Buddhism-What Are The 3 Main Branches?

Question

This same question was posted about Christianity earlier, so I decided to ask it about Buddhism also.

Answer 1

Theravada is the oldest surviving branch, and its teachings are arguably the closest to what the historical Buddha taught. It's more philosophical in nature and focuses on getting oneself enlightened. This is the predominant branch of Buddhism in Southeast Asia. Some call this branch Hinayana, but that's often considered an insulting term, so it's best not used. It means "lesser vehicle," in opposition to the "greater vehicle" of Mahayana.

Mahayana probably has the most practitioners worldwide. This branch includes lots of subsets, including Soka Gakkai, Pure Land, and Zen. This type of Buddhism is more devotional than Theravada -- it focuses on spiritual ideals, often in the form of Buddhist saints, such as Kwan Yin, the goddess of compassion. Some Buddhists take these figures literally, but others -- especially in the West -- see them as ideals to strive toward. The ultimate Mahayana ideal is to become a bodhisattva -- an enlightened being who delays attainment of nirvana to come back into the world and help other beings reach enlightenment. Mahayana also teaches that we all have a nugget of "Buddha nature" within us -- meaning that we all have the potential to become buddhas, through following the Buddhist teachings and living a compassionate life.

Then there's Vajrayana, the "diamond vehicle," which is mainly practiced in Tibet and Mongolia. This is the Buddhism that the Dalai Lama practices. It's similar to Mahayana in that it has lots of devotional practices and visualizations/representations of Buddhist ideals, in the form of saints and gods. The main difference is that Tibetan Buddhism absorbed many of the traditions of Bon, the indigenous religion of the Tibetan era. "The Tibetan Book of the Dead" is a good read for understanding a lot of the beliefs in Vajrayana Buddhism.

That's a thumbnail sketch, but I hope it helps.

Answer 2

uhm...
Today there are only two main branches; Theradava and Mahayana.

Some still claim that Hiinayana is a branch, but it is not.

From Theravada there are about 25 branches including all sub-branches
From Mahayana there are about 1500 branches including sub-branches.

A note: Soka gakkai and Diamond way (and a few others) are NOT accepted as buddhist branches by the international buddhist counsil (which consist of both Theravada and mahayana members).

Answer 3

Mahayana
Hinayana or Theravada
Lamanism/Tantric

Some say that Lamanism,especially Tibetan, is just a form of Mahayana or "Greater Vehicle" Buddism since it accepts the role of Bodhisatvas and places compassion up there with detachment and Sutras and doctrines that Theravada(allegedly) rejects.

Answer 4

Mahayana, Theravada and Vajrayana

Answer 5

Tibetan, Zen and Regular (or Smooth).