Theravada facts for kids

Theravada is the oldest-surviving denomination of Buddhism.

History of Theravada Buddism

Theravada was founded in Nepal. It is relatively conservative, and generally closest to early Buddhist practice. For many centuries it has been the main religion of Sri Lanka (now about 70% of the population) and most of continental Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand). Theravada is also practiced by minorities in parts of southwest China (by the Shan and Tai ethnic groups), Vietnam (by the Khmer Krom), Bangladesh (by the ethnic groups of Baruas, Chakma, and Magh), Malaysia and Indonesia.

Theravada today

Recently this oldest-surviving denomination of Buddhism gaining popularity in Singapore and the Western world. Today Theravada Buddhists, who are also known as Theravadins, number over 100 million worldwide; in recent decades Theravada has begun to take root in the West and in the Buddhist revival in Nepal.

International Buddhist Meditation Center operates in Kathmandu.

Images for kids

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  The Thuparamaya Stupa, the earliest Dagoba in Sri Lanka, dating back to the reign of King Devanampiya Tissa (247–207 BCE).

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  Sanghamitta and the Bodhi Tree

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  Buddhaghosa (c. 5th century), the most important Abhidharma scholar of Theravāda Buddhism, presenting three copies of the Visuddhimagga.

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  The restored Abhayagiri Dagoba (stupa) in Anuradhapura

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  Gilded bronze solid cast statue of the Bodhisattva Tara, Sri Lanka, 8th century CE. This sculpture was found on the east coast of Sri Lanka between Batticaloa and Trincomalee and is evidence of the presence of Mahayana Buddhism in the Anuradhapura period of Sri Lanka.

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  Parakramabahu I commissioned various religious projects such as Gal Vihara ('The Stone Shrine') in Polonnaruwa features three statues of the Buddha in three different poses carved from the same large rock.

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  Bawbawgyi Pagoda at Sri Ksetra, prototype of Pagan-era pagodas

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  Ruins of Bagan, an ancient capital of Myanmar. There are more than 2,000 kyaung there. During the height of Bagan's power, there were some 13,000 kyaung.

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  Stairway to Wat Phnom guarded by Nagas, the oldest Buddhist structure at the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh.

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  Henry Olcott and Buddhists (Colombo, 1883).

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  The Temple of the Tooth was renovated during the Buddhist revival.

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  Convening of the Sixth Buddhist council at the Great Cave.

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  From 1824 to 1851 Prince Mongkut spent his life as a monk.

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  A man meditates in Myanmar

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  One of the 729 large marble tablets of the Pali Canon (the world's largest book) inscribed using the Burmese alphabet at the Kuthodaw Pagoda in Mandalay, Myanmar.

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  Painting of Buddha's first sermon from Wat Chedi Liem in Thailand

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

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  Ajahn Mun, a key figure in the founding of the Thai Forest Tradition, is widely considered to have been an Arahant in Thailand.

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  Mahasi Sayadaw

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  Circumambulation around a temple or a stupa is also a common devotional practice.

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  Young Burmese monk

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  Thai monks on pilgrimage in their orange robes.

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  The ceremony walks with lighted candles in hand around a temple on Vesakha Puja in Uttaradit, Thailand.

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  Candidates for the Buddhist monkhood being ordained as monks in Thailand

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  A Buddhist Monk chants evening prayers inside a monastery located near the town of Kantharalak, Thailand.

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  Dhammananda Bhikkhuni

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  Thai monks blessing the King of Thailand in Wat Nong Wong, Amphoe Sawankhalok, Sukhothai, Thailand.

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  Ashoka and Moggaliputta-Tissa at the Third Council, at the Nava Jetavana, Shravasti

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  A cave kuti (hut) in the Sri Lankan forest monastery Na Uyana Aranya.

See also

In Spanish: Theravada para niños