Create account

Log in

Article Talk

Read Edit View history

Search

Yana (Buddhism)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Yana (disambiguation).

Main page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Donate to Wikipedia Interaction Help About Wikipedia Community portal Recent changes Contact Wikipedia Toolbox Print/export Languages Catal Espaol Franais Hrvatski open in browser PRO version

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2008) Yna (Sanskrit and Pli: "vehicle") refers to a mode or method of spiritual practice in Buddhism, and in particular to divisions of various schools of Buddhism according to their type of practice.
Contents [hide] 1 Nomenclature, etymology and orthography 2 Teaching story and metaphor 3 Introduction and qualification of the term yana 4 Usage 5 Vedic origins of -yna as a spiritual journey 6 Yna in the Pli Canon 7 Enumeration of ynas in Mahayana texts 7.1 The three carts of expedient means: the parable of the burning house 7.2 The relationship of Dharma (Law) and Yana 7.3 Ekayna (one yana)
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

Part of a series on

Buddhism

History Dharm a Concepts Practices Nirva Traditions Canons Outline Buddhism portal

[show] [show] [show] [show] [show]

pdfcrowd.com

V T E

Hrvatski Latvieu Nederlands Polski Edit links

7.3.1 Saddharmapundarika Sutra 7.4 Two yanas 7.5 Three ynas 7.6 Four ynas 7.7 Five ynas 7.8 Six ynas 7.9 Nine ynas 7.10 Twelve yanas 8 See also 9 Notes 10 External links

V T E

Nomenclature, etymology and orthography

[edit]

In form, yna is a neuter action noun (comparable to an English gerund) derived from the Sanskrit root ymeaning "go" or "move", using any means of locomotion, by land or sea. Hence it may be translated "going", "moving", "marching, a march", "riding, a ride", "travelling, travel", "journey" and so on. The word came to be extended to refer to any means used to ease or speed travel: hence such meanings as "vehicle", "carriage", "vessel", "wagon", "ship", and so on, depending on context. "Vehicle" is often used as a preferred translation as the word that provides the least in the way of presuppositions about the mode of travel. In spiritual uses, the word yna acquires many metaphorical meanings, discussed below.

Teaching story and metaphor

[edit]

In the Mahparinibbna Sutta (1.33-34), Shakyamuni Buddha relates a profound teaching story on 'vehicles' of conveyance utilizing the sacred river Ganges, all of which may be engaged as a metaphor for "yana" and a gradual or direct path: 1.33 And then the Lord came to the River Ganges. And just then, the river was so full that a
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

pdfcrowd.com

crow could drink out of it. And some people were looking for a boat, and some were looking for a raft, and some were binding together a raft of reeds to get to the other side. But the Lord, as swiftly as a strong man might stretch out his flexed arm or flex it again, vanished from this side of the Ganges and reappeared with his order of monks on the other shore. 1.34 And the Lord saw those people who were looking for a boat, looking for a raft, and binding together a raft of reeds to get to the other side. And seeing their intentions, he uttered this verse on the spot: 'When they want to cross the sea, the lake or pond, People make a bridge or raft - the wise have crossed already.'[1][2] These two verses are meant to teach that all vehicles, teachings and doctrine are skillful means (Skt.upya).

Introduction and qualification of the term yana

[edit]

The Bodhipathapradpa of Atisha (980-1054 CE), quoted in Gampopa's (1079-1153 CE) Jewel Ornament of Liberation[3] rendered into English by Gnther, makes reference to people of three capacities: Man is to be known in three ways: As inferior, mediocre and excellent. [4] He who by any means whatsoever Provides for the pleasures of Sasra For himself alone, Is called an inferior man. [5] He who turns his back to the pleasures of the world And abstains from evil deeds, But provides only for his own peace, Is called a mediocre man. [5] He who seriously wants to dispel
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

