by Harvey Kraft
Sakamuni warned against total disassociation. Buddhas, he said, discerned between helpful and deleterious desires. They taught balance, because extremes were hiding places for illusion. Just as self-centered obsessions caused people to fall into the pit of narcissism, these Arhats obsessed with the erasure of all desires and their achievement of the state of transcendence unwittingly had fallen into a trap set by the wrathful wisdom-killer. Mara intended to undermine them by exploiting their hubris. He had entered their blind spot to administer the poison of pride.
For their protection Sakamuni had clarified that the attainment of Nirvana did not equate with Buddhahood. To protect disciples from prematurely arriving at the notion that they had reached Buddhahood, or believed they had, Sakamuni pulled in the reigns using the Paradox of Attainment. Some sages had experienced spiritual visions of such vividness and profundity that had he not done so, in all likelihood they would have mistaken their accomplishment for Buddhahood itself.
The danger of elitism had been learned from the proud Brahmin caste. Believing that their social status at birth equated with superior advancement along the path of spiritual evolution, illustrated the insidious danger of self-proclaimed spiritual supremacy. Against this background, the Buddha, declaring that Mara's best trickery was reserved for high achievers, cautioned them about assuming that they were immune from haughtiness. With that caveat in mind Sakamuni urged followers to be alert to the paradoxical trap inherent in erasing the self.
"You must never destroy all desires," he taught. "Learn to discern between healthy desires needed to accomplish growth, such as the desire for Perfect Enlightenment, and toxic desires, physical and spiritual, that could derail your mind from the path to Universal Truth."
He suggested that there was an inherent fallacy in pursuing emancipation as a goal meant purely for personal gain. If in gaining Nirvana one erased the Desire for Perfect Enlightenment, the self became vulnerable to Mara's poison. The protective cover from his sting, Sakamuni declared, was the Vehicle of Selflessness, which most of his practitioners of Learning and Realization did adopt. The combination of the Paradox of Attainment, acting as a break, and the Vehicle of Selflessness, as the accelerator, would keep disciples safe from the twin pitfalls of narcissism or pride. However, approximately ten percent of the attending Arhats, having become Worthy of Enlightenment, remained satisfied with their achievement of Heavenly Nirvana, forgoing the adoption of the Selfless Way.
These "intransigent followers" fell into the trap, concluding that they had obliterated the cycle of rebirth. Proud of their accomplishments after having worked so diligently to eliminate narcissism, they were convinced that in death their elevated consciousness would continue in the state of blissful Nirvana. Ironically, they acquired a stealthy arrogance particular to those who believed that they had totally conquered the self.
Did they not hear the Buddha say that in spite of the Paradox of Attainment one must continue a fervent desire for Perfect Enlightenment? Did he not urge them to adopt the practice of Selflessness that led towards Buddhahood, the most unselfish of desires?
Unfortunately, once they became Worthy of Enlightenment, some believed that they already reached the highest "attainable" form of Enlightenment available to mortal beings. No longer motivated to reach any higher, they found no reason to strive further. Having erased all desires, they were unable to muster the desire for Perfect Enlightenment. Their minds had detached from the mortal realm, comfortable in the state of non-birth.
ONE VEHICLE
The Buddha emerged out of trance closing the cosmic spectrum of mortal conditions. He turned directly to Sariputra and began to speak immediately making a profound declaration and a forthright challenge:
The infinite wisdom of the Buddhas is so profound and immeasurable and its gateways so difficult to understand and enter that not a single one of my disciples can comprehend it through the Vehicles of Learning or Realization."221
With these provocative words Sakamuni immediately challenged the assumption that his disciples had gone as far as he could take them. On his mind was the unveiling of the One Vehicle Dharma, the "infinite wisdom of the Buddhas," which Buddhas guarded from any distortion. Preaching it to Bodhisattvas he sought to inspire the advent of new Buddhas and the creation of new Buddha-lands in all directions throughout the Universe.
The World-Honored Ones, every one without exception,
all preach the Way of the One Vehicle.
Now before this great assembly
I must clear away all doubts and perplexities.
There is no discrepancy among Buddhas [as they all agree that]
there is only the One Vehicle, not more.
These World-Honored Ones have all preached
the Doctrine of the One Vehicle
that transforms countless living beings and causes them to enter
the Buddha Way.222
The One Vehicle Dharma was the Vehicle of Perfect Enlightenment. Across Cosmic Time, through countless Transmigrations, the opportunity to encounter this One Vehicle, even for a brief moment, was profoundly rare.
The Buddha knows the most rare and most difficult-to-understand Cosmology. [This Dharma] is the True Aspect of All Phenomena [its characteristics endowed within the pure Formless Field], which can only be understood and shared between Buddhas . . . This cosmology penetrated by the Buddha is profound and difficult to see; its meaning is too difficult to comprehend with words.223
Hearing this message, the wise Sariputra sensed a reticence among the four groups of male and female followers or householders. As he himself could not comprehend the unfathomable large-scale scope of such a vehicle, he implored Sakamuni for further explanation. The Buddha hesitated, stating that if he did so it would likely cause more confusion for those who no longer appeared to be desirous of any new Teachings.
Sariputra insisted that the audience was capable of believing whatever the Buddha said. The great majority of disciples had prepared for it. During numerous lifetimes of Transmigration, they advanced their studies under Buddhas. Now they were ready. Three times Sariputra implored the Buddha to accept that they were eager to embrace the One Vehicle.
