No More Small Vehicle

I think everybody in Taiwan is used to the terms of Great Vehicle and Small Vehicle. Somebody even think Chinese Buddhism belongs to Great Vehicle while Japanese Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism belong to Small Vehicle. It’s not doubtful for the teaching from our educational system. You know, our Taiwanese Buddhism is basically routed from China, which is under the spreading area of the so-called Great Buddhism. So, the teaching from our educational system is full of the self-centered theory from the so-called Great Buddhism.

Before discussing this topic, we must previously know something between Great and Small.

Don’t you think Great is far better than Small from the words themselves?

Don’t you think nobody would confess he himself is far smaller than the other?

Logically looking into it you can find something controversial must had happened between these two groups, and find the word Great is for self-esteemed in one side, and Small is a word for this side to ridicule the other side. Ok, now you must already know you are the Great side, your side used to criticize the other side being so small on their actions or even their practices. It was an argument or a quarrel. Publically announcing the other side is so small or something itself is a kind of literally attacking. I believe you are not meaning to criticize they are so small when you are using the term of Small Buddhism. Am I wrong? Then, please forget the term. It is not necessary to repeat and repeat the critical word our ancestors used to cite in quarrels.

You know, Great is a good word so it still is being used nowadays, but Small is not a good word so it is not used now. Please see the article followed.

Great Buddhism, whose original term is Mahayana, pursues the path of seeking complete enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings, also called "Bodhisattva Vehicle.( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahayana)

And, the so-called Small Buddhism is not really that small. Actually they are called Theravada, literally means "the Teaching of the Elders". It is relatively classical and conservative, being closer to early Buddhism than the other.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theravada)

By the way, Japanese Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism all belong to Great Buddhism.

However, Tibetan Buddhism has been further developing to a special way, called Vajrayana, or Tantric Buddhism, being a complex and multifaceted system of Buddhist thought and practices which evolved over several centuries in Tibet.( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajrayana)

My point is don’t use the term Small Vehicle any more.