what are the relations between Theravada or Mahayana?

Question

what do buddhist practicioners from these schools think of each other?

do they war like the Christian Denominations or muslim denominations?, i dont think so

Answer 1

Husband and wife.

Answer 2

Hinayana Buddhist thought is the earliest forms of philosophy based on the Buddha's teachings, Mahayana builds upon the philosophy while staying true to the message. All paths are intended to reduce ego-clinging and help the person attain enlightenment. Mahayana Buddhism adds a dimension we call "Bodhicitta" and then there's Vajrayana, but they're all pretty much the same. Unfortunately, people are people first and not all people refrain from unkind speech and arrogance towards one another, so you find people who engage in such things in every religion, to include Buddhism. Generally, the atmosphere is relatively peaceful though.

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Answer 3

No, not that I am aware of. Buddhists are more tolerant of other schools of Buddhism, I went to a Pure Land temple (they spoke Vietnamese) once that was having a group of Tibetan monks as guests. The common language was English. The Tibetan spoke about the dharma, one monk translated to English and then one Vietnamese translated to Vietnamese. That way we Americans understood, the Vietnamese understood and the Tibetans understood too. Two totally different schools of Buddhism and 3 languages. We all lined up to be blessed by the Tibetan elder monk and it was lovely. After, we all ate a vegetarian lunch together.

Answer 4

There are no conflicts, just many stepping stones on the dharma path.

It is one of the wonderful aspects of attending a teaching given by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. At his feet you will see monks and lamas of all traditions and many countries. the Buddha taught many paths for practitioners of many backgrounds, capabilities and levels of realization.

Answer 5

Theravada (Pāli: theravāda; Sanskrit: स्थविरवाद sthaviravāda; literally, "the Way of the Elders") is the oldest surviving Buddhist school, and for many centuries has been the predominant religion of Sri Lanka (about 70% of the population[1]) and most of continental Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand). It is also practiced to a much lesser extent by minorities in parts of southwest China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, whilst recently gaining popularity in Singapore and Australia. Today Theravada Buddhists number over 100 million worldwide, and in recent decades Theravada has begun to take root in the West.


Mahayana (Sanskrit: महायान mahāyāna → English: Great Vehicle, Chinese: 大乘, Dàshèng; Japanese: 大乗, Daijō; Korean: 대승, Dae-seung; Vietnamese: Đại Thừa) is one of two major branches of Buddhism existing today, the other being Theravada (上座部). Mahayana originated during the first century CE in the Indian subcontinent, and spread to China during the second century CE. Subsequently it spread throughout East Asia. The main countries in which it is practiced today are China, Tibet, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.

Mahayana is a vast religious and philosophical structure. It constitutes an inclusive faith characterized by the adoption of new sutras, in addition to the traditional Pali canon, and a shift in the understanding of Buddhism, an understanding which sees itself as penetrating further and more profoundly into the Buddha's Dharma. In the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, for instance, the Buddha tells of how his initial teachings on suffering, impermanence and non-Self were given to those who were still like "small children", unable to digest the full "meal" of Truth, whereas when those spiritual students "grow up" and are no longer satisfied by the preliminary ingredients of the Dharmic meal fed to them and require fuller sustenance, they are then ready to assimilate the full and balanced fare of the Mahayana teachings (Tibetan Mahaparinirvana Sutra).

Some Mahayana Buddhist schools namely Pure Land Buddhism deemphasize the traditional nontheist Theravada ideal of the release from suffering and attainment of Awakening, to instead elevate the Buddha to an eternal, immutable, inconceivable, omnipresent God-like being (see God in Buddhism). In addition, most Mahayana schools believe in a pantheon of quasi-divine Bodhisattvas (菩薩) that devote themselves to personal excellence, ultimate knowledge and the salvation of humanity and all other sentient beings (animals, ghosts, etc.). Some Zen Buddhists, however, deemphasize Bodhisattvas if not dismiss them altogether favoring instead concentrating their attention on meditation and the present moment. If these particular Zen Buddhists do believe in Bodhisattvas it is usually only in seeing the Bodhisattva qualities as already within themselves. Bodhisattvas to these Zen practioners are more reminders and examples of the ideal and potential that already lies within us all then deities to be worshiped and prayed to. In Mahayana, the Buddha is seen as an idealized example, present in all times, in all beings and in all places, and the Bodhisattvas come to represent the universal ideal of altruistic excellence.

The fundamental principles of Mahayana doctrine were based around the possibility of universal liberation from suffering for all beings (hence "great vehicle") and the existence of Buddhas and Bodhisattva embodying transcendent Buddha-nature (佛性) - the eternal Buddha essence present but hidden and unrecognised in all beings - who strive to achieve such a goal. Some Mahayana schools simplify the expression of faith for the common lay people, by allowing salvation to be alternatively obtained through the grace of the Buddha Amitabha (阿彌陀佛) by having faith and devoting oneself in chanting to Amitabha. This devotional lifestyle of Buddhism is most strongly emphasized by the Pure Land schools and has greatly contributed to the success of Mahayana in East Asia, where spiritual elements traditionally relied upon chanting of a buddha's name, of mantras or dharanis, reading of Mahayana sutras and mysticism.

From Mahayana developed the esoteric Vajrayana found mainly in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and Mongolia but also in adjacent areas of China, and even India and Russia. The Vajrayana school claims to encompass all previous schools.

The most complete Mahayana Canon today exists in the Chinese language, mostly in translation from Sanskrit originals. In East Asia, Mahayana scriptures and terminology are traditionally written in classical Chinese. Two mainstream subsets of Mahayana Buddhism today are Amidism or Pure Land (淨土宗) and Zen Buddhism (禪/禅宗).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theravada
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahayana