Buddhist Traditions Across Asia

Theravada, the "Way of the Elders" or "Teaching of the Elders," is the oldest continuously practiced school of Buddhism and the dominant tradition today in Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. It traces its lineage to the Sthavira ("Elders") faction that emerged from an early split in the Buddhist monastic community, traditionally associated with the Second Buddhist Council, and it regards the Pali Canon as its sole authoritative scriptural collection. Theravada Buddhism was formally established in Sri Lanka in the third century BCE, according to tradition through the missionary efforts of Mahinda, said to be the son of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka, a ruler celebrated for renouncing violent conquest after the bloody Kalinga War and for promoting Buddhist ethical principles across his empire through inscribed edicts. Theravada tradition places central emphasis on the ideal of the arhat, "worthy one," a practitioner who has personally attained nirvana by following the Buddha's path, and historically has emphasized the monastic vocation as the most direct route to liberation, though lay practice and devotion remain integral to Theravada societies.