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Buddhist polemics revolve around the veracity and efficacy of doctrine and practice. It seems that from the very beginning Buddhists were involved in a struggle with non-believers to establish the Truth.
What we see is a process of ultraism in which each group, including the authors of the earliest texts, is inclined to denigrate those that had come before it. So the Pali suttas ridicule Jain and other non-Buddhist teachings, the Mahayana Sutras ridicule the Arahants, and so on. The thing that seems to be driving this process is a sequence of reform movements which seek to establish, or re-establish, norms of practice in line with a set of ideals which is actually common to all Buddhist schools. Alongside this reformist agenda is a strong conservatism which constrains Buddhists to accept texts as the word of the Buddha and therefore sacrosanct. The result is that a hierarchy of ideals is built up over time. In very early Buddhist texts (such as the Dhammapada, or Sutta Nipata) an Arahant (ie one who has achieved the goal, is enlightened, completely liberated from suffering) is seen as second to the Buddha only in the sense that he led them to the goal. Their 'state' is ontologically undefinable, but is equivalent to that of the Buddha, ie both the Buddha and the Arahant have achieved Nirvana or final liberation. But even before the Mahayana came into being there were attempts to redefine the status of the Arahant as falling short of the goal, and capable of error. By the time the early Mahayana Sutras, such as the Lotus Sutra, the Arahant is portrayed as conceited and stubborn. The Perfection of Wisdom sutras, which span the entire development of the Mahayana, portray Arahants such as Subhuti and Sariputra as being instructed by mythic Bodhisattvas, whereas the Pali suttas have these two being the ones giving instruction.
By the time the Vajrayana came into being there was already a considerable superstructure of doctrine and practice built up. But the Vajrayana was bound by the same constraints and so ended up adopting everything and trying to make sense of it. The Tibetans synthesised it all into a complex hierarchical system which has Hinayana, Mahayana, and various grades of Tantra as a towering stairlike path through which the spiritual aspirant must ascend in order to follow the Buddha. Somewhat ironically the highest levels of Tantric practice, such as Dzog Chen starts to resemble the simple mindfulness of the Pali Canon. Similarly in East Asian Vajrayana Kūkai adopted a hierarchical structure for the various teachings, in which the Hinayana and Mahayana both rated as merely provisional teachings which were not effective in attaining enlightenment.
It is difficult to know what to make of this building of ever higher teachings, and more secret practices. If one accepts the Pali Canon as evidence (and most Buddhists would) then there is ample evidence that the so-called 'Hinayana' practices were efficacious. It is also clear that an Arahant was definitely one who had attained the goal set out by the Buddha. The differences between the Arahant Ideal (as the Mahayana designates the Hinayana goal), and the Bodhisattva Ideal (as the Mahayana designated itself) are not so much differences in goal or aim, as they are differences of emphasis - one emphasising the subjective, internal transformation of self; the other emphasising the altruistic, other regarding aspects of the teachings. Contents [hide]
* 1 Theravada Criticised and Explained * 2 Mahayana criticized and explained * 3 Vajrayana criticized and explained * 4 See also
[edit] Theravada Criticised and Explained
The diversity of Buddhist thought has sometimes led to criticism of Theravada by other schools, although it is important to note that such criticism is far from universal, and that Buddhists of different schools often interact on terms of mutual respect.
Common critiques of Theravada made by Mahayana Buddhists are that Theravada monks aim to achieve enlightenment only for themselves, and that they lack compassion. However, supporters of Theravada emphasize that the Pali Canon does not recognize a self at all, and that providing help for others is actively practiced and encouraged in many monasteries. Metta (often translated as "loving kindness" or "good will") is an important aspect of Theravada Buddhism (see the 10 perfections), it is also frequently practiced in meditation, and occurs in many sutras that are key to the Theravada tradition.
Buddhist monasteries in Thailand provide help to society in general in many different ways by such things as constructing (or financially supporting) hospitals, providing schooling, and in the recent past, even raising money to help pay off the country's debt to the IMF. Also monasteries in Theravada are very open for laypeople to come and visit and talk to the monks, and they do not charge money to monks for education and living-expenses, as is common in most Mahayana and Vajrayana monasteries, which helps those monks by giving them more opportunity for study and practice.
Theravada monks have sometimes been criticized for following their monastic rules blindly although, in fact, the rules give exceptions and allowances for several extreme situations, an example of which is saving another person's life. In Theravada the original Vinaya-rules are seen as guidelines for proper conduct, and the rules also allow for most proper conduct to take place. Inflexibilities and misunderstandings mostly occur when monks give precedence to some strict local (Thai, Burmese, Sri Lankan) standard over the actual precept of the Vinaya. The Buddha gave permission to the Sangha to not keep the minor and lesser rules if the Sangha (unanimously) sees fit to do so. Further he formulated the Four Great Standards, so the Vinaya could be applied (using the faculty of free thinking) to new situations which did not arise in the fifth cenury BC. Also the fact that many Theravada monks do not follow all the rules gives an indication of the flexibilty that is available for them.
Some other schools have also charged that Theravada practice is the slowest path to enlightenment, taking many eons to reach its goal. However, Theravada Buddhists see the Buddha and the ancient arhats as examples of practitioners who became enlightened in one lifetime. They believe Arahantship is the quickest way to full enlightenment, which is possible in one life. If one is willing to wait for aeons one can also take the Bodhisattva way, which is also recognized in the Pali Canon.
[edit] Mahayana criticized and explained
The Mahayana Sutras are sometimes criticized as not coming from Gautama Buddha but written by 'ordinary' Buddhist monks living 400 to 1500 years after Gautama Buddha. The Mahayana monks and followers are also sometimes criticized for continuing their use of the denigrative term Hinayana to refer to the Early Buddhist schools. Also some Buddhist criticize Mahayana for its low standards of Vinaya (Buddhist monastic discipline), when their discipline is compared to the Vinaya-pitaka. Mahayana is sometimes also criticized for a strong anti-Hinayana rhetoric. Mahayana is sometimes criticized for putting too much emphasis on 'saving all beings', forgetting about basic Buddhist practice of morality, concentration and wisdom.
[edit] Vajrayana criticized and explained
Some of the schools of Vajrayana Buddhism are sometimes criticized for their focus on ghosts and the performance of rituals, and the fact that monks can marry and have children, notably in the Nyingma sect. Some other sects are sometimes criticized for putting too much emphasis on book-study, studying to teach others, but not emphasizing practice of meditation, notably the Gelugpa. The Vajrayana monks and followers are also sometimes criticized for continuing their use of the denigrative term Hinayana to refer to the Early Buddhist schools, although the meaning of 'Hinayana' in Tibetan doesn't carry the negative connotation it carries in Pali and Sanskrit. Also some Buddhists criticize Vajrayana for its general low standards of Vinaya (Buddhist monastic discipline), when their discipline is compared to the Vinaya-pitaka.
[edit] See also
* Theravada * Hinayana * Mahayana * Vajrayana * Yanas * Buddhist philosophy * Buddhist fundamentalism