ANSWERS: 3
  • There is no universal leader for Buddhism. Buddhism is divided into two main schools, Mahayana (greater vehicle) and Theravada/Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle), which differ greatly in teachings from each other. Mahayana Buddhism is found in places such as China, Tibet, Mongolia and Vietnam. It has absorbed many aspects of the traditional religions of the countries it is practiced in. Theravada is found in Sri Lanka and South East Asia. It too has absorbed much from the pre-existing cultures. The leader we are most familiar with is the Dalai Lama of Tibet, but even amongst Tibetans, the Dalai Lama does not represent all Buddhism. He is the head of the Gelug or Yellow Hat stream of Tibetan buddhism. There are four main streams of Buddhism in Tibet, nine subdivisions, and only the Yellow Hat acknowledges the Dalai Lama. The others have their own leaders on a national and regional level.
  • There are some prominent Buddhist teachers and leaders: the Dalai Lama, Ticht Naht Hanh, Joseph Goldstein... it's a pretty long list really. But there's no central organization responsible for Buddhism, certainly nothing equivalent to the Catholic church and Pope in structure. Buddhism doesn't emphasize the roles of leaders -- the true leader is yourself: it's your job to do the work of awakening, to learn how ignorance and fear and greed produce suffering, and to free yourself from the bonds of past conditioning. Nobody else can do that work for you, so the value of a leader is limited.
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