Question: “In the Lotus, Buddha speaks of three vehicles that were inferior; the Lotus being the culmination of these teachings. Please explain. Thanks”
The Buddha taught the Dharma to the people according to their understanding/intelligence capacity. Buddha first preached the various provisional teachings, or the three vehicle teachings, as an expedient means to help people develop the capacity to understand and receive the one vehicle teaching; the vehicle of Buddhahood. In the Lotus Sutra, he declares that the earlier teachings have been set forth as expedient means to prepare people for the teaching of the sutra, which is the supreme vehicle of Buddhahood, the goal of the Buddhist practice. This concept is expressed as the replacement of the three vehicles with the one vehicle.
The Three Vehicles mentioned in the Lotus Sutra represents the Sravakas, Pratykabuddhas, and Bodhisattvas.
Sravaka means “hearer” or “disciple.” Sravakas are of the “four assemblies”: monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen. So we, as lay followers, would be considered a Sravaka.
Pratykabuddha is a Buddha “on their own.” These are the people who find Enlightenment on their own without a teacher teaching the Dharma. If we didn’t have Sakyamuni Buddha as our teacher and we found Enlightenment, we would be a Pratykabuddha. A Pratykabuddha is one of three types of enlightened beings. The other two are Arahats, those who have found liberation out of the cycle of Samsara; and Samyaksambuddhas, which is similar to Pratykabuddhas as far as finding Enlightenment on their own, but Samyaksambuddhas preach the Dharma they discovered, whereas Pratykabuddhas don’t. The Historical Sakyamuni Buddha is considered a Samyaksambuddha.
Bodhisattva is anyone who has great aspiration to cultivate compassion, Bodhicitta, and attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. Becoming a Bodhisattva is the goal in Mahayana and Tibetan Buddhism; to be reborn an infinite amount of times to liberate all sentient beings from Samsara. A Bodhisattva works on the Six Perfections, Paramitas: Generosity, Patience, Virtue, Effort, Meditation, and Insight (Wisdom).
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