The word came to be extended to refer to any means used to ease or speed travel: hence such meanings as "vehicle", "carriage", "vessel", "wagon", "ship", and so on, depending on context. "Vehicle" is often used as a preferred translation as the word that provides the least in the way of presuppositions about the mode of travel.
In spiritual uses, the word yāna acquires many metaphorical meanings, discussed below.
1.33 And then the Lord came to the River Ganges. And just then, the river was so full that a crow could drink out of it. And some people were looking for a boat, and some were looking for a raft, and some were binding together a raft of reeds to get to the other side. But the Lord, as swiftly as a strong man might stretch out his flexed arm or flex it again, vanished from this side of the Ganges and reappeared with his order of monks on the other shore.
1.34 And the Lord saw those people who were looking for a boat, looking for a raft, and binding together a raft of reeds to get to the other side. And seeing their intentions, he uttered this verse on the spot: ::'When they want to cross the sea, the lake or pond, ::People make a bridge or raft - the wise have crossed already.'
These two verses are meant to teach that all vehicles, teachings and doctrine are skillful means (Skt.upāya).
) represented in Bamar fashion, her 'vehicle' or 'mount' (Skt: vahana) is the hamsa often rendered into English as swan, and holding scriptures of the Tipitaka, by the Sarasvati River.]]
Man is to be known in three ways:
As inferior, mediocre and excellent.
He who by any means whatsoever
Provides for the pleasures of Saṃsāra
For himself alone,
Is called an inferior man.
He who turns his back to the pleasures of the world
And abstains from evil deeds,
But provides only for his own peace,
Is called a mediocre man.
Empowerment, initiation, intention and endeavour may leaven capacity and propensity as may a ful benediction of a person (in the sense of mindstream), object or place endowed or invested with holiness. In the teaching story abovementioned, Shakyamuni Buddhi and his sangha traverse the continuum directly in the body of their own experience rather than constructing a gradual vehicle for passage.
The devayāna and evolved from the ancient Rig Vedic concern for immortality to the classical Hindu concern with ending existence. The , which comment on the Vedas, make further reference to devayāna and . Among other distinctions, the pitryana was said to refer the religious practices of villagers, and the devayāna was said to refer to the practices of recluses living in the forest. The (II.iv.11 and IV.v.12) also makes reference to ekayāna, notably in the phrase , where ekayānam connotes "destination". The phrase translates approximately to "the one destination of the Vedas is the spirit of the word", in the same sense that a river's destination is the ocean.
The earliest explicit Buddhist use of -yāna in a metaphorical sense of a journey to awakening may be the term dhammayānam, "dharma chariot" (SN IV.4), where the vehicle itself serves as an extended metaphor for the Eightfold Path. Various parts of the chariot represent aspects of the Path (magga), e.g. axles represent meditation, the charioteer represents mindfulness, and so on.
Thus, metaphorical usage of yāna in the sense of a vehicle (as distinct from a path) emerged from a Buddhist context, and it did so relatively early in the evolution of Buddhism. Nevertheless, while the Pali Canon are very rich in images of wheels (cakka) and paths (magga) as metaphors for the journey to awakening, the Pali Canon rarely uses the term yāna for that purpose.
Katō et al. (1975, 2004: p. 89) render thus into English a tract of the Saddharma Puṇḍarīka pertaining to the cart of expedient means and the parable of the burning house:
"Śāriputra! Even as that elder, though with power in body and arms, yet does not use it but only by diligent tact resoutely saves[his] children from the calamity of the burning house and then gives each of them great carts made of precious things, so it is with the Tathāgata; though he has power and fearlessness, he does not use them, but only by his wise tact does he remove and save all living creatures from the burning house of the triple world, preaching the three vehicles: the śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, and Buddha vehicle.
