According to discourses found in both the Theravada school's Pali canon, and some of the Āgamas in the Chinese Buddhist canon, the Noble Eightfold Path was rediscovered by Gautama Buddha during his quest for enlightenment.

Besides this, Prakrit appears in literature in the form of Pāli Canon of Theravada Buddhists, Prakrit canon of the Jains, Prakrit grammars and in lyrics, plays and epics of the times.

Although the Theravada school does not emphasize the more supernatural and divine aspects of the Buddha that are available in the Pali Canon, elements of Buddha as the supreme person are found throughout this canon.

According to a legend preserved in Pali, the language of the Theravada canon, two merchant brothers from Bactria, named Tapassu and Bhallika, visited the Buddha and became his disciples.

Chandragupta's grandson Ashoka embraced the Buddhist faith and became a great proselytizer in the line of the traditional Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism, insisting on non-violence to humans and animals ( ahimsa ), and general precepts regulating the life of lay people.

Paradoxically, the text most closely associated with the vinaya, and the most frequently used portion of it, the Pratimoksha, is in itself not a canonical text in Theravada, even though almost all of it can be found in the canon.

Chandragupta's grandson Asoka converted to the Buddhist faith and became a great proselytizer in the line of the traditional Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism, directing his efforts towards the Indian and the Hellenistic worlds from around 250 BC.

It is considered the most important Theravada text outside of the Tipitaka canon of scriptures.

* Versified portions of Pali canon ( Tipitaka ) of Theravada Buddhism are also called specifically as gathas.

Faith ( Pali: Saddhā, Sanskrit: Śraddhā ) is an important constituent element of the teachings of Gautama Buddha — in both the Theravada and the Mahayana traditions.

The Five Precepts ( Pali: pañca-sīlāni ; ) constitute the basic Buddhist code of ethics, undertaken by lay followers ( Upāsaka and Upāsikā ) of the Buddha Gautama in the Theravada as well as in Mahayana traditions.

The goal of spiritual practice within the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions is to become a Bodhisattva ( i. e. attainment of a state in which one will subsequently become a Buddha -- after some further reincarnation ), whereas the goal for Theravada practice is specific to become an arahant ( i. e. attain enlightenment with no intention of returning, not even as a Buddha ).

In Theravada Buddhism, the current expression of Buddhism most closely associated with early Buddhist practice, māyā is the name of the mother of the Buddha.

:* The Theravada Buddhist place of worship Wat Dhammapateep ( Temple of the Flame of Truth or Reality as taught by the Enlightened One ) has since 2005 on its grounds an in China beautifully sculptured Buddha seated on a soccle, both in dark green granite – the tallest stone Buddha statue in Europe.

In Theravada Buddhism, Buddha refers to one who has become enlightened through his own efforts and insight, without a teacher to point out the Dharma.

An Arhat needs to follow the teaching of a Buddha to attain Nirvana, but can also preach the dhamma after attaining Nirvana In one instance the term buddha is also used in Theravada to refer to all who attain Nirvana, using the term Sāvakabuddha to designate an Arhat, someone who depends on the teachings of a Buddha to attain Nirvana.

A common Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist belief is that the next Buddha will be one named Maitreya ( Pali: Metteyya ).

Within Theravada Buddhism emerges the view that the Buddha was human, endowed with the greatest psychic powers ( Kevatta Sutta ).

Rahula further says, though, that in declaring " all dhammas are anatta ," the Buddha included even nirvana in his blanket statement that all things are not one's self ; this standard Theravada interpretation also hinges on interpreting the word " sankhara " in the widest sense.

Fa Ngoum is credited with introducing the Theravada Buddhist sect to the region when the Khmer monks who accompanied the image of the Prabang Buddha established a monastery in Lan Xang.

In the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism, the expression Middle Way is used by the Buddha in his first discourse ( the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta ) to describe the Noble Eightfold Path as a path between the extremes of austerities and sensual indulgence.

