Theravada
The Theravāda (Pali: थेरवाद theravāda; Sanskrit: स्थविरवाद sthaviravāda m., literally: "the teaching (vāda) of the ancients (thera)") goes back to the monastic community that was formed from the first followers of the Buddha and is thus the oldest school of Buddhism. The followers of Mahayana, the second major school of Buddhism, pejoratively categorise Theravada as Hinayana (skrt. "lesser vehicle"), since here everyone is supposedly only striving for their own salvation from the painful cycle of rebirths. This is firmly rejected by the followers of Theravada. In fact, the bodhisattva ideal is also central to Theravada. In terms of content, Theravada, in contrast to Mahayana, is based almost exclusively on the Pali canon, the oldest collection of the teachings of Buddha Siddhartha Gautama that has been handed down coherently, whereas no generally binding canon was established in Mahayana.
Today, Theravada is mainly represented in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand (Siam), Cambodia, Laos, and partly also in Vietnam and in the Yunnan province in the People's Republic of China.
