The Sanskrit and Pali word yana means “vehicle.” Bearing a comparable sense to the Hindu word marga and Chinese Tao, it is used to describe the path or journey to enlightenment. In Buddhism there are three broad schools: (1) Mahayana, “The Great Vehicle”; (2) Hinayana, “The Small Vehicle” (as regarded by Mahayana Buddhists); and (2) Vajrayana, “The Vajra Vehicle.”
It is quite likely that it was the Lotus Sutra which began the tradition of likening alternative paths to enlightenment with vehicles used to transport goods or people from one place to another.
Mahayana Buddhism, as epitomised in the Lotus Sutra, is literally “The Great Vehicle.” Mahayana Buddhists looked down on earlier Pali-based approaches to enlightenment, dubbing them “The Small Vehicle”, that is, Hinayana.
In the various schools of Buddhism there are three distinct paths to enlightenment or vehicles. There is the path to enlightenment pursued by the ascetic monk, sometimes called the Voice-Hearer Vehicle. There is the path to enlightenment pursued by one who seeks to become a Buddha for his own benefit, the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, and there is the path to enlightenment adopted by bodhisattvas, called the Buddha Vehicle (Buddhayana).
The Lotus Sutra represents the view that the Triyana, the Three Vehicles, are, in reality, but one vehicle, Buddhayana. The Buddha Vehicle is one and the same as the overall teaching of the Lotus Sutra. Consequently, the Lotus Sutra treats the Three Vehicles as provisional. It is all the same whether people attain enlightenment by hearing and applying the Buddha’s sermons or they they attain it by their own effort or by following the path of the bodhisattva.
In Chapter 2 (Skilfulness) we read:
By means of one sole vehicle, to wit, the Buddha-vehicle, Sariputra, do I teach creatures the law; there is no second vehicle, nor a third…For Sariputra, all the Tathagatas…who in times past existed in countless, innumerable spheres in all directions for the weal of many, the happiness of many, out of pity for the world, for the benefit, weal, and happiness of the great body of creatures, and who preached the law to gods and men with able means…have preached the law to creatures by means of only one vehicle, the Buddha-vehicle, which leads to omniscience…And those creatures, Sariputra, who have heard the law from the past Tathagatas…have all of them reached supreme, perfect enlightenment.
This all amounts to the claim that the Lotus Sutra is the ultimate authority which will lead people to the ultimate experience. It promises omniscience to those who attain enlightenment through the Lotus Sutra. Effectively, this is a promise that people can make themselves into gods. All of this is based on the assertion that there have been countless Buddhas (Tathagatas) in countless past ages who taught the Lotus Sutra. There is not a shred of historical support for this and no way of being able to substantiate this in any objective way. On what basis should I or any other person believe this?
Posted March 15, 2010
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