Examining the Differences Between Traditional and Modern Buddhism

This essay provides a comprehensive comparison between Traditional and Modern Buddhism, also known as secular Buddhism. It explores key differences in beliefs, practices, and philosophies, including the contrasting views on samsara, karma, and the concept of Nirvana. The essay highlights the hierarchical structure of traditional Buddhism versus the egalitarian approach of modern Buddhism. It examines how they perceive the Buddha, the role of meditation, and the interpretation of scriptures. Furthermore, the essay discusses the varying approaches to Buddhist teachings, including the cost of training, and concludes by emphasizing the significant gap between traditional and modern Buddhist beliefs. The core focus of the essay is to analyze the differences in the key aspects of both sects of Buddhism.

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Difference Between Traditional and Modern Buddhism
Buddhism is considered to be among the world’s major religions. Siddhartha Gautama,
known as ‘The Buddha’ founded Buddhism in India (Gross, 166). This was more than
2500years ago. Buddhism has largely been adopted in the east and south east of Asia.
There has been a crossway between Buddhism and other faiths. In the west, Buddhism
dictates that one does not have to believe in something or follow rules in order to be a
Buddhist. Rather, the only thing one should do is to be compassionate and have a
peaceful state of mind which is achieved through quiet meditation ( Chia, 141). There
exist different Buddhist sects in the west such as Theravada Buddhism, Zen Buddhism,
Pure land Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism (Ditrich, 200). All these sects have a good
number of differences. However, the most sparkling differences exist between traditional
Buddhism and modern Buddhism, also known as ‘secular Buddhism’.
Traditional Buddhism tend to expose a strong belief in samsara, which means the
cycle of life, death and rebirth. It focuses on the reality of future and past lives, while
stating a probability of nirvana. Nirvana is a supernatural state in which there is neither
suffering, desire, nor sense of self. A belief in karma also exists in samsara, which refers to a
belief in cause and effect, but not a punishment people believe gets to someone when they do

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something ‘bad’. As opposed to traditional Buddhists, modern/secular Buddhists are focused on
this life only (Murphy, 277). They do not believe in the cycle of life, death and rebirth. Any
belief they have in karma is limited to actions taken in the current life rather than their impact to
the past or future lives.
The sects of traditional Buddhists tend to be arranged in a hierarchical order. The
Buddhists who have had more experience or those who are more educated are more respected,
and their advice is taken more seriously than those who have had little experience or are less
educated (Nilsson, Håkan, and Ali, 14). On the other hand, modern/secular Buddhists hold the
doctrine that all people are equal and should therefore be treated equally, and be provided with
equal opportunities. Secular Buddhists tend to make decisions on just and fair stands, or on
democracy grounds such as voting.
Secular/ modern Buddhists hold a view of the Buddha as one who has awakened and
knows the truth. Their perception is that there are many Buddhas and every person has the
potential to be the awakened one. However, their knowledge about these other Buddhas is
limited, and they may mistake other statues for that of ‘the Buddha’. In addition, they view
statues of ‘the Buddha’ as symbols, but not as deities they should worship or pray to. They view
Buddha as a teacher crowned with greatness and may channel down his messages. On the other
hand, traditional Buddhists talk and have a higher regard about other Buddhas. They discuss and
pass knowledge on how ‘the Buddha’ manifested his powerful self in different occurrences and
places on the earth (Park, 824). The traditional Buddhists view ‘the Buddha’ as a teacher
crowned with unique qualities. Some traditional Buddhists view the Buddha as a deity.

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Like psychologists, secular Buddhists aim at making people peaceful, happy and
contented. When a person is going through a tough time, their therapeutic advice is for them to
take a quiet short meditation, for them to figure out how to improve their current difficult
situations. For example, how to make their life or experiences at work more enjoyable, or how to
improve their sex life. Traditional Buddhists rarely practice meditation. Infact, they focus on
karmic rituals with the intention of securing a rebirth which is favorable. Buddhists' beliefs such
as four noble truths, three characteristics and twelve Nidanas are perceived as important and are
taken with a lot of seriousness and thought. Secular Buddhists view the three characteristics
(impermanence, suffering and non-self) as a therapeutic formula that can be used to live a
healthier and happy life, rather than ontological concepts that can be achieved through attainment
of absolute liberation (Nilsson, Håkan, and Ali, 17).
Other differences between traditional and modern Buddhism include differences in
beliefs in scripture, where traditional Buddhists view and hold scriptures with respect and high
regard while secular Buddhists are quick to disagree or challenge any scripture they do not
conform with. Finally, in terms of the cost of Buddhist teachings, traditional and modern
Buddhism exhibit a difference in that traditional Buddhists do not charge for teachings; they are
freely given while today, secular Buddhists give training for money.
In conclusion, the differences clearly show the vast gap that exists between the traditional
Buddhist beliefs and the modern secular Buddhism. In the current world, the topics of focus
among secular Buddhists are compassion and mindfulness. Traditional Buddhists focus on
attaining Nirvana and karma.

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References
Chia, Jack Meng-Tat. "Toward a modern Buddhist hagiography: telling the life of Hsing Yun in
popular media." Asian Ethnology74.1 (2015): 141.
Ditrich, Tamara. "Buddhism between Asia and Europe: The concept of mindfulness through a
historical lens." Asian Studies 4.1 (2016): 197-213.
Gross, Rita M. "Teaching Buddhist History to Buddhist Practitioners." Teaching Buddhism: New
Insights on Understanding and Presenting the Traditions (2016): 166.
Murphy, Anne. "Mindfulness-based therapy in modern psychology: Convergence and divergence
from early Buddhist thought." Contemporary Buddhism 17.2 (2016): 275-325.
Nilsson, Håkan, and Ali Kazemi. "From Buddhist sati to Western mindfulness practice: A
contextual analysis." Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social
Thought 35.1-2 (2016): 7-23.
Park, Jin Y. "Philosophizing and Power: East–West Encounter in the Formation of Modern East
Asian Buddhist Philosophy." Philosophy East and West 67.3 (2017): 801-824.