What are the main differences between Thai Buddhism and Han and Tibetan Buddhism?

In order to better learn the wisdom of Buddha and find a truly suitable way of practice for us, it is necessary for me to start by understanding the history of Buddhism. The main reasons for the formation of different heritages are as follows. First, the transportation and information transmission in ancient times were not developed, and the journey was long. In addition, the comprehensive environment of various regions, such as the inclusiveness of local culture, and the stability of different regions, made the process of communication very long,

Ru Han Zhuan was first written by the eminent monk Faxian during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, who traveled from Chang'an to India via the Western Regions around 399 AD, taking 14 years to obtain it. Later on, there were Tan Wujie from the Southern and Northern Dynasties period and the well-known Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang, who also spent 17 years collecting scriptures. After the arrival of Buddhist ideas in the Central Plains, there were many wonderful integrations with our local Confucianism, Taoism and other ideas, forming our unique Chinese Buddhist culture today. It has a great sentiment of universal salvation, advocates vegetarianism, love and care for life, and various Buddhist classics and theories continue to emerge in different periods.

So Tibetan history records that in the 7th century AD, the local ruler Songtsen Gampo was influenced by two wives to believe in Buddhism. One was the Nepalese princess (Qi), and the other was our Tang Dynasty princess Wencheng. Later in the 8th century AD, two high monks from India, Ji Hu Chan Shi and Lian Huasheng Da Shi, introduced the Xianmi and Xianmi teachings. Of course, the original Tibetan region also had its own local religious belief called (Bon). After the introduction of Buddhism, Buddhism and Bon culture also merged to varying degrees, forming today's Tibetan Buddhism, the solemn and sacred Budala Palace, the living Buddha who promised to come back to enlighten sentient beings, as well as various mysterious methods of practice, and so on. Emphasis on practical repair, coupled with the support of celebrities and big names from all walks of life, is now a very large branch.

Speaking of Southern Transmission, I would like to share a few historical milestones for everyone to understand.

1-- About seven days after the Buddha's nirvana, the voice of dispute began to appear in the monks' group. The great elders, such as Da Jiaye and Ananda, were worried that the huge monks' group did not have a unified "view" that the Buddha's Dharma would be misinterpreted in a hundred years. So they gathered 500 Arhats who had personally heard the Buddha's teachings, and worked out the name of "Sutra Theory" one by one in the way of questions from the Venerable Gaye, answers from the elders, and no objection from 500 monks. Because it was recorded in Pali language at that time, it was also called Pali Sanzang.

2--Around 110 years after the extinction of the Buddha, an elder from the west of India passed by a city called Pisheli on the east side. He saw a monk praying for money from the lay people and stepped forward to stop him. He immediately declared to the public that this was against the Buddha's teachings. Unexpectedly, before he could finish speaking, he was carried out by the monks in the city. After returning to the west, the elder realized that if the precepts collapsed, Buddhism would decline and be destructive to Buddhist disciples. He organized 700 great monks who had access to the Pali Tripitaka to come to Pisheli, and also used a two person dialogue to let the 700 monks jointly testify and proclaim to the four directions to drive away evil and uphold Buddhism. This elder's name is Venerable Yashe.But after the second assembly, the monks who were defined as non Buddhist organized their own assembly, and from then on, the concepts of Mahasanghika and Presbyterianism officially emerged. Laying the groundwork for greater division in the future.

3-- In the third time, 235 years after the extinction of the Buddha, during the reign of King Ashoka, in addition to the Elder's Department and the Public Department that had been separated, it was said that more than 80 sects had been separated, and a large number of heretics had also infiltrated the monastic community, giving rise to various pretexts to pray for finances from the people. King Ashoka, a devout Buddhist, Buddha, saw this and planned the third gathering, which was attended by 1000 elders who had knowledge of the Tripitaka scriptures. Once again, he traced the origins and organized a team led by nine senior ministers to spread the Dharma to various places. There were two teams that spread the Dharma to southern India, namely, Venerable Xunaga and Venerable Yudora, who departed from ancient Jindi (Myanmar, Laos, Thailand). It was the most difficult to reach India. Venerable Mahamahi of Sri Lanka, due to the unique geographical location and regional stability of these two regions, later became the preserved Theravada Buddhism, Practitioners focus on studying the Tripitaka scriptures and pass them down from generation to generation in a highly dogmatic and conservative manner. What do dogmatism and conservatism mean? Do as the Buddha says, and do not add what the Buddha has not said. They believe that during the first gathering of the 500 great monks, they had already made Buddhist ideas, methods of practice, and related precepts very clear, and that it was enough to follow them according to the law. In order to ensure the purity of the Dharma, they refused any form of modification. Finally, this inheritance was successfully developed into a niche group in Buddhism today. Speaking of Hinayana or the lack of universal love... In the study of Theravada culture, I found that there is no concept of Hinayana and Mahayana. Practice is to first cultivate oneself, otherwise there is no ability to transcend others. This is a common understanding.

​As mentioned above, although they are of the same lineage and origin, the way they are presented after the fusion of time and regional culture is different. There should be no fundamental differences in doctrine. Practice revolves around the four sacred truths of understanding the cessation of suffering and seeking the path to enlightenment, also known as the cessation of suffering and enlightenment. If one breaks away from this, they are considered an external path. I think there is no difference in who is right or wrong, it's just a difference in their degree of completeness. Buddhists should humbly learn from the strengths of each school, so that we can have a more complete understanding of Buddhism, which is helpful. What makes people mistakenly believe that there are differences and conflicts here is mostly caused by the non Buddhist practices disguised as Buddhist teachings. They often have a common characteristic of being neither monks nor Taoists (both, like, but not really), which is prevalent nowadays. As early as the Buddha's time in the world, he had already taught everyone the method of discernment, known as the Three Dharma Seals: impermanence in all actions, suffering in all leaks, selflessness in all phenomena, and practice for only one purpose - Nirvana and Silence. Other than that, it is not Buddhism. Due to time constraints, we will discuss it later.