pdfcrowd.com

All the misery of others, Because in the stream of his own being he has understood the nature of misery, Is an excellent man. [5] Yana is determined by capacity and propensity of the "precious human body" wrought by merit, not by a specific teaching or lineage, as Gampopa states: Therefore, because of the difficulty of its attainment, of the uneasiness of its breaking down, and of its great usefulness, we should think of the body as a boat and by its means escape from the ocean of Sasra. As is written: Standing in the boat of the human body, You should cross the great flood of misery. Since later this boat is difficult to get, Do not sleep now, you fool. [6] Empowerment, initiation, intention and endeavour may leaven capacity and propensity as may a graceful benediction of a person (in the sense of mindstream), object or place endowed or invested with holiness. In the teaching story abovementioned, Shakyamuni Buddhi and his sangha traverse the continuum directly in the body [7] of their own experience rather than constructing a gradual vehicle for passage.

Usage

[edit]

In Buddhism and Hinduism, both yna and mrga (road or path) are metaphors depicting spiritual practice as a path or journey. Ancient texts in both religions discuss doctrines and practices associated with various ynas . In Buddhism, yna often expands the metaphor of the spiritual path with the idea of various vehicles that convey a person along that path. The yna / mrga metaphor pervasive within Buddhism and other traditions is an analogue to the Chinese metaphor of the Tao: The Tao though is the Way as the endgoal and not just the art of wayfinding. The dialogic spiritual traditions of Indian and Chinese culture hold common cultural memes.[citation needed]

Vedic origins of -yna as a spiritual journey

open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

[edit]
pdfcrowd.com

The use of yna to use as a name or to refer to a spiritual journey may date to the gveda, possibly composed circa 1500 BCE, whose 10th Mandala makes several references to devayna, (translators usually render this as the "path of the gods" or similar) and one reference to pityna ("path of the fathers"). The first verse of the gveda's burial hymn (10.18) translates approximately as "O Death, take the other path, which is distinct from the way of the gods" (para mtyo anu parehi panth yaste sva itaro devaynt ). The "other path" is the pityna, referred to in hymn 10.2 and alluded to in 10.14 and 10.16. The devayna and pityna evolved from the ancient Rig Vedic concern for immortality to the classical Hindu concern with ending sasric existence. The Upaniads, which comment on the Vedas, make further reference to devayna and pityna. Among other distinctions, the pitryana was said to refer the religious practices of villagers, and the devayna was said to refer to the practices of recluses living in the forest. The Bhadarayaka Upaniad (II.iv.11 and IV.v.12) also makes reference to ekayna, notably in the phrase vedn vk ekaynam, where ekaynam connotes "destination". The phrase translates approximately to "the one destination of the Vedas is the spirit of the word", in the same sense that a river's destination is the ocean.

Yna in the Pli Canon

[edit]

Yna is one of ten suggested gifts (dana) that a lay person can appropriately give a monk or recluse, in the sense of providing a vehicle or transportation (e.g., see DN 7.33/PTS: A iv 59 and DN 10.177/PTS: A v 269). The earliest explicit Buddhist use of -yna in a metaphorical sense of a journey to awakening may be the term dhammaynam, "dharma chariot" (SN IV.4), where the vehicle itself serves as an extended metaphor for the Eightfold Path. Various parts of the chariot represent aspects of the Path (magga), e.g. axles represent meditation, the charioteer represents mindfulness, and so on. Thus, metaphorical usage of yna in the sense of a vehicle (as distinct from a path) emerged from a Buddhist context, and it did so relatively early in the evolution of Buddhism. Nevertheless, while the Pali Canon are very rich in images of wheels (cakka) and paths (magga) as metaphors for the journey to awakening, the Pali Canon rarely uses the term yna for that purpose.

open in browser PRO version

Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

pdfcrowd.com

Enumeration of ynas in Mahayana texts

Mahayana texts are very rich in images of vehicles that serve in metaphors for journeys to awakening.

