佛經最早並沒有文字流傳，佛陀的教說由僧伽們背誦下來，為確定大家記憶的內容沒有誤差，由僧伽長老們集合一處共誦經文並確認之，如此稱為「結集」，再由結集者分開傳給下一代。南傳佛教用巴利語流傳，直到西元前一世紀，才有真正的文字留下，而後南傳國家經過六次的經典結集，在巴典籍方面除了完備的經律論三藏，還有帙卷浩繁的注釋書、複注、史書、文法書等，為傳承佛陀法教的寶庫。
南傳佛教於實踐佛陀法教時有兩個佛教傳承，即禪修傳統及古典經院傳統。經院傳統是指對於教典、教理之制度化學習的系統，在南傳主要國家皆有三藏學院或佛教大學以及完整的分級考試制度。禪修傳統所依據為五部尼柯耶 ( 類似漢傳阿含部經典 ) 與《清淨道論》中講解的多種禪修方法，但更普遍的，當屬「內觀禪」。
南傳上座部之特質在於保持原始佛教傳統，嚴守佛陀時代留下的戒律，如托缽乞食、過午不食、雨季安居、不蓄鬚髮、不碰觸金銀貨幣，甚至嚴格的也有持守頭陀苦行等等。南傳與漢傳佛教於修持重點與生活雖有不同。儘管有這些不同之處，漢傳、南傳乃為佛陀教說的不同顯現，於三法印、四聖諦、八聖道、十二因緣觀與强調禪修等實踐修行上皆為一佛道，無分南北。況且現代的南傳國家亦開始走向菩薩道的社會實踐，而漢傳佛教亦更加重視日常禪修，南北之間的交流較以往尤為頻密，實有助於吸取各家之長，而廣學弘化。
(摘錄自《靈鷲山誌-宗統法脈卷》)
中文語音導覽
At the earliest, there was no literary passage in the Buddhist scriptures. The teachings of the Buddha were recited by the Sangha. There was no error in determining the content of the memory. The Sangha elders gathered together a verse and confirmed it. It is then passed to the next generation by the collectors. Theravada spread in Pali, until the first century BC, only the real words left, and after the Theravada country through six classic collections, in addition to the complete theory of the Pali Canon. Besides the Pali Canon, the voluminous annotations, re-notes, history books, grammar books are the treasures of the teachings of the Buddha.
Theravada features two traditions in the practices of Buddhist teaching, namely the traditions of meditation and classical sutra. The sutra tradition refers to the system of institutionalized learning of sacred texts and doctrine. In the main countries of Theravada, there are Tipiṭaka colleges or Buddhist universities with comprehensive grading and examination systems. The meditation tradition is based on five Nikaya (similar to Agama ). The various meditation methods are explained in Visuddhimagga written by the ancients. But, more generally, it belongs to an " Vipassana Meditation".
The essence of Theravada Buddhism is to maintain original Buddhist traditions and strictly observe the precepts left by Buddha during his time, such as daily alms, not eating past noon, vassa, not growing a beard, not touching gold or silver currency, and even strict and conservative as due to ascetics and so on. Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism differ in their emphasis in practice and lifestyle. Despite these differences, the Mahayana and Theravada versions are just different manifestations of the Buddha's teachings. Moreover, the modern day Theravada countries have also begun to lean towards the social practices of Bodhisattva, and Mahayana has paid more attention to daily meditation. The exchanges between the North and the South are more frequent than in the past, which helps exchange and absorb the strengths of each family.
English Audio Guide
