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Theravada (also Theravada Buddhism) noun [mass noun] the more conservative of the two major traditions of Buddhism (the other being Mahayana), which developed from Hinayana Buddhism. It is practised mainly in Sri Lanka,Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos.
ORIGIN from Pali theravâda, literally ‘doctrine of the elders’, from thera ‘elder, old’ + vâda ‘speech, doctrine’.
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