Why do books on Buddhism say there are two kinds, Mahayana and Theravada, and Mahayana includes Tibetan, Nichiren soka gakkai, Pure Land, and Zen and Mahayana means greater raft, meaning it has more to it such as statues of Buddha, theories of cosmology, prayer wheels, Hinduistic reincarnation, hells and heavens, and many rituals. Why is Zen lumped in with this Mahayana when as far as I know they don’t have statues of Buddha and other Buddhist gods, don’t worship them, have no rituals, don’t pray to Buddha, and don’t think he is up there in a heaven or that anybody goes anywhere after they die since there is nothing to go anywhere!
I’m not familiar with the development of Buddhist sects, but if I had to guess, I’d wager that Zen was developed by thinkers of Mahayana background in a place where Theravada was unknown, and is classed according to its historical connections rather than its doctrines. I don’t know if that’s even the case, but it makes sense.
Similarly, in the West, there are numerous offshoots of Protestant Christianity which are not doctrinally Protestant. Non-theologians may consider them “Protestants” for historical & cultural reasons; after all, they’re not Catholic or Eastern Orthodox! (E.g., Jehovah’s Witnesses.)
On the other hand, Zen may be Mahayana in the sense that it’s not Theravada. After all, Zen is arguably a fusion of Hindo-Buddhist religion & Taoist thought. Not exactly pure Siddharta Gautama.
the other WAG is that the majority of the Mahayana buddhist classifications all came from India via China and Tibet. The Theravada branches all flowed from India across Burma and into SE Asia.
Mahayana and Theravada are two broad classifications. “Greater vehicle” doesn’t mean it has more to do with statues and whatnot (though perhaps an argument could be made that it’s a byproduct?), but in terms of apparently-different aims of the two broad schools.
Mahayana[sup]1[/sup]: We don’t leave our people behind!
Theravada[sup]2[/sup]: Screw you guys, I’m going home!
It’s a great big raft because every living being will be brought into full Buddha-wisdom. This is a long-term project. How long? Innumerable kalpas. What the heck is a kalpa? It’s a term meaning, essentially, a period of time that’s so darn long that no concepts can approximate it, and no mind can grasp it. Sort of like infinity times itself. Only there’s multiples of them.
By contrast, Theravada doesn’t place so much importance on that. It focuses on individual enlightenment and entrance into nirvana as what’s truly important. It gets a lot less press.
[sup]1[/sup]: As explained by a line whose inclusion in a war movie is almost mandatory.
[sup]2[/sup]: As explained by the bodhisattva Eric Cartman.
[nitpick]
Eric Cartmen wouldn’t be a bodhisattva, as they are “beings that compassionately refrain from entering nirvana in order to save others and are worshiped as a deity in Mahayana Buddhism” (according to Merriam-Webster). The “screw you guys, I’m going home” mentality is for strictly non-bodhisattvas (i.e., regular buddhas).
At least, I think that’s right.
[/nitpick]
Ah, but Cartman always returns, using expedient means to guide all around him down the Buddha path. I stand by the characterization.
Beefcake!