[FONT="]Theravada Buddhism is "Conservative" if by that we mean closest to the "Original" and sticking to the Tipatakas. But as far as tangible proof goes, there is no evidence that actually connects the Tipatakas to the actual Buddha, and there was no such thing as an "Original" Buddhism. There was what may be considered primal Buddhism which was one of many schools of thought that was born out of India's ancient Age of Enlightenment (circa 500bc).
In essence this "primal Buddhism" was a reactionary school of thought to Hinduism and it was a reconfiguration of the much older memeplex of right hand Shaivism. Every major component of what became known as Buddhism was and can still be found in the much older Shaivism down to the very familiar image of a bikkhu seated in the lotus asana in an orange saffron robe with knotted/dred-locked hair. This image has been found in cave drawings and as statues pre-dating the Buddhism and depicts Shiva as Maha Yogi - the Lord of Meditation.
The Three Jewels of Buddhism, 1) Buddha; 2) Dharma; & 3) Sangha can also be found as memetic components of the much older Shaivism. The conspect of "reincarnation" of course is not unique to any school of Buddhism; neither is the concept of "karma."
Theravada Buddhism is conservative in theory and sutras only. It is altogether very different in Practice. This is one aspect of Therevada Buddhism which an outsider or someone not born in a Southeast Asian culture will find hard to grasp.
To people from the West a "religion" to them brings up ideas of a holy book, a religious teacher, followers, rules to be followed, and a set of beliefs followers adopts. This "occidental" approach to "religion" makes it so that an Occidental person can go shopping for a religion of their choice, and then pick and choose what teachings and doctrines to adopt. Such an approach to "religion" also puts the "religion" in jeopardy of validation when the religious leader's existence or the religious teachings are questioned.
For someone like me who was born and raised in Theravada Buddhism (the Khmer & Thai variety) our Buddhism has nothing really to do with what things I have mentions that preoccupies a Western mind. I had a direct great grandfather who was the "Samdach Preah Sangh" of Thailand who past away at the age of 90 something in the late 1990's. I'm not sure how to explain what a Samdach Preah Sangh is in Southern Buddhist culture. The three words means "Holy/Sacred (preah) King (samdach) (Lok)Sangh." A Loksangh is the word for a Monk, Lok meaning "Sir" or "Lord" and Sangh is the dialectical variant of Sangha. Which is "Lobsang" in some Tibetan translations.
Basically the Samdach Preah Sang is to Thailand's Theravada Buddhism what the Dalai Lama is to Tibetan Buddhism; generally speaking, because we all know there are many Sangha with different traditions. Or my mom says he's "like the pope of sasna Preahput Theravada." I'm not sure if the Samdach Preah Sang the spiritual leader of all of Theravada Buddhism or not. If you ever go to a Thai restaurant (in California at least) you'll see an altar with a Buddha they offer food and incense to. This altar usually has a picture of the King of Thailand and a picture of a very old wrinkly Monk. That very old wrinkly monk was the Samdach Preah Sang.
I never saw any kind of "Buddhist Bible." We never went to the Wat (temple) every week to be taught any lessons. I have a ton of grand fathers (great uncles) and uncles who arre monks, and the only thing that comes close to religious teachings are the 5 rules which you uphold. That's called "Gan Dharm" in Khmer (pronounced "Gan Tore") which means to Hold the Law. I can't remember the five Dharms in order
but they go something like: 1) Don't Kill People; 2) Don't Steal ****; 3) Don't Lie; 4) Don't be a wino; and 5) Don't be a ****. They didn't say it like that exactly, but that's what they meant.
The only time I ever heard monks chanting the Sutras was at the Wat before we fed them, at wedding ceremonies, at social gatherings, and at funerals. The chantings were all in Pali so I (and they just went on and on for hours) and I don't understand a word they are saying. In fact its an "inside joke" for everybody I know who was born and raised in Theravada Buddhism to laugh and crack jokes asking if somebody died or if we hear that very familiar monotonous droning of monks
Or as we say it, "did somebody go to Srok Barang (France)?"
To me my Buddhism was and is or are temples, robed monks, social gatherings, weddings, family funerals, naming of new borns, my Buddhism is in how I live my life. When I say that I mean how my relationships are between everybody I know and vise versa. Our Buddhism is in the relationships. That of mother and daughter. Grandmother and grandchildren. Grandfather and clan. About the new relationships when one of us gets married. About passing relationships with those we once knew who have past on. Our Buddhism is in what we do for each other, the devotion and compassion between family, relatives, and others of our Culture. Our Buddhism is embedded in the language we speak, or in the dialect or register we speak. Where every other word defines such relationships, bonds, and loyalties. Where every other word infers and implies and causes us to understand such concepts as compassion, relief, empathy.
So in this way, when you are born and raised a Theravada Buddhist, or more accurately, in a Theravada Buddhist Culture, there is no difference between the "Buddhism," the language, the Way of Life, the Culture, the People, and the Family. It's all just an amorphous living whole to which you are a living part of.
In this way such things that would plague an outsider like the question of whether the Buddha was real or not, or if he indeed did dictate the Tipatakas is very irrelevant . These things makes no impact or difference because with or without the Buddha, Our Buddhism is already a living culture, as it has been for 2500 numinous years.
Being a living part of a living Theravada Buddhist Culture and Way of Life, someone like me has no choice or option to convert, revert, or divert to or from some "Buddhism" because that Buddhism is your culture, your parents, and the people you know. There is no need to question and debate some "Buddhism" because there is only Culture and a way of life. One can question and debate the philosophical meme of "Compassion as a means to reduce suffering," but how can I question or debate about the validity, truth, and ramifications of my mother and grandmothers loving me and providing for me to keep me happy, and my reciprocation of such Compassion, Love, and Devotion?
Besides this there are other Practices in the living Theravada Buddhist Culture that is not found written in the Sutras, because the Theravada Buddhism of the 100 million adherents is a hodge-podge of very old indigenous and ancestral things.
There is something we practice which is what Westerners would label as "ancestor worship." We usually have a home altar with a Buddha statue and a picture of a direct relative who has passed on such as your parents or something. We burn 3 sticks of sandalwood incense (always 3 in Theravada Culture), and we offer drinks and food and fruits to those ancestors (always in pairs, meaning two cups of coffee, two bananas, two packs of cigarettes if your grandpa smoked, and so on).
This is because of a much older belief that the spirits of your ancestors lingers to care for you... as opposed to the belief that spirits reincarnate. To explain this very different incompatible belief of what happened to us when we die, we are commonly (not via the Sutras) taught that each person has at least two spirits, one that lingers to take care of their living relatives, and one that goes to become a new person.
(Part One)...[/FONT]
