by Khenpo Tashi
Yana (Sanskrit) means vehicle or wheel. As a vehicle, it symbolically carries one to a specific destination. It is different from the Turning of the Dharma Wheel.
When we mention these vehicles, many people say “O, I am busy. I cannot practice all these. What is the point of knowing this?”
Of course there is a point. It is like a ladder to Buddhahood. Buddhahood will sound “far” and “useless” in our daily life. So, let us think of how we buy a house. There is a process in buying a house.
First, we have the thought of buying a house. “To give us protection. To have an enjoyable time for our children and parents. For investment purpose”. Those motivate us. That is the first step.
Second, we form a perspective or viewpoint. “This house is not good, this house looks too small, this house is far away”. We can say all these things because we have a view, or an idea, of what the house will look like.
For instance, we want a house that is near our office. So, any house further than that we consider far, and we don’t like anymore. That is the view.
Third, we meditate on buying one. We think and rethink. We ask other people what the good and bad are. We compare different house advertisements. We sharpen or narrow our choices.
Fourth, we finally do the actions. We contact the architect. We call the construction suppliers. We visit the site. We have to be strict and disciplined, checking for leaks and cracks. There are a lot of actions to make the view a reality. This may be called conduct.
Finally, we have the physical house. That is the result.
Similarly, as Buddhists, we need to know how to get to Buddhahood. What are these steps? There are also five.
The steps:
- Motivation
- View
- Meditation
- Conduct
- Result
The First vehicle: Sravaka-yana
Meaning: ‘the vehicle of the hearer-listener’.
Motivated by renunciation to abandon Samsara. Taking one of the seven sets of Pratimoksha vows. Focus on moral discipline to purify one’s three ‘doors’ – bodily actions, speech and mind. They view anything made of the five aggregates (form, sensation, perceptions, mental formations, consciousness) as lacking a ‘self’.
They meditate in samatha according to the ‘9 stages of resting the mind‘ and in vipassana based on the ‘16 aspects of the Four Truths‘. They practice the 12 ascetic practices and abandon the two extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification.
They successfully abandon the emotional afflictions gradually, and eventually achieve the state of a “Foe-Destroyer”, the final of the eight Sravaka states.
The Second: Pratyekabuddha-yana
Meaning: ‘lone Buddha’.
Motivated and taking the same vows as the hearer-listener. They view what the Sravaka views. In addition, they also view each of the five aggregates as having no self on their own. However, they still believe in the ‘self’ of the smallest moments of consciousness.
They meditate especially on the forward order of the Twelve Interdependent Origination, which gives rise to Samsara. They also meditate on its reverse order, which ceases Samsara. They practice just like the Sravakas.
They achieve either the state of the parrot-like Pratyekabuddha or the rhinoceros-like Pratyekabuddha.
The Third: Maha-yana
Meaning: ‘great vehicle’.
Motivated by Bodhicitta (Mind of Enlightenment), taking all sentient beings into account and wishing to bring all of them to the state of full and complete Buddhahood (ie Samyaksambuddha). They take the Bodhisattva vows of aspiration and application. They view the Middle Way – both personal self and phenomena as created through 1) dependent origination, but 2) both lack an ‘independent self’.
They meditate on the inseparability of the Two Truths (Relative and Absolute Truths), and doing samatha and vipassana, focused on the ‘37 Factors of Enlightenment‘. They practice the Six Transcendental Perfections for their own benefit and the ‘Four Ways of Attracting Others’ for the benefit of others.
The result: they abandon the two obscurations (emotional and conceptual), realize the nature of all phenomena through two wisdoms (knowing all there is and knowing the nature). They attain Samyaksambuddha and the three bodies of the Buddha.
For casually explained meanings of the terms, check their respective articles.
What is Pratyeka-buddha-yana?
What is Mahayana?