Editing Theravada (section)

===Distinction between lay and monastic life===
Traditionally, Theravāda Buddhism has observed a distinction between the practices suitable for a [[Householder (Buddhism)|lay person]] and the practices undertaken by ordained [[Bhikkhu|monks]] (in ancient times, there was a separate body of practices for nuns). While the possibility of significant attainment by laymen is not entirely disregarded by the Theravāda, it generally occupies a position of less prominence than in the [[Mahayana|Mahāyāna]] and [[Vajrayana|Vajrayāna]] traditions, with monastic life being hailed as a superior method of achieving [[Nirvana (Buddhism)|Nibbana]].<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.asiasocietymuseum.org/buddhist_trade/glossary.html#Theravāda|title=Glossary of Buddhism|work=Buddhist Art and the Trade Routes|publisher=[[Asia Society]]|year=2003|access-date=17 September 2010}}</ref> The view that Theravāda, unlike other Buddhist schools, is primarily a monastic tradition has, however, been disputed.
{{blockquote|Some Western scholars have erroneously tried to claim that Mahāyāna is primarily a religion for laymen and Theravāda is a primarily monastic religion. Both Mahāyāna and Theravāda have as their foundation strong monastic communities, which are almost identical in their regulations. Schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism without monastic communities of fully ordained monks and nuns are relatively recent and atypical developments, usually based on cultural and historical considerations rather than differences in fundamental doctrine. Both Mahāyāna and Theravāda also provided a clear and important place for lay followers.|Ron Epstein, "Clearing Up Some Misconceptions about Buddhism"<ref>{{Citation |last1=Epstein |first1=Ron |year=1999 |title=Clearing Up Some Misconceptions about Buddhism |journal= Vajra Bodhi Sea: A Monthly Journal of Orthodox Buddhism |pages=41–43 |url=http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/Misconceptions%20about%20Buddhism.htm}}</ref>}}{{dead link|date=May 2023}}

This distinction between ordained monks and laypeople&nbsp;– as well as the distinction between those practices advocated by the Pāli Canon, and the folk religious elements embraced by many monks&nbsp;– have motivated some scholars to consider Theravāda Buddhism to be composed of multiple separate traditions, overlapping though still distinct.  Most prominently, the anthropologist [[Melford Spiro]] in his work ''Buddhism and Society'' separated Burmese Theravāda into three groups: Apotropaic Buddhism (concerned with providing protection from evil spirits), Kammatic Buddhism (concerned with making [[Merit (Buddhism)|merit]] for a future birth), and Nibbanic Buddhism (concerned with attaining the liberation of [[Nirvana (Buddhism)|Nibbana]], as described in the Tipitaka). He stresses that all three are firmly rooted in the Pāli Canon. These categories are not accepted by all scholars, and are usually considered non-exclusive by those who employ them.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

The role of lay people has traditionally been primarily occupied with activities that are commonly termed ''[[Merit (Buddhism)|merit-making]]'' (falling under Spiro's category of kammatic Buddhism). Merit-making activities include offering food and other basic necessities to monks, making donations to temples and monasteries, burning incense or lighting candles before images of the Buddha, chanting protective or scriptural verses from the [[Pali Canon]], building roads and bridges, charity to the needy and providing drinking water to strangers along roadside. Some lay practitioners have always chosen to take a more active role in religious affairs, while still maintaining their lay status. Dedicated lay men and women sometimes act as trustees or custodians for their temples, taking part in the financial planning and management of the temple. Others may volunteer significant time in tending to the mundane needs of local monks (by cooking, cleaning, maintaining temple facilities, etc.). [[Pariyatti|Study of the Pāli scriptures]] and the practice of [[Buddhist meditation|meditation]] are less common among the lay community in the past, though in the 20th century these areas have become more popular to the lay community, especially in Thailand.

[[File:Monk on pilgrimage.jpg|thumb|Thai monks on [[pilgrimage]] in their orange robes]]
A number of senior monastics in the Thai Forest Tradition, including [[Buddhadasa]], [[Ajahn Maha Bua]], Ajahn Plien Panyapatipo, [[Ajahn Pasanno]], and [[Ajahn Jayasaro]], have begun teaching meditation retreats outside of the monastery for lay disciples. [[Ajahn Sumedho]], a disciple of [[Ajahn Chah]], founded the [[Amaravati Buddhist Monastery]] in Hertfordshire, which has a retreat center specifically for lay retreats. Sumedho extended this to Harnham in Northumberland as [[Aruna Ratanagiri]] under the present guidance of [[Ajahn Munindo]], another disciple of Ajahn Chah.{{citation needed|date=November 2017}}