What are major differences in other Buddhist traditions?

The Question

What is the difference between Jodo Shinshu, Mahayana, Hinayana, etc.

My answer

Thank you for your question.

In your question, you are mixing 2 different things: Schools of Buddhism (also called sects) like Jodo Shinshu and branches of Buddhism like Mayahana and Hinayana.

You can find more details about each in the links above.

Now, I do not talk about Hinayana on the site because it is not really a form of Buddhism.

The two main forms are Theravada and Mayahana. The first is called the teaching of the elders or the small vehicle and the latter is called the Great Vehicle.

Theravada is mostly practiced in the following countries:
Nepal,India, Sri Lanka,Cambodia, Laos,Burma,Thailand and Bangladesh.

The scope of this website is Japanese Buddhism so we do not talk about Theravada Buddhism since it is not in Japan (it might be practiced by some individuals but is not main stream in Japan).

Mahayana Buddhism is mostly practiced in the following countries:
China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, and Mongolia.

Some of the major schools of Mahayana Buddhism are Zen, Pure Land (Jodo and Jodo-shin shu, etc.) Tendai, and Nichiren.

The Esoteric Buddhist traditions of Shingon, Tendai and Tibetan Buddhism are considered forms of Mahayana but are also sometimes called Vajrahana or the Diamond vehicule because it is different from other schools.

I hope this answers your question and please use the search function at the top of the site to look for other answers on the site.

Hugo