The accepted answer to What teachings do all schools of Buddhism share? includes Compassion, the Triple Jewel, the Four Noble Truths, the Eight-fold Way, Dependent Origination, the Three Marks of Existence, the 37 Factors of Enlightenment, and more.
It also implies that Mahayana acknowledges one Path of Purification (visuddhi-marga):
- Is that one Path the same (or basically the same) as The Visuddhimagga which Wikipedia says is "the 'great treatise' on Theravada Buddhist doctrine written by Buddhaghosa approximately in 430 CE in Sri Lanka"?
Furthermore, accepting that there's one "Path of Purification", the Wikipedia article titled "Buddhist Paths to liberation" seems to suggest that there's almost a different Path for each tradition.
- Is this a reliable article?
- Does it properly list the various schools/tradition and accurately summarize their paths?
When I've read elementary/contemporary/English-language introductions to various schools (e.g. Zen Flesh Zen Bones for zen), or visited a Chinese-in-Canada Mahayana temple, or dimly remember a Westerner writing a century or more ago about Tibetan/Mongolian beliefs and practices, they seem to have little in common with each other: e.g. Zen seems to be about being spontaneous or 'original', Chinese about things being better in the Pure Land, Tibetan about the cycle of rebirth.
- Is it true, as stated in these Notes, that for all Buddhist traditions, the "Noble Eightfold Path is considered to be the essence of Buddhist practice"?
The article on Tibetan Buddhism begins, "Tibetan Buddhism comprises the teachings of the three vehicles of Buddhism: the Foundational Vehicle, Mahāyāna, and Vajrayāna" where 'Foundational Vehicle' links to the article on "Hinayana".
- Do the practioners of various schools know, are they taught, what the Hinayana doctrine is, and do they accept it a "foundational"?