Buddhism is a big umbrella term that includes a diverse set of belief systems that don't always have a lot to do with one another. A big split is between the Mahayana and Theravada sects, with the latter having a literal interpretation of canon and generally being stricter and more traditional, and the former being more flexible, and sometimes blurring the line between religion and philosophy. My perspective is Mahayana-centric as I have only really studied Zen. Both traditions have some of the same stories as canon which often involve supernatural elements such as talking animals and flying monks, and the Mahayana tradition interprets them metaphorically and also includes some stories that are known to be anachronistic just because the message holds up. There's also a difference in what roles women are allowed to hold, with Mahayana being more equal. Note that both of these terms also include a whole bunch of subcategories so I'm painting with a very broad brush.
There have been some not-so-great things in the Mahayana tradition such as Zen leaders supporting Imperial Japan and a number of famous figures in the US being sex pests (and I assume the Buddhist monastery in this story is Mahayana since they're westerners), so I don't wanna gloss over that. However, the countries around SE Asia that you're talking about tend to be from a completely different tradition from the Buddhism that most westerners are familiar with.
Buddhism is a big umbrella term that includes a diverse set of belief systems that don't always have a lot to do with one another. A big split is between the Mahayana and Theravada sects, with the latter having a literal interpretation of canon and generally being stricter and more traditional, and the former being more flexible, and sometimes blurring the line between religion and philosophy. My perspective is Mahayana-centric as I have only really studied Zen. Both traditions have some of the same stories as canon which often involve supernatural elements such as talking animals and flying monks, and the Mahayana tradition interprets them metaphorically and also includes some stories that are known to be anachronistic just because the message holds up. There's also a difference in what roles women are allowed to hold, with Mahayana being more equal. Note that both of these terms also include a whole bunch of subcategories so I'm painting with a very broad brush.
There have been some not-so-great things in the Mahayana tradition such as Zen leaders supporting Imperial Japan and a number of famous figures in the US being sex pests (and I assume the Buddhist monastery in this story is Mahayana since they're westerners), so I don't wanna gloss over that. However, the countries around SE Asia that you're talking about tend to be from a completely different tradition from the Buddhism that most westerners are familiar with.