III.

Organization

Theravada organization is in principle based on the original instructions of the Buddha as laid down in the Vinaya Pitaka, the compendium of 227 rules for monastic discipline that forms part of the Tipitaka. Since the sangha is the core institution of Buddhism, its structure is the basis of Theravada organization. Theravada monks were traditionally criticized by Mahayana believers for being too concerned with their own salvation and for indifference to the lay community. Theravada doctrine holds that only a monk can attain nirvana and that the laity can only aspire to be reborn as a monk after many reincarnations spent discharging the burden of karma (intentional action that determines one's future destiny). However, in some countries, especially Myanmar and Thailand, young men are placed in monasteries temporarily as part of their education, thus fostering lay involvement in the sangha.

Most countries with large numbers of Theravada adherents exhibit strong historical ties between the Buddhist hierarchy and the government. In such countries, Ashoka's beneficent propagation of Buddhism has been accepted as the exemplar of wise and legitimate government and as a precedent for state involvement in religious affairs. The state and the sangha are often seen as complementary and mutually supportive, ministering respectively to the secular and religious needs of the people. The temples themselves are loosely coordinated in most Southeast Asian countries, with little in the way of formal hierarchy between them. In early Sri Lankan Buddhism, a short-lived and limited practice of clerical marriage developed, and charge of particular temples was passed from father to son.

Theravada has a notable tradition of forest-dwelling hermits who exist outside the monastic organizations. In contrast to Mahayana Buddhism, since about ad 500, Theravada has had no orders of Buddhist nuns. There is limited participation in the sangha by women and lay people, who generally wear white robes and take up asceticism (self-denial) without entering a monastic order.