The difference between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism?

: What’s the difference between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism?
One person told me that in Mahayana Buddhism you worship Buddha and in Theravada Buddhism you don’t believe in any gods. Which of the two branches would tolerate some or most of my Christian faith and tradition?

Answers and Views:

Answer by S.E.B
OK easiest way to describe things as being similar as the various Christian Sects.

From an outsider, MANY would have difficulties telling the difference between the more Evangelising Christian Sects from the more Orthodox ones.

Theravada and Mahayana are just _two_ Buddhist sects. Purelands is a third. Telling the difference is difficult to outsiders.

Both Christian and Buddhist Faiths, the differences are more importance to the followers.

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Answer by benmiami
Someone else with more knowledge can provide you with a detailed answer, but the following is just my understanding of the differences:

When Buddha first spoke of the Dharma, very few was able to grasp the meaning. So he started from the basics. This is Theraveda. He introduced the Middle Way (Four Noble Truths and Eight Fold Path), this talks about suffering, how to end suffering, leading to an ascetic life. The individual is able to enjoy deep meditation in an isolated place. The practioner will achieve Arhat at the end of this journey. Note, eventually an Arhat will become a Buddha too. Think of our Buddha as a Great Arhat.

Slowly, once people were able to have a strong foundation in the Dharma, he introduced the Mahayana. This talked about the Emptiness, the great compassion to save all beings, the great vows of numerous great boddhisattvas, all beings are related in our past. A few great boddhisattvas include Jinzo, Guan Yin, Mansujuri, etc…He talked about how boddhisattvas keep coming back to this Saha to guide sentient beings. The method is the Six Paramitas for a boddhisattva.

At the end, in the Lotus Sutra, he combined them three and said there isnt really any Theravada nor Mahayana. From the beginning, he was speaking about Buddha-hood but on a more simpler level. Beings aren’t equal on any level, he devised the paths (Theravda/Mahayan) base on their needs. The Buddha-hood is really the aim all this time. The famous quote to depict this is: “Buddha-hood, I have achieved. But for sentient beings, they are the Buddhas of the future.”