Theravada Buddhism (mainstream)
Mainstream Theravada Buddhism — the dominant tradition of Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos — is a low-CLCI reference point with voluntary lay practice and a self-disciplined monastic Sangha.
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
+1 for monastic financial dependence on lay community; net CLCI very low.
In context
Mainstream Theravada Buddhism — the 'School of the Elders' surviving in Sri Lanka and mainland Southeast Asia — emphasises personal practice (sila, samadhi, panna), monastic discipline through the Vinaya, and lay support for the Sangha. Lay practice is voluntary, no shunning attaches to leaving, and outside religious or secular engagement is normal. Specific scandals involving particular monks are real but represent a small fraction of the tradition.
History
Theravada — the 'Way of the Elders' — is the oldest surviving Buddhist tradition, preserving the Pali Canon. Spread by Ashokan missions in the 3rd century BCE, it became the dominant tradition of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.
Key control doctrines
- Voluntary individual practice of the Eightfold Path
- Vinaya discipline for monastics
- Lay support of the Sangha as merit-making
Legal cases & controversies
- Wat Phra Dhammakaya temple financial scandals (Thailand, 2010s)
Timeline
- 5th c. BCEHistorical Buddha's teaching career
- 3rd c. BCEAshokan missions establish Buddhism in Sri Lanka
- 5th c. CEBuddhaghosa's Visuddhimagga systematises Theravada thought
- 19th c.Modernist reform movements across Burma, Sri Lanka, Thailand
Sources
- Walpola Rahula, 'What the Buddha Taught' (1959)
- Donald K. Swearer, 'The Buddhist World of Southeast Asia' (2010)
- Numerous Pali Canon translations
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Search the source title plus the group name to find the original.