Theravada

See also: theravāda

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Pali theravāda, 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 and Cambodia. It tends to be conservative in contrast to the more liberal Mahayana, rejects the existence of gods, and teaches non-universal salvation.

Translations

school of Buddhism

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

  Mandarin: 小乘佛教 (xiǎo chéng fó jiào)

• Esperanto: Teravado
• Irish: Teireaváda m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 上座部 (じょうざぶ, jōzabu)
• Lao: ເຖລະວາດ (theelawaat)
• Lü: please add this translation if you can
• Portuguese: teravada m
• Thai: เถรวาท (th) (těe-rá-wâat)
• Tibetan: please add this translation if you can

Noun

Theravada (plural Theravadas)

1. A Buddhist of this particular school.