Approaches to Buddhism
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John S. Strong, in The Experience of Buddhism, refers to Nikaya Buddhism as Mainstream Buddhism (88-89), and differentiates it from Mahayana Buddhism. While there are clear differences between the two approaches to the truth, they do share basic elements, such as the belief in karma and nirvana, and the central place of the Buddha as an example of how best to reach enlightenment and liberation from the suffering and illusion of the self and the world. Both approaches to some extent advocate a Middle Way," with the Mahayana against both "self-indulgence" and "self-mortification" and the Nikaya calling for "the path between the extremes of eternalism and nihilism" (144). When one gets into the details of these shared beliefs, however, there are a number of clear differences between the two approaches, as there are in the different approaches of Christianity. Nikaya is the school which is more strict or conservative. Nikaya goes by the laws, the teachings of the Buddha, and stresses individual enlightenment of the special man, the monk, while Mahayana goes by the life of the Buddha, especially his compassion and service, and his decision to turn back from Nirvana to help others attain it as well, and can be said to take a more liberal approach. Nikaya sees enlightenment as a liberation attainable only by the few who follow the disciplines and precepts and teachings of the Buddhist canon to the letter. Mahayana sees enlightenment as being far more accessible to many more through
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a matter of the individual's realizing simply that "one does not perceive the past, present or future" (132), or is liberated from karma.
Mahayana sees karma as a more common feature of Buddhism. The individual is not isolated from the community by his own effort. Karma can be undone through pity, compassion, service. It does not require the strict, severe way of life of the Nikaya.
These differences with respect to karma bring us to the biggest difference between Nikaya and Mahayana, the difference between the arhat of Nikaya and the bodhisattva of Mahayana. The Arhats are the enlightened ones in Nikaya who "attain enlightenment through their own efforts, by following the teaching of a Buddha" (110).
These difference also affect the way nirvana itself is viewed. Arhats in Nikaya see nirvana as a goal for the individual, with the help of a teacher, following the canons. The bodhisattvas of Mahayana, on the other hand, see nirvana as a shared experience, or a communal experience, or at least as an experience that is not only individual-based, but a matter of service. The Buddha himself was on the brink of nirvana, but turned back so to help others attain enlightenment: "This factor . . . is one of the things that differenti
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Approximate Word count = 1357
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)
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