| DIFFERENCES | Theravada | Mahayana |
| The Buddha | Only Gautama Buddha and past Buddhas | Sakyamuni Buddha, Amitabha and Medicine Buddha |
| Would-be Buddhas | Only Maitreya bodhisatta | Maitreya, Avalokitesvara, Mansjuri, Ksitigarbha and Samanthabadra |
| Main Objective | Arahant or full enlightenment ultimately. | Buddhahood (via Bodhisattva) |
| Buddhist scriptures | Pali Canon consisting of 3 baskets (Tipitaka) |
Tripitaka |
| Geography | Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Laos and Cambodia, mainly | Tibet, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, mainly |
| Main Script | In Pali | In Sanskrit |
| Nibbana (Nirvana) | No distinction is made between Nibbana attained by a buddha and that of an arahat or pacceka buddha. |
There are subtle distinctions in the level of attainment for the three situations. |
| Bardo (Interim stage after death) | not accepted | Accepted |
| One meal a day practice | Yes for Monks (plus breakfast in some countries nowadays) | Variable |
| Buddha nature | Not known | accepted |
| Next Birth if not fully enlightened | Rebirth | Rebirth or Reincarnation |
| SIMILARITIES | ||
| The Four Noble Truths | similar | similar |
| The Eightfold Path | similar | similar |
| The Paticca-samuppada or the Dependent Origination | similar | similar |
| Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta | similar | similar |
| Sila, Samadhi, Panna | similar | similar |
| Supreme God Conept | rejected | rejected |