THE THREE VEHICLES AND TWELVE DIVISIONS OF THE DHARMA

THE THREE VEHICLES AND TWELVE DIVISIONS OF THE DHARMA

Taking a look at the Tripitaka, to transmit the dharma (path of rightness) is to turn the wheel of dharma. The dharma of One mind is the supreme vehicle. This verse describes the three vehicles and the twelve divisions of the teaching; their corresponding attainments and attributes.

English Tripitaka - The Lotus Sutra

[Chapter Twenty-four] - Bukkyō - The Buddha’s Teaching [161-168]

[161] The three vehicles: “First, the vehicle of the śrāvaka,”18who attains the way [of bodhi] through the Four Truths.19The Four Truths are the truth of suffering, the truth of accumulation, the truth of cessation, and the truth of the Way. Hearing these and practicing these, [śrāvakas] traverse and attain release from birth, aging, sickness, and death; and they realize the ultimate parinirvā a.20 The assertion that “In the practice of these Four Truths, suffering and accumulation are secular while cessation and the Way are paramount”21is the view and opinion of teachers of commentaries. Providing that [the Four Truths] are practiced in accordance with the Buddha-Dharma, the Four Truths are each of “buddhas alone, together with buddhas,” the Four Truths are each “the Dharma abiding in the place of the Dharma,” the Four Truths are each “real form,” and the Four Truths are each “the buddha-nature.” For this reason, they are utterly beyond discussion of “being without the nature,” “non-becoming,” and so 108c forth—because the Four Truths are each “completely beyond necessity.”

[163] “Second, the vehicle of the pratyeka buddha,”22 who attains parinirvā athrough twelvefold dependent origination.23“Twelvefold dependent origination” means: 1) ignorance, 2) action, 3) consciousness, 4) name and form, 5) the six senses, 6) contact, 7) feeling, 8 ) love, 9) taking, 10) coming into existence, 11) birth, 12) aging and death. While practicing these twelve causes, causing dependent origination to occur in the past, present, and future, we take causes one by one and—though not discussing a subject who reflects or an object that is reflected—we investigate them in practice, at which time they are the turning of the wheel of “complete non-necessity”24 and they are causes as “complete non-necessity.” Remember, if ignorance is the one mind, then action, consciousness, and so on are also the one mind. If ignorance is cessation, then action, consciousness, and so on are also cessation. If ignorance is nirvana, then action, consciousness, and so on are also nirvana. Because appearance is also disappearance, we make such assertions as these.25Even “ignorance” is a word that speaks. “Consciousness,” “name and form,” and so on are also like this. Remember, ignorance, action, and so on are “I have an axe and would like to live with you on [this] mountain.”26 Ignorance, action, consciousness, and so on are “When I set out, I received the master’s permission and now I would like to receive the axe.”27

[165] “Third, the vehicle of the bodhisattva,” who accomplishes anuttara samyaksa bodhi through the teaching, practice, and experience of the six pāramitās. The meaning of this “accomplishing” is beyond “becoming,” beyond “non-becoming,” beyond “initiation,” beyond “new creation,” beyond “age-old creation,” beyond “original practice,” and beyond “non-doing”: it is just to accomplish anuttara samyaksa bodhi. “The six pāramitās” means dāna-pāramitā, śīla-pāramitā, k ānti-pāramitā, vīrya-pāramitā, dhyāna pāramitā, and prajñā-pāramitā. 28Each of these is the supreme state of bodhi, and is beyond discussion of “non-birth” and “non-becoming.” We do not always see dāna as the first and prajñā as the last. A sutra says, “A keen 109a witted bodhisattva [can] see prajñā as the first and dāna as the last. A dull witted bodhisattva [only] sees dāna as the first and prajñā as the last.” At the same time, k ānti might also be first, and dhyāna might also be first. There might be thirty-six realizations of the pāramitās—from [each] trap, a trap being realized.29 The meaning of “pāramitā” is the far shore having arrived. The far shore is beyond the semblance or trace of going or coming, but its arrival is realized.30Arrival is the universe: do not think that practice leads to the far shore. Practice exists on the far shore; therefore, if we are practicing, the far shore has arrived—because this practice invariably is equipped with the power of realization of the entire universe.

[168] The twelve divisions of the teaching (the sutras; also called the scriptures):31

1) Sūtra—here32 called “original scriptures”;33

2)Geya—here called “praising over again”34(praising of a sutra in verse);35

3)Vyākara a—here called “affirmation”; 36 (here [also] called “[verses] other than

4)Gāthā—here called “chants” geya:”37 they are like the poems and poems of praise of this region);38

5) Udāna—here called “spontaneous preaching without being asked”39 (“Sutras that are spontaneous preaching without being asked”: Sacred human beings generally wait to be requested to preach the Dharma, but [in this case] they become unsolicited teachers of living beings, and so [the preaching] is spontaneous preaching without being asked. Again, the Buddha-Dharma is so difficult to know that it is called “unaskable.” If it is not preached spontaneously, the many will not know it. In preaching for others, still again, [sacred ones] may not know what Dharma to preach for others. Therefore, they preach spontaneously without being asked, in order thereby to manifest preaching so profound that is only realized in experience. Thus, by means of spontaneous preaching without being asked, [sacred ones] manifest what is to be disclosed);

6) Nidāna—here called “[accounts of] causes and circumstances”40 (“Sutras of causes and circumstances” aim to clarify the method of the precepts and to show, on the basis of violations, what a transgression is. When the form of a transgression is evident, it is possible properly to establish discipline. This [division] also, through causes and circumstances, clarifies what is to be disclosed);

7)Avadāna—here called “parables”41(avadāna);42

8)Itiv ttaka—here called “past episodes”43(here called “accounts as they occurred”44or called “past episodes”); 9) Jātaka—here called past lives45 (The events in “past lives” describe 109b tales of deeds performed in former lives as a bodhisattva. The events in “past episodes” describe various concurrences in former ages);

10) Vaipulya—here called “the exact and the wide”;46

11)Adbhuta-dharma—here called “the unprecedented”;

12)Upadeśa—here called “discussion of doctrine.”