[edit]

The three carts of expedient means: the parable of the burning house

[edit]

The tradition of Mahayana texts employing the image of different types of vehicles and conveyances as salient metaphor for the journey of novice to the awakening of adept may have begun with the Lotus Stra. The Lotus Stra holds a parable of a devoted father with three small children entranced in childhood play within the family home, oblivious that tongues of flame are ravenously engulfing the house. The father entices the children from the burning home with the half-truth gilded promise of special carts for each of them. The carts though are only an expedient means for luring the children from the house, somewhat like the advice to women to scream "fire, fire", when being raped to secure the attention and action of the selfconcerned passersby. Kat et al. (1975, 2004: p. 89) render thus into English a tract of the Saddharma Puarka pertaining to the cart of expedient means and the parable of the burning house: "riputra! Even as that elder, though with power in body and arms, yet does not use it but only by diligent tact resoutely saves [his] children from the calamity of the burning house and then gives each of them great carts made of precious things, so it is with the Tathgata; though he has power and fearlessness, he does not use them, but only by his wise tact does he remove and save all living creatures from the burning house of the triple world, preaching the three vehicles: the rvaka, pratyekabuddha, and Buddha vehicle. [8] In the parable, the carts are explicitly identified as corresponding to the three types of Buddha: the goat-cart represents the practices leading to the attainment of Arhatship; the deer-cart, Pratyekabuddhahood; and the bullock-cart, Samyaksambuddhahood. The sutra goes on to say these that the teachings of the three vehicles are merely expedient means (upya). Their purpose is to direct people toward ekayna, the one vehicle, depicted in the parable as a jeweled cart driven by a white ox.

The relationship of Dharma (Law) and Yana

open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

[edit]
pdfcrowd.com

Tamura et al. (1975, 2004: pp. 1415) render a section of the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings (Wu-liang-i ching) that relates the relationship of the Law (Dharma) and various teachings as fundamentally determined by the audience and context: "Good sons! The Law is like water that washes off dirt. As a well, a pond, a stream, a river, a valley stream, a ditch, or a great sea, each alike effectively washes off all kinds of dirt, so the Law-water effectively washes off the dirt of all delusions of living beings. "Good sons! The nature of water is one, but a stream, a river, a well, a pond, a valley stream, a ditch, and a great sea are different from one another. The nature of the Law is like this. There is equality and no differentiation in washing off the dirt of delusions, but the three laws, the four merits, and the two ways are not one and the same. "Good sons! Though each washes equally as water, a well is not a pond, a pond is not a stream or a river, nor is a valley stream or a ditch a sea. As the Tathgata, the world's hero, is free in the Law, all the laws preached by him are also like this. Though preaching at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end all alike effectively wash off the delusions of living beings, the beginning is not the middle, and the middle is not the end. Preaching at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end are the same in expression but different from one another in meaning. [9] The three laws are the Four Noble Truths, the Twelve Causes, and the Six Pramits...; the four merits are srota-panna, sakdgmin, angmin, and arhat...; and the two ways the Great-vehicle, or Mahayana, and the lesser vehicle, or Hinayana.

Ekayna (one yana)

[edit]

Mahayana texts such as the Lotus Sutra and the Avatamsaka Sutra sought to unite all the different teachings into a single great way. These texts serve as the inspiration for using the term Ekayna in the sense of "one vehicle". This "one vehicle" became a key aspect of the doctrines and practices of Tiantai and Tendai Buddhist sects, which subsequently influenced Chn and Zen doctrines and practices. In Japan, the one-vehicle teaching of the Lotus Sutra also inspired the formation of the Nichiren sect.

Saddharmapundarika Sutra
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

[edit]
pdfcrowd.com

The stupid and those of little wit, Those tied to externals, And the proud cannot believe this Truth. But now I gladly and with boldness In the midst of (you) Bodhisattvas, Straightway put aside expediency And only proclaim the Supreme Way. It was as expedient means That I expounded a Three-Vehicle Law. Let all be free of doubt and perplexity. World-Honoured Ones, without exception, Teach this Way: the One Buddha-yana. (For) all Buddhas take the one vow: 'The Buddha-way which I walk, I will universally cause all the living To attain this same Way with me.' Though Buddhas in future ages Proclaim hundreds, thousands, kotis, Of countless ways into the doctrine, In reality there is but the One-Vehicle. [10]

Two yanas

[edit]

