Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
In our experience, most individuals who assert that Buddhism is one are generally
not well informed or are secret (or in some cases open) advocates of hippyism!
Accordingly, the preferred scholarly position appears to be that there are many
Buddhisms. In terms of the superficial form that Buddhism assumes within a
particular culture, time, and geographic region, this assertion is perfectly true. For
example, Theravada Buddhism is prevalent throughout South East Asian countries
(e.g., Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Burma) and places emphasis on following the original
word of the historical Buddha. Mahayana Buddhism, which originated several
hundred years after Theravada Buddhism, is prevalent throughout East Asia (e.g.,
Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and Vietnam) and places emphasis on compassionate activity
and the non-dual or empty nature of phenomena. Vajrayana Buddhism didnt
become popular until around the 7th Century and is associated with Himalayan
plateau countries such as Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, and Mongolia (and to a lesser extent
Japan). Compared to Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism, Vajrayana Buddhism
places greater emphasis on sacred outlook, the bond between teacher (or guru)
and student, and on various esoteric practices. Schools representing all three
Buddhist vehicles (i.e., Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana) are present in the West
where to admittedly differing degrees they continue to embody the teachings and
practices of their source traditions.
Despite these differences between Buddhist vehicles (and even between the various
schools that comprise a particular vehicle), we would argue that it is still possible
from an informed/scholarly position, to assert that Buddhism is one. Such an
assertion is based on the fact that all authentic Buddhist lineages teach methods that
ultimately lead to the same result. Furthermore, most of these methods are intended
to directly or indirectly foster insight into core Buddhist principles such as suffering,
Further Reading
Shonin, E., & Van Gordon, W., & Griffiths, M. D. (2016). Mindfulness and
wellbeing: Towards a unified operational approach. In: I. Ivtzan, & T. Lomas (Eds).
Mindfulness in Positive Psychology: The Science of Meditation and Wellbeing (pp. 280-292).
Oxford: Routledge.
Shonin, E., Van Gordon, W., & Singh, N. N. (Eds). (2015). Buddhist Foundations of
Mindfulness. New York: Springer.
Shonin, E., & Van Gordon, W. (2015). The lineage of mindfulness. Mindfulness, 6,
141-145.
Shonin, E., Van Gordon W., & Griffiths, M. D. (2014). The emerging role of
Buddhism in clinical psychology: Toward effective integration. Psychology of Religion
and Spirituality, 6, 123-137.
Van Gordon, W., Shonin, E., & Griffiths, M. D. (2016). Buddhist emptiness theory:
Implications for psychology. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, DOI:
10.1037/rel0000079.
Van Gordon, W., Shonin, E., Griffiths, M. D., & Singh, N. N. (2015). There is only
one mindfulness: Why science and Buddhism need to work together. Mindfulness, 6,
49-56.
Van Gordon, W., Shonin, E., Griffiths, M. D., & Singh, N. N. (2015). Mindfulness and
the Four Noble Truths. In: E. Shonin, W. Van Gordon, & N. N. Singh (Eds). Buddhist
Foundations of Mindfulness (pp. 9-27). New York: Springer.