I have studied in both schools of Buddhism and find them both valuable. With a broad brush, here is how I’d describe my take on the two schools. Keep in mind, I’m not a scholar just a Buddhist practitioner.
I love the emphasis on the sacredness of this world in the Mahayana. You find a lot of inspiring, lovely art in the Mahayana world. Theravada is somewhat world denying. It doesn’t allow monastics to practice the musical arts for example. In Zen, there is an emphasis on the arts as a form of practice. Arts are not a form of practice in Theravada.
On the other hand, the practice of meditation in the Theravada path is gentler in the vipassana meditation centers that I have attended than in the Zen centers. I feel that I can become more aware and centered in the softer environment that the vipassana centers offer.