Traditionally, the two vehicles in Mahyna Buddhism consist of rvakayna and Pratekyabuddhayna. These in turn refer to doctrines and practices that supposedly aim at becoming two of the three types of Buddha. Mahyna Buddhists take a vow to become the third type, namely bodhisattvas. Therefore Mahayana Buddhist texts sometimes use terms like "followers of the two vehicles" to refer to Buddhists who do not accept the Mahayana sutras. Some Mahyna sutras consider that the two vehicles together comprise the Hnayna literally, inferior
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

pdfcrowd.com

vehicle; sometimes, small vehicle. Modern texts sometimes refer to Mahyna and Hnayna as "two vehicles". But referring to an "inferior vehicle" is often felt to be disrespectful to those Buddhists who do not consider the Mahyna sutras to be the word of the historical Buddha. More commonly, Theravda refers to most non-Mahyna Buddhists in today's world.

Three ynas

[edit]

Mahyna Buddhists often express two different schemata of three yanas. First, here are three paths to liberation that culminate as one of the three types of Buddha: rvakayna: The Hearer vehicle: A path that meets the goals of an arhat who achieves liberation after listening to the teachings of a samyaksambuddha (fully enlightened buddha). Pratyekayna or Pratyekabuddhayna: The Pratyekabuddha achieves liberation, but does not teach other beings. Pratyekabuddhas do not depend on a teacher and can discover the Dharma even if they do not encounter a buddha. They are sometimes said to remain silent and solitary. Bodhisattvayna: The bodhisattva attains liberation and wishes to benefit as many beings as possible. A bodhisattva who has accomplished this goal is called a samyaksambuddha. A samyaksambuddha can establish the Dharma and lead disciples to enlightenment. A second classification came into use with the rise of the Vajrayna, which created a hierarchy of the teachings with the Vajrayna being the highest path. [citation needed] The Vajrayna itself became multilayered especially in Tibetan Buddhism. Hnayna Mahyna Vajrayna

Four ynas

[edit]

Mahayana Buddhists sometimes refer to four yanas that subsume the two different schemes of the three yanas: rvakayna Pratyekayna
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

pdfcrowd.com

Mahyna Vajrayna

Five ynas
This is a Mahyna list which is found in East Asian Buddhism. Puruayna - the human vehicle. This is the very beginning of the spiritual path Devayna - the practice of ethics and meditation rvakayna - the practice of renunciation and the Four Noble Truths Pratyekayna - practice concerned with dependent arising (pratitya-samutpada) Bodhisattvayna - practice of the Six Perfections

[edit]

Six ynas

[edit]

The five ynas plus the Vajrayna. This schema is associated with Shingon Buddhism in Japan. It was invented by Kkai in order to help to differentiate the Vajrayna teachings that he imported from China in the early 9th century. Kkai wanted to show that the new teachings were entirely new. [citation needed]

Nine ynas

[edit]

The Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism has nine yanas, a list made by combining the first type of three yanas, and adding the six classes of tantras. Hnayna 1. rvakayna 2. Pratyekayna Mahyna consisting of: 3. Bodhisattvayna Vajrayna, consisting of: Outer Tantras 4. Kriyatantra 5. Upatantra (Tibetan spyod rgyud) practice tantra and the Ubhayatantra (gnyis kai rgyud),
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

pdfcrowd.com

dual tantra, because it practices the view of the next vehicle, Yogatantra, together with the action of the former. 6. Yogatantra Inner Tantras 7. Mahyoga 8. Anuyoga 9. Atiyoga (also Dzogchen) It is important to note that there are numerous untranslated portions of the Vima Nyingthig, Gongpa Sangtal, etc. that place the most secret unsurpassed cycle of Menngagde as a totally independent Buddhist vehicle outside the nine yanas.

