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Buddhism FAQ
The first question/answer in Buddhism FAQ should be "branches/schools of Buddism".
I took this paragraph from accesstoinsight.org, for I think he explained it well.
Friends who has further knowledge or time to do further research about this subject may want to add more detail to the quote above. A sole reason I think this should be a good FAQ is that each of branches has its teachings and practices. Surely, one teaching from one school of though can have different in meanings, in many ways, from the other school of thought.
I took this paragraph from accesstoinsight.org, for I think he explained it well.
Many Buddhisms, One Dhamma-vinaya
The Buddha — the "Awakened One" — called the religion he founded Dhamma-vinaya — "the doctrine and discipline". To provide a social structure supportive of the practice of Dhamma-vinaya (or Dhamma for short [Sanskrit: Dharma]), and to preserve these teachings for posterity, the Buddha established the order of bhikkhus (monks) and bhikkhunis (nuns)— the Sangha — which continues to this day to pass his teachings on to subsequent generations of laypeople and monastics, alike.
As the Dhamma continued its spread across India after the Buddha's passing, differing interpretations of the original teachings arose, which led to schisms within the Sangha and the emergence of as many as eighteen distinct sects of Buddhism. One of these schools eventually gave rise to a reform movement that called itself Mahayana (the "Greater Vehicle") and that referred to the other schools disparagingly as Hinayana (the "Lesser Vehicle"). What we call Theravada today is the sole survivor of those early non-Mahayana schools. To avoid the pejorative tone implied by the terms Hinayana and Mahayana, it is common today to use more neutral language to distinguish between these two main branches of Buddhism. Because Theravada historically dominated southern Asia (Thailand, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), and India) it is sometimes called "Southern" Buddhism, while Mahayana, which migrated northwards from India into China, Tibet, Japan, and Korea, is known as "Northern" Buddhism.
Friends who has further knowledge or time to do further research about this subject may want to add more detail to the quote above. A sole reason I think this should be a good FAQ is that each of branches has its teachings and practices. Surely, one teaching from one school of though can have different in meanings, in many ways, from the other school of thought.
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Comments
Personally, I kind of like the idea of different schools of Buddhism when they are thought of more as different (and often compatible) flavors and not seperate entities that you have to choose from. I think it emphasizes the idea that Buddhism is a diverse religion, full of diverse people, with diverse needs, and diverse ideas. So long as we can all get along, why not? I guess it depends if you think of diversity as the enemy of strict dogma or on the other hand as the root of competition (as in, "my way is right, now you shut up!"). Maybe diversity is the cause of neither.
The churches may have got lots of things wrong but, time and again, attempts are made at reconciliation and unity. The old World Council of Churches was one such attempt. Anglicans and Methodists are about to reunite. Time and again, we hear Christians bewail the fact of the divisions. I rarely hear this among Buddhists.
Of course, the difference may be that, as Buddhists, we are aware of the contingent and temporary nature of all doctrine.
I mentioned the fact that I was going to visit the New Kadampa group until I'd done some research and found it wasn't for me. She replied that some of the parents that she knows are NKT and that they told her they pray daily for the death of HHDL!!!
I'm glad I stayed well away from them now.
What was weird is that she said that she was told this by people that attend the NKT temple.
It is quite possible that whoever told her wasn't actually an NKT person but may have had a bad experience with them and was thus trying to spread some negative propaganda.