How and why did Buddhism change into the different types of Buddhism?

Answer 1

After the Buddha died different followers held to specific views of the Buddha more so then others that combined with them moving around amoungst other cultures the faith evolved into several different rafts (types).

Answer 2

Buddhism is a very flexible, practical philosophy and religion. As it spread from country to country, its practices adapt to best suit the local culture. Wherever Buddhism goes, it adapts and evolves. Thus, while all of Buddhism has common elements, one can say that Tibetan Buddhism is different than Japanese Buddhism which is also different from American Buddhism, etc., etc.

Answer 3

Southern Buddhism, or Theravada (its own usual name for itself), also known as Southeast Asian Buddhism, or Pali Buddhism - practiced mainly in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and parts of Malaysia, Vietnam, China and Bangladesh (Southeast Asia)
Eastern Buddhism, also known as East Asian Buddhism, Chinese Buddhism, Sino-Japanese Buddhism, or Mahayana - practiced predominantly in China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Singapore and parts of Russia
Northern Buddhism, also known as Tibetan Buddhism, Tibeto-Mongolian Buddhism, or Vajrayana, sometimes called Lamaism - practiced mainly in Tibet, Mongolia, Bhutan and parts of Nepal, India, China and Russia.

Answer 4

* General differences
Buddhism is the study of developing wisdom and compassion, so it can be practiced in conjunction with any other religion or culture or personal philosophy. Because of the uniqueness of national and local cultures, the various practice and traditions have developed quite differently.
The basic tenets are the same, but the practice varies by culture (example, eastern cultures that focus more passively on life as "being," teaching greater respect for elders, putting family first before the individual, vs. American and western cultures that focus on life as "doing," proactively interacting, and individual self-determination and competition in a commercial culture)
* Denominational differences
The main divide is the higher and lower vehicle, depending if you believe all people can only save or enlighten themselves, or whether you can save and enlighten other people by sacrifice. This is the only pronounced division (the others are relative to culture) similar to division between Catholic and Protestant focus on salvation by works or salvation by grace -- do you focus more on the spiritual grace so that the works follow, or focus on the works to witness and establish more grace in the physical world. I believe both components are equally true and inseparable, but people can focus more on one angle or the other, the same way people may prefer to focus more on divine laws of the sacred or church community affecting inner spiritual life, or on natural laws of the secular world and politics affecting social life. Both branches are necessary and must remain in balance for spiritual harmony to exist between God and man, or heaven and earth.

Answer 5

It became involved with different cultures and inevitably different forms of practice emerged but the Buddha never suggested that he had provided a system of belief that should remain fixed and unchanging. As long as the emphasis remains firmly on adhering to moral precepts forms of practice and ceremony are not of crucial importance.

Answer 6

The same way or for same reason as the Christian religion has so many different variations.
Different people believed most of it but not all, so they
seperated from the group and started another section of it with some variations on the original
Religions are only mans concepts ........of spirituality

Answer 7

Sho-nuff... here comes that scary word for some... "evolution". *w*

As it moved from country to country, culture to culture, exposed to different thinkers, understanding of the Buddha's words differed and evolved therefore different philosophies about what was said evolved, different "smells and bells" were added or subtracted... and such evolution is occuring here, in the West, as thinkers with their Western philosophy makes new and interesting changes from their personal points of view.

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