"The first consideration concerns the Vinaya definition of a schism in the Saṅgha. A schism occurs when members of a monastic community can no longer remain together or carry out the formal activities of the Saṅgha as a single body. The Vinaya gives a precise definition. When monastics living within the same ecclesiastical boundary fall… Continue reading WHAT DEFINES A “SCHISM” AND “A SCHOOL” IN THE BUDDHIST MONASTIC COMMUNITY? The origins and division of the eighteen schools of Buddhism, the four factions that emerged, definitive historical texts of the Northern and Southern Traditions, and the Chinese translation by Xuanzang