There are three (3) primary traditions of what people refer to as Buddhism, and countless branches off from those three (3) main traditions or schools.
There is the Theravada Tradition, Mahayana Tradition, and Vajaryana Tradition.
“Theravada”, which means “The Teachings of The Elders”, is thought to be the tradition that is closest to what was taught by The Buddha during his lifetime. This tradition considers The Pāli Canon to be the largest most complete collection of The Teachings of The Buddha and is interested in learning and practicing those Teachings to train the mind to attain Enlightenment, through gradual development of the mind.
The Mahayana Tradition originates about five hundred (500) years after the death of The Buddha, and there were several changes made to what The Buddha taught. While during the lifetime of The Buddha, he taught to train the mind, which does not include any rites, rituals, ceremonies, worship, or prayer, the Mahayana Tradition includes rites, rituals, ceremonies, worship, and prayer.
The Vajaryana Tradition originates about one thousand (1000) years after the death of The Buddha. There are many rites, rituals, ceremonies, worship, and prayer that is implemented into this tradition.
In reality, there was only one Buddha, therefore, there can only be one Buddhism. But, over the years, due to The Teachings of The Buddha being an oral tradition, there were inadvertent changes and overt changes made to The Teachings of The Buddha in each of these traditions.
The Buddha shared how unwise it is to change his Teachings but, due to most people not learning with the original Words of The Buddha, over time, people either overtly modified his Teachings or did so inadvertently. The Buddha explained how changing his Teachings would cause harm to you and countless others due to you and others not being able to attain Enlightenment through the modifications of his Teachings.
From the time they attain Enlightenment, a Buddha dedicates the remaining time of their life to sharing The Teachings that led to their Enlightenment with countless people, and countless people will get to Enlightenment during their lifetime. Essentially, a Buddha is illuminating The Path to Enlightenment for others to be able to attain the Enlightened mind where there is nothing but peace and joy.
If we change a Buddha’s Teachings, it is like knocking over those lights, which hinder others from being able to clearly see The Path to Enlightenment. Therefore, an individual would be wise to learn with The Buddha’s original Teachings without any modifications.
What is important is, that if you are interested in the attainment of Enlightenment, that you learn with the original Words of The Buddha. You can learn what he taught, and what he did not teach. Then, you do not believe those Teachings but instead, you learn them through investigation and examination, then you reflect on them to independently verify whether they are true or false, then you practice his Teachings, integrating them into your daily life to produce consistent improvement to the quality of the mind and your life. The mind is developed and purified through training of the mind.
As one trains the mind, the quality of their mind and life only improves. The Path to Enlightenment guides an individual towards inner growth and development to heal from what hurt you so that you never need to hurt ever again. But, what is hurting you is inside the mind, not the outside world. The Teachings of The Buddha will help you to discover this truth and acquire the needed wisdom to transform the mind through training of the mind.
This Temple, Wat Doi Suthep, is visited by countless people throughout the year. These tourists come from all over the world and have various things they have learned and are practicing, that may or may not be the original Teachings of The Buddha.
The approach this Temple has taken is, they provide a little bit of everything that matches with all of these various traditions. So, what you will find is that there are many things here at this Temple that are not the original Teachings of The Buddha. I will guide you in understanding what are and are not The Teachings of The Buddha as we journey through this tour.
Starting with what we see here in front of us, these bells.
There is a tradition of teachings that thinks if you ring these bells to exactly the right frequency, that you will instantly experience Enlightenment.
The Buddha never taught this, and you would never be able to experience Enlightenment through ringing bells.
It is the cultivation, or development, of the mind that leads to the Enlightened mental state, not the ringing of bells.
I teach people to not believe others but also, do not believe me either.
You are not able to push the bells but, you can reach under to ring them.
If you like, go ahead and ring the bells. See what happens.
Do you instantly eliminate all the sadness, anger, frustration, irritation, annoyance, guilt, shame, fears, boredom, loneliness, shyness, jealousy, resentment, stress, anxiety, etc.
If so, you will know that the mind is Enlightened. But, if not, then you will know this is untrue and is just a belief, not the truth or wisdom taught by The Buddha. You will see through your own direct experience that ringing a bell does not allow the mind to cultivate wisdom and purify the mind through training of the mind.
So, if you would like to pause this tour and give it a try, go ahead.
Now, I will guide you towards something that has nothing to do with The Teachings of The Buddha, but is a nice place to visit while you are here at Wat Doi Suthep.
Let’s go see a really nice view of Chiang Mai on the observation deck.