Such a view of Buddha also gave rise to the Mahayana concept of an infinite number of Buddhas, or transformation bodies of the essential Buddha, appearing in innumerable worlds to help others reach enlightenment. ("Mahayana Buddhism" para on Doctrine)
The Theravadians consider the Pali Canon -- the earliest recording of Buddha's oral teachings -- as the sole authoritative scripture of the Buddhist religion and philosophy. In contrast, the Mahayanas, while not disputing the Pali Canon, consider a number of other "sutras" that were written much later as Buddhist scripture. These include the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajna-Paramita) Sutra, the Avatumsaka sutra, the Lotus sutra, and the Nirvana sutra. The Mahayana Buddhists justify the validity of these writings as scriptures by the argument that these sermons of Buddha were initially hidden but were revealed several centuries later by some mythological route. (Ibid)
Practice: The main goal of the Theravadin (or followers of Theravada doctrine) is to be become an arhat, a sage who has achieved nirvana (enlightenment) and will never be reborn. Hence in Theravada Buddhism, only a monk can achieve nirvana. Mahayana Buddhism tried to open up the Buddhist religion to a greater number of people by introducing the concept of bodhisattvas -- a theory of gradations of Buddhahood. This concept of bodhisattvas concedes that becoming "Buddha" by achieving nirvana was the ultimate aim of every Buddhist, but there were several other levels that could be attained before upgrading to the level of "Buddha." The theory also explains that before Buddha entered his final life as Siddhartha Gautama, he had spent many lives working towards Buddhahood by performing acts of kindness, generosity, and compassion towards his fellow human beings. (Ibid) a related aspect of the Mahayana belief is that all living beings-- gods, humans, and animals alike have the seeds of Buddha nature within them have in them a capacity to become Buddhas.
Theravada monks have also been criticized by followers of Mahayana for being selfishly concerned only with their own salvation and for indifference to the lay...
It has to be noted however that this theoretical argument has met opposition from some scholars with others arguing that it is superfluous and did not give an obvious explanation to the origin of Mahayana Buddhism. Even though these three arguments have been supported by a number of scholars there is still a lot of debate with reference to the origin of Mahayana with a number believing that its origin
Mahayana Buddhism was one of the earliest schools of Buddhism to develop after the death of the Buddha, along with Theravada Buddhism. One of the leaders in this new movement was Nagarjuna, who lived between the first and second centuries and who founded what is known as the Madhyamaka philosophy, or the philosophy of the Middle Way. The Mahayana was divided into two schools as well, and the Madhyamaka was
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The "collective harming and killing committed by governments...and harming or killing being of the natural world through soil depletion, clear-cutting, lab testing and poisons," Rothberg writes (274), is a violation of the 1st Precept as practiced by those of Theravadan Buddhist faith. And so, a person of Theravadan Buddhist beliefs would have a right, within the context of being in discussion in the temple, to criticize the Bush Administration for
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