Twelve yanas
Another schema associated with Mahyna and Vajrayna sources: 1. rvakayna 2. Pratyekabuddhayna 3. Bodhisattvayna 4. Kriyayoga 5. Charyayoga (or Upayoga) 6. Yogatantra 7. Mahayoga 8. Anuyoga 9. Atiyoga[11] 10. Semde 11. Longde 12. Mengagde

[edit]

See also
Navayana
open in browser PRO version
Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

[edit]

pdfcrowd.com

Vahana

Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Maurice Walshe (1995). The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Dgha Nikya. Boston: Wisdom Publications, "[DN] 16: Mahparinibbna Sutta: The Great Passing, The Buddha's Last Days," pp. 238-239. 2. ^ In Buddhist countries throughout Southeast Asia and the Himalaya, the crow is sacred as it voices the sacred syllable "Ah". The crow drinks of the river which is a metaphor for the continuum of mind, the mindstream. 3. ^ Dam chos yid bin nor bu thar pa rin po che'i rgyan 4. ^ Sgam-po-pa (author) Guenther, Herbert V. (trans) (1959, 1986). The Jewel Ornament of Liberation. Boston, Massachusetts, US: Shambhala Publications., Inc. ISBN 1-570-62614-6(pbk.) p.17 5. ^ a b c Sgam-po-pa (author) Guenther, Herbert V. (trans) (1959, 1986). The Jewel Ornament of Liberation. Boston, Massachusetts, US: Shambhala Publications., Inc. ISBN 1-570-62614-6(pbk.) p.18 6. ^ Sgam-po-pa (author) Guenther, Herbert V. (trans) (1959, 1986). The Jewel Ornament of Liberation. Boston, Massachusetts, US: Shambhala Publications., Inc. ISBN 1-570-62614-6(pbk.) p.19 7. ^ 'Body' is to be read as Trikaya. 8. ^ Kat, Bunn (translator); revised by: Soothill, W. E.; Schiffer, Wilhelm; Tamura, Yoshir (1975, 2004). 'The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law' (Saddharma-Puarka; Myh-Renge-Ky) in: Kat, Bunn; Tamura, Yoshir; and Miyasaka, Kjir; with revisions by: Soothill, W.E.; Schiffer, Wilhelm; and Del Campana, Pier P. (1975, 2004). The Threefold Lotus Sutra: Innumerable Meanings, The Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law, and Meditation on the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue. Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Co. ISBN 4333-00208-7 9. ^ Tamura, Yoshir (translator); revised by: Schiffer, Wilhelm; and Del Campana, Pier P. (1975, 2004). 'The Sutra of Innumerable Meanings' (Wu-liang-i-ching-hs) in: Kat, Bunn; Tamura, Yoshir; and Miyasaka, Kjir; with revisions by: Soothill, W.E.; Schiffer, Wilhelm; and Del Campana, Pier P. (1975, 2004). The Threefold Lotus Sutra: Innumerable Meanings, The Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law, and Meditation on the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue. Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Co. ISBN 4-333-00208-7. pp. 14-15 10. ^ Cittapala (1999). The Saddharmapundarika Sutra (abridged). Source: [1] (accessed: January 3, 2009) p.10 11. ^ The Sanskrit "Atiyoga" may be rendered as "primordial" (ati) "communion" (yoga) and is also known by the Sanskrit: Mahsandhiyoga and in Tibetan: Dzogpa Chenpo and often rendered as Dzogchen in English.

open in browser PRO version

Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

pdfcrowd.com

External links
Brahmana Sutra dhammayna)

[edit] (metta.lk) in Pali, Samyutta Nikaya IV.4 (scroll to middle of page, or Find... the word (scroll downto the 5th entry) Partial translation of

Simile of the Dhamma Chariot (Dhammayana) Samyutta Nikaya IV.4

Sanskrit Dictionary based on The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary of Vaman Shivaram Apte Enter yaana in the search box Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon Project . Enter yana in the search box , Chipstead, Pali Text Society, 19211925, Entry for yna in the Pali-English Dictionary The Nine Ynas by Alak Zenkar Rinpoche

Unification of the Twelve Ynas by Yutang Lin Buddhism: Three Ynas (Vehicles) Developing Buddhist Traditions in America and the West: The Seven Waves by Brett Greider
V T E

Buddhism topics

[show ]

Categories: Buddhist practices

Comparative Buddhism

Vajrayana

This page w as last modified on 13 March 2013 at 04:39. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. Contact us Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Mobile view

open in browser PRO version

Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

pdfcrowd.com