxford University Press}}
{{refend}}

===Web sources===
{{reflist|group=web|refs=
<ref group=web name="Braun2014">Erik Braun (2014), [https://tricycle.org/magazine/meditation-en-masse/ ''Meditation en masse. How colonialism sparked the global Vipassana movement'']. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181031173823/https://tricycle.org/magazine/meditation-en-masse/ |date=31 October 2018 }}.</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ Access to Insight] – Readings in Theravāda Buddhism
*[http://info-buddhism.com/Bodhisattva-Ideal-Theravada_JeffreySamuels.html The Bodhisattva Ideal in Theravāda Theory and Practice] by Jeffrey Samuels
*[https://tricycle.org/beginners/buddhism/theravada-buddhism-teachings/ What are the teachings of Theravada Buddhism?] on Tricycle's Buddhism for Beginners Series

{{Theravada Buddhist orders}}
{{Buddhism topics}}
{{Religion topics}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Theravada| ]]
[[Category:Nikaya schools]]
[[Category:Early Buddhist schools]]
[[Category:Nāstika]]
[[Category:History of Buddhism in Asia]]