What are the 3 sects of Buddhism?

Answer 1

This is too complex to answer in full here, but please refer to this excellent website which has a detailed discussion of the schools and lineages:

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/schools.htm
The three branches of Buddhism are Mahayana Buddhism, Vajrayana Buddhism, and Theravada Buddhism.

Answer 2

Vajrayana

-Tibet

Theravada

-Burma

-Thailand

-Sri Lanka

-Cambodia

-Laos

Mahayana

-China

-Korea

-Japan

-Vietnam

Answer 3

There are many sects, such as Tibetan Buddhism, Zen, Pure land, etc, but all Buddhists typically fall within two traditions. These are Theravada and Mahayana.

Theravada Buddhism is most closely linked to the teachings of The Buddha as written in the Pali texts. The practices of Theravada are typically less focused on rituals, recognize only one Bodhisattva (Maitreya Bodhisattva) , The Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) and older Buddhas that pre-date him. Because the practice follows only the teachings that came from The Buddha. Theravada is often called the Teachings of the Elders. The goal of a Theravada practitioner is to become an Arhat, a person who attains enlightenment. There is only one school of thought for Theravada.

Mahayana believes that there are, and can be, an infinite number of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The number increases as the number of people attain Buddhahood or become a Bodhisattva. Buddhism practiced by a Mahayana has been influenced by local traditions. The goal of a Mahayana practitioner is to achieve either Bodhisattva or Buddhahood in order to help all other beings to become enlightened.

These descriptions are not comprehensive but give a good introduction to the differences.

Answer 4

There are two main traditions in Buddhism, some with their own lineages. One tradition is Mahayana and the other is Theravada.

Theravada is called the Teachings of the Elders and is predominant in South East Asia (Burma, Thailand, etc). It is somewhat closer to basics of what the Buddha taught and is more concerned with personnel liberation.

Mahayana is predominate in China, Tibet, Japan. In its teachings it includes discourses and analysis from later Buddhists. It too is primarily concerned with personnel liberation but also includes the importance of helping other sentient beings to reach liberation. Within the Mahayana tradition their is Chan Buddhism, Pure Land, Zen, Tibetan.

Answer 5

If you mean the Theravada school, the Mahayana school and the Vajrayana school; they have almost identical views on most issues related to the teaching of the Buddha. In essence they differ in the methods they use and interpretation of subtle aspects of buddhist teachings. All schools teach; cause and effect, loving kindness/compassion and the impermanence of all relative phenomena but places slighty difference emphasis on these three different elements.

The Theravada is the original buddhist school and adheres closely to the written cannon of Buddha's teaching, the Mahayana is a later development and in turn the Vajrayana is an offshoot of the Mahayana.

Answer 6

One Sect of Buddhism is Theravada Buddhism, and for the other is Mahayana Buddhism

Answer 7

Vajrayana, Theravada, Mahayana

Answer 8

Theravada and Mahayana