• Was taught by conservative monks who claimed that they alone preserved the
original and pure teaching of the Buddha, the »teaching of the elders« (Theravada).
• Monks alone can attain liberation; abandoning the world, they should live
a modest life alone or in monasteries.
• Laypersons can, through their good works, gain merit for a better rebirth.
Mahayana
(= greater vehicle)
• On the basis of new texts, elements of Buddhist teaching were interpreted
anew. The Sangha (»community«) is opened up to laypersons: everyone,
not just monks can achieve enlightenment.
• Monks: with time, powerful hierarchies arose, with solemn titles (abbot, arch-abbot,
abbot general), with rich vestments and ceremonies, huge temples and wealthy
monasteries.
•
Laypersons: religious practices promising enlightenment are provided
for those who are not monks.
• Bodhisattva (»enlightenment being«):
a holy person, who out
of compassion works to help other beings achieve liberation.
Vajrayana
(= diamond vehicle«; »diamond« standing for that which cannot
be destroyed, the Absolute)
• Ancient esoteric and magic practices and psychologising rituals found
entry into the world of ideas of Mahayana Buddhism. In Tibet, out of a synthesis
with the ancient Bon Religion, a specifically Tibetan form of Buddhism emerged.
• Tibetan Buddhism is a colourful, sensuous mixture of esoteric techniques
and ceremonies (tantra) designed to shorten the path to achieving enlightenment.
• Tibetan Buddhism split into various rival schools, of which the so-called »Yellow-hat« School,
with the Dalai Lama at its head, gained the upper hand in the course of the
17th Century.
