What are the three major schools of Buddhism?

The three major schools of Buddhism are China Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism and Southern Buddhism.

1, Buddhism in China: Buddhism was first introduced to China in the Western Han Dynasty, and there are some sayings in history, such as "teaching the scriptures in one village" and "seeking dharma in Yongping". "Teaching Buddhist Scriptures in One Village" is a kind of Buddhist Scriptures taught to the upper class by western diplomats at the end of the Western Han Dynasty. "Yongping Seeking Dharma" was in the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, when Emperor Hanming sent personnel to the west to seek Dharma. From the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Buddhism developed rapidly and there were many temples. "Four hundred and eighty temples in the Southern Dynasties were in misty rain." This shows the grand occasion of Buddhism at that time.

After the Han, Jin, Sui and Tang Dynasties, Buddhism merged with China's traditional ideology and culture, and gradually formed a religion with distinctive China characteristics, and the center of Buddhism gradually shifted to China.

Of course, it has also experienced quite complicated contradictions and running-in processes. Before the Tang Dynasty, it was basically the stage of the spread and development of Buddhism. After the Song Dynasty, especially in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the general trend of Buddhism declined and merged with folk beliefs and Confucianism and Taoism. After more than 2,000 years of development, Buddhism has become an important part of China's traditional culture. At present, there are more than 10,000 monasteries, more than 50,000 monks and nuns, and many lay people at home.

2. Tibetan Buddhism: Tibetan Buddhism is mainly popular in Tibet, Yunnan, Sichuan, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Gansu, Inner Mongolia and other provinces, and is widely believed by Tibetans, Mongolians, Yugurs, Menba, Lhoba and Tu.

Buddhism was introduced into China and Tibet around the 7th century, and it was introduced from Chinese mainland and India respectively at the same time, which was influenced by Chinese mainland Buddhism and Indian Buddhism. After a long-term struggle and mutual influence with the local Bonism in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, ethnic and regional religions (namely Tibetan Buddhism) adapted to the local social and historical conditions have gradually formed, and Ma Ning (commonly known as Red Religion) and Sakya Sect have formed.

Then it spread to Mongolia and other ethnic areas, reaching its peak in the18th century. In China, there are Tibetan, Mongolian, Tu, Yugur, Menba, Barrow, Qiang, Xibe, Nu and Naxi ethnic minorities who believe in Tibetan Buddhism. At present, there are more than 3,000 temples in Tibetan Buddhism, with 0.4 million monks and nuns/kloc-0 and nearly 2,000 living buddhas.

3. Southern Buddhism: Buddhism in Southern Buddhism, China is mainly distributed in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture. Dehong autonomous prefecture. In Simao, Lincang and Baoshan areas, most of the Dai, Bulang, Achang and Wa people believe in Southern Buddhism.

Buddhism of the Upper Seats, also known as Bali Buddhism (commonly known as Hinayana Buddhism), was introduced to Xishuangbanna, China in the early 6th century. After long-term coordination with local traditional religions, it flourished in16th century. At present, there are more than 1.3 million religious believers. There are 1700 temples, more than 2,000 monks and nearly 6,000 Misha.