Theravada

See also: theravāda

English

Etymology

Transliteration of Pali theravāda, inherited from Sanskrit स्थविरवाद (sthaviravāda, literally “doctrine of the elders”), from स्थविर (sthavira, “elder”) + वाद (vāda, “doctrine”).

Proper noun

Theravada

1. (Buddhism) A sect of Buddhism, whose teachings are based on Buddha's scriptures in the Pali canon, widely practised in Southeast Asia, mainly in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar. It tends to be conservative in contrast to the more liberal Mahayana, rejects reliance on celestial beings, and teaches non-universal salvation.

Translations

school of Buddhism

• Bengali: থেরবাদ (therbad)
• Bulgarian: тхеравада (theravada)
• Burmese: ထေရဝါဒ (my) (htera.wada.)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 小乘佛教 (zh) (Xiǎochéng Fójiào), 南傳佛教／南传佛教 (Nánchuán Fójiào), 上座部佛教 (zh) (Shàngzuòbù Fójiào)

• Esperanto: Teravado
• Indonesian: Therawada
• Irish: Teireaváda m
• Isan: please add this translation if you can
• Japanese: 上座部 (じょうざぶ, jōzabu)
• Khmer: ថេរវាទ (theeriəviət)
• Lao: ເຖລະວາດ (thē la wāt)
• Lü: please add this translation if you can
• Malayalam: ഥേരാവാദ ബുദ്ധമതം (thērāvāda buddhamataṁ), സ്ഥവിരവാദം (sthaviravādaṁ)
• Marathi: थेरवाद (thervād), स्थविरवाद (sthavirvād)
• Portuguese: teravada m
• Shan: please add this translation if you can
• Tamil: தேரவாதம் (tēravātam), ஸ்தவிரவாதம் (staviravātam)
• Telugu: థేరవాదం (thēravādaṁ)
• Thai: เถรวาท (th) (těe-rá-wâat)
• Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: Thượng toạ bộ

Noun

Theravada (plural Theravadas)

1. A Buddhist of this particular school.