In the parable, the carts are explicitly identified as corresponding to the three types of Buddha: the goat-cart represents the practices leading to the attainment of Śrāvakabuddhahood; the deer-cart, Pratyekabuddhahood; and the bullock-cart, Samyaksambuddhahood. The sutra goes on to say these that the teachings of the three vehicles are merely expedient means (upāya). Their purpose is to direct people toward ekayāna, the one vehicle, depicted in the parable as a jeweled cart driven by a white ox.
"Good sons! The Law is like water that washes off dirt. As a well, a pond, a stream, a river, a valley stream, a ditch, or a great sea, each alike effectively washes off all kinds of dirt, so the Law-water effectively washes off the dirt of all delusions of living beings.
"Good sons! The nature of water is one, but a stream, a river, a well, a pond, a valley stream, a ditch, and a great sea are different from one another. The nature of the Law is like this. There is equality and no differentiation in washing off the dirt of delusions, but the three laws, the four merits, and the two ways§ are not one and the same.
"Good sons! Though each washes equally as water, a well is not a pond, a pond is not a stream or a river, nor is a valley stream or a ditch a sea. As the Tathāgata, the world's hero, is free in the Law, all the laws preached by him are also like this. Though preaching at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end all alike effectively wash off the delusions of living beings, the beginning is not the middle, and the middle is not the end. Preaching at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end are the same in expression but different from one another in meaning.
§ The three laws are the Four Noble Truths, the Twelve Causes, and the Six Pāramitās...; the four merits are srota-āpanna, sakṛdāgāmin, anāgāmin, and arhat...; and the two ways the Great-vehicle, or Mahayana, and the lesser vehicle, or Hinayana.
The stupid and those of little wit,
Those tied to externals,
And the proud cannot believe this Truth.
But now I gladly and with boldness
In the midst of (you) Bodhisattvas,
Straightway put aside expediency
And only proclaim the Supreme Way.
It was as expedient means
That I expounded a Three-Vehicle Law.
Let all be free of doubt and perplexity.
World-Honoured Ones, without exception,
Teach this Way: the One Buddha-yana.
(For) all Buddhas take the one vow:
'The Buddha-way which I walk,
I will universally cause all the living
To attain this same Way with me.'
Though Buddhas in future ages
Proclaim hundreds, thousands, kotis,
Of countless ways into the doctrine,
In reality there is but the One-Vehicle.
Some Mahāyāna sutras consider that the two vehicles together comprise the Hīnayāna – literally, inferior vehicle; sometimes, small vehicle. Modern texts sometimes refer to Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna as "two vehicles". But referring to an "inferior vehicle" is often felt to be disrespectful to those Buddhists who do not consider the Mahāyāna sutras to be the word of the historical Buddha. More commonly, Theravāda refers to most non-Mahāyāna Buddhists in today's world.
*Śrāvakayāna: The Hearer vehicle: A path that meets the goals of a Śrāvakabuddha, who achieves liberation after listening to the teachings of a Bodhisattva Buddha. If no Bodhisattva is present in the world, Śrāvakabuddhas do not discover the Dharma for themselves.
*Pratyekayāna or Pratyekabuddhayāna: The individual vehicle: A Solitary Buddha (Pratyekabuddha) achieves liberation, but does not teach other beings. Pratyekabuddhas do not depend on a teacher and can discover the dharma even if they do not encounter a Bodhisattva. They are sometimes said to remain silent and solitary.
* Bodhisattvayāna: The Samyaksambuddha attains liberation and wishes to benefit as many beings as possible. In order to aid others, they vow to remain in the world, and defer their chance to end the cycle of rebirth.
A second classification came into use with the rise of the Vajrayāna, which created a hierarchy of the teachings with the Vajrayāna being the highest path. The Vajrayāna itself became multilayered especially in Tibetan Buddhism.
*Hīnayāna
#Śrāvakayāna #Pratyekabuddhayāna #Bodhisattvayāna #Kriyayoga #Charyayoga (or Upayoga) #Yogatantra #Mahayoga #Anuyoga #Atiyoga #Semde #Longde #Mengagde
Category:Buddhist practices Category:Comparative Buddhism Category:Vajrayana
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