"World Honored One! If there are no differences between the three vehicles, why does the Tathagata teach the Three-Vehicle Dharma to all sentient beings?"

 

Quote:

“At that time, Saint Manjushri, the Dharma-prince Bodhisattva, said to the Buddha, ‘World Honored One! If there are no differences between the three vehicles, why does the Tathagata teach the Three-Vehicle Dharma to all sentient beings, and why does the Tathagata say that this vehicle belongs to the sound-hearers’ teachings, this vehicle belongs to the solitary-realizers’ teachings, and this vehicle belongs to the bodhisattvas’ teachings?’

The Buddha said to Manjushri, ‘The three-vehicle teachings expounded by all Tathagatas are meant to demonstrate the various grounds (attainments), but not in the vehicles; the three-vehicle teachings expounded by all Tathagatas are meant to delineate the differences between the myriad dharma signs (characteristics), but not between the vehicles; the three-vehicle teachings expounded by all Tathagatas are meant to explain the differences among humans, but not between the vehicles; and the three-vehicle teachings expounded by all Tathagatas are meant to display little merits so as to know immense merits. In the Buddha Dharma, there are no differences between the vehicles. Why? This is because the nature of the dharma-realm is not subject to differentiation. Manjushri! All Buddhas and Tathagatas teach the Three Vehicles to enable all sentient beings to enter the Tathagatas’ various gateways so that they can approach the Buddha Dharma, thereby allowing all beings to gradually enter the Tathagata’s Mahayana dharma door. This is similar to the notion of pursuing various crafts that need to be learned and practiced sequentially.’”

Bodhisattva-gocaropāya-visaya-vikurvana-nirdeśa, Vol. 2 

爾時聖者文殊師利法王子菩薩白佛言:「世尊 !若無三乘差別者,何故如來爲諸眾生說三乘法?而言此是聲聞學乘?而言此是緣覺學乘?而言此是菩薩學乘? 」 佛告文殊師利：「諸佛如來說三乘者，示地差別，非乘差別；諸佛如來說三乘者，說法相差別，非乘差別；諸佛如來說三乘者，說人差別，非乘差別；諸佛如來說三乘者，示少功德，知多功德，而佛法中無乘差別。何以故？以法界性無差別故。文殊師利！諸佛、如來說三乘者，令諸眾生悉入如來諸佛法門，令諸眾生漸入如來大乘法門，如學諸伎，次第修習。」

《大薩遮尼乾子所說經》卷二 

Remarks:

It was only for the purpose of expedient teaching that the Buddha Dharma was divided into three vehicles. There is essentially only one vehicle (ekayāna) the one and only single Buddha Vehicle pursued by the Mahayana practitioners of Distinctive Teaching, which already encompasses the Path to Liberation and the Path to Buddhahood.

For those who eagerly pursue liberation from the three realms, the Two-Vehicle Bodhi will first allow them to realize the fruit of liberation. Having realized the fruit of liberation, they will then believe that the Buddha’s words are true and that the Buddha Dharma is authentic and can be realized. Thereafter, practitioners of the Two Vehicles will dare to convert to the Great Vehicle to pursue the Buddha Bodhi Fruit of the Distinctive Teaching—that is, the knowledge-of-all-aspects (一切種智); pertaining to acquiescence to the non-arising of dharmas (無生法忍; wushengfaren).

Due to His compassionate intent and wisdom, the Buddha divided the single Buddha Vehicle into three parts, which seemingly vary as three modes of bodhi vehicles but in fact make up the one and only Buddha Vehicle. The teachings are not disconnected or divided into two or three parts. This denotes the true meaning of the final teaching of the Lotus Sutra.

#Buddha #lotussutra #wushengfaren #mahayana