She helped to establish Wat Buddha Dhamma, a forest monastery in the Theravada tradition, near Sydney, Australia, in 1978.

Predominantly, Theravada Buddhism views the Dhammakaya ( Dharmakaya ) as a figurative term relating to the manner in which the Buddha exemplifies or embodies the Dharma.

One of the central texts of the Pāli Canon in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, the Digha Nikaya, describes the appearance of the historical Buddha with a list of 32 physical characteristics.

Asalha Puja, also known as Dhamma Day, is one of Theravada Buddhism ’ s most important festivals, celebrating as it does the Buddha ’ s first sermon in which he set out to his five former associates the doctrine that had come to him following his enlightenment.

Although the site has been both damaged and looted, around 5000 square metres of wall paintings remained, These murals mostly depict Jataka stories, avadanas, and legends of the Buddha, and are an artistic representation in the tradition of the Theravada school of the Sarvastivadas.

Preaching austerity and the salvation of the individual through his or own her efforts, Theravada Buddhism did not lend doctrinal support to a society ruled by an opulent royal establishment maintained through the virtual slavery of the masses.

The Theravada Abhidhamma tradition did not tend to elaborate argumentation against the existence of god, but in the Abhidharmakośa of the Sarvāstivāda, Vasubandhu does actively argue against the existence of a creator, stating that the universe has no beginning.

Only after the decline of Buddhism in India did Theravada Buddhism begin to dominate in Southeast Asia, with Theravada-dominated Sri Lanka replacing India as the source of new texts and teachers.

* 148: An Shigao, a Parthian prince and Buddhist monk, arrives in China and proceeds to make the first translations of Theravada texts into Chinese.

The BPS also co-publishes works on Theravada Buddhism first issued by Western publishers, to make them more easily available for Asian readers.

In Theravada, any lay follower is in theory called an upasaka ( or upasika, feminine ), though in practice everyone is expected to take the precepts anyway.

Even without any clearly designated authority or responsibilities, a sangharaja can often effect significant changes in a Theravada country by employing the respect accorded to he and his office to mobilize monks and laymen for social or religious change.

Without such a quorum, critics say that it is not possible to ordain any new Theravada bhikkhuni.

But, citing the belief that the Theravada Bhikkhuni Sangha died out centuries earlier, the Prince commanded that any Thai monk who ordained a female " is said to conduct what the Buddha has not prescribed, to revoke what the Buddha has laid down, and to be an enemy of the holy Religion ...".

While Theravada monks are compelled to eat whatever is provided for them by their lay supporters, including meat, Mahayana monks in East of Asia are most often vegetarian.

Writing in 2011, James Miller described these overlapping traditions as follows, " The Blang, like many nationalities in southwest China are Theravada Buddhists, but their highly complex religious life is also informed by local beliefs and customs that relate to the traditional ecology, with special attention being paid to rice, water, bees, beeswax, and the various local spirits that are associated with them.

" An overtly Christian missionary source ( i. e., with observations reflecting attempts to convert the Bulang ) describes them as " ardent followers of Theravada Buddhism ", and offers as an estimate that 80 % of the Bulang are " professing Buddhists ", with a lower estimate of 35 % being " practicing Buddhists ".

The vast majority of Chinese Buddhists are Mahayana ; while minority are Vajrayana, among them Tibetans, Mongols, and Manchu who traditionally follow their Tibetan Buddhism, and small communities of Theravada also exist among the minority ethnic groups live in southern provinces as Yunnan and Guangxi which border Burma, Thailand and Laos.

Tiger Temple, or Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua, is a Theravada Buddhist temple in western Thailand that was founded in 1994 as a forest temple and sanctuary for wild animals, among them several tigers, mostly Indo-chinese Tigers.

Both Mahayana and Theravada thinking is that eating meat in and of itself does not constitute a violation of the Five Precepts which prohibit one from directly harming life.