I beg the Buddha to explain it for us.
What is the meaning of all this?
Please put forth your subtle and wonderful signals
and at this time explain to us how this reality works.224
Responding to the overwhelming sincerity of the appeal, the Buddha finally relented and agreed to expound. But before he could utter a word, two hundred Arhat Intransigents (Skt. icchantika) stood up, graciously bowed, and quietly filed out of the assembly without uttering a word.
They believed they had achieved what they had not achieved. They believed that they had understood what they had not understood. Yet, they failed to detect the elite haughtiness that had slipped in the night into their minds. Acting on the appeal and assurances of Sariputra, at the exact moment that the Buddha signaled that he would proceed with the Lotus Sutra, they retired of their own volition.
They symbolized why Buddhas would not preach the One Vehicle prematurely. This scene also explained why Buddhas could rely only on Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas to use the One Vehicle for the sake of enlightening others. In the grand scheme of things it was rare indeed to hear a Buddha preach the Lotus Cosmology, and those who would hear it, must be open to it.
He turned to Sariputra to explain:
The times when the Buddhas appear in the world are far apart and difficult to encounter . . . But this is why they appear in the world . . . to teach the One-Vehicle. There is no other Vehicle, not two or three. All tactful methods are for the sake of the One Buddha Vehicle, which all Buddhas teach throughout the Universe. And yet, even once they have appeared in the world it is still difficult for them to preach this [One Vehicle] Cosmology [before the time for doing so has ripened].
Throughout incalculable, innumerable eons it is rare for a person to hear this cosmology, and it is likewise rare fo
r a person to be capable of listening to this cosmology . . . If a person hears of this cosmology, delights and praises it, even if he utters just one iota of it, [his virtue would be the equivalent of] honoring all the Buddhas throughout past, present and future.
I employ only the One Vehicle to teach Bodhisattvas the Buddha Way; be advised that you disciples now listening are no longer a separate group from the Enlightening Ones . . . Because my cosmology is wonderful and difficult to ponder . . . other vehicles do not achieve my real purpose; there is only the One Buddha Vehicle.225
Sakamuni Buddha then embellished on this point with a parable about how difficult it was for a Buddha to get the attention of most human beings given their reflexive fascination with worldly things, or their relatively shallow evaluation of meaningful things. But, as he loved them like a father loved his children, it fell upon him to use certain devices to gain their attention and avert impending disaster.
His 'Parable of the Burning Mansion' described a human world on the verge of destruction.
A large old decaying "house" filled with vicious animals and death traps, caught fire. Inside, children engrossed at play were oblivious to all its dangers. Just then their father, the Buddha, returning home, saw the fire and cried out to them to run out, but engrossed in play they did not heed his call. Quickly he considered running into the house and carrying them out, but he knew that if he did so, they would learn nothing, and would soon return to their habitual obliviousness. He instantly devised an alternative course of action. Evoking his aspect as the Bhagava, the Lord Buddha, Dispenser of Sacred Goods, he shouted out, "Come out for a fun ride, my children! Out here I have your three favorite kinds of carts pulled by goats, deer, and oxen."
Their ears perked up. The promise of riding these delightful Three Vehicles caught their attention and they ran out to see. Unaware that they had been saved from the fire, they clamored for the carts. But instead of the vehicles they expected, for each child the Buddha-father conjured an ornate bejeweled cart pulled by a sacred white ox, representing the One Buddha Vehicle of the Lotus Cosmology.
Siddhartha Gautama must have remembered his Magi days when just such an "opulent cart drawn by a white ox" had been used in the annual Akitu Harvest Festival to carry a newly crowed king out of the Esagila Tower-Temple and through the Star-Gate of Ishtar. In this parable, he treated his children like newly crowned kings.
The "house on fire" symbolized the Saha world, the world where humans endured sufferings. This world was filled with dangers and its denizens were prone to vicious attacks, falling into pitfalls in the dark, and being burned alive by burning obsessions. In his earlier thesis on Cosmic Time, during the Cosmic Eon of Dissolution, Sakamuni had foreseen that eventually this world would end in a fiery conflagration. But before it did, after a period of spiritual decay, he predicted that humanity would achieve a time of peace and prosperity, an Age of Loving Kindness. The Parable of the Burning Mansion illustrated how that bright future would come about. In it the Buddha saved human beings from harm and decay and then gave them all the same gift symbolizing ultimate fulfillment.
The "Burning Mansion" also represented a human mind filled with distracting obsessions and decaying beliefs. The fire symbolized suffering. His calling out to the children to receive the Three Vehicles related the expedient use of his earlier vehicles for achieving liberation. But his substitution of an opulent white-ox cart in place of those vehicles referred to the gift of the One Vehicle.
Once they were out of danger, the parable concluded, he replaced the Three Vehicles of Salvation with the One Vehicle of Deliverance. This profound mythic story clearly differentiated Salvation from Deliverance, a major turning point in Buddhism, a distinction with paramount implications. This meant that the Buddha did not intend just to save people from suffering, but to deliver them into the higher consciousness of Perfect Enlightenment.
While he accepted that humans aspired to be rescued from a world of suffering, all along he kept in mind that he would bring them aboard the One Vehicle headed for the enlightened state of joy, peace, and wisdom. Salvation, in this regard, was a stage short of deliverance, but Deliverance included Salvation. This parable declared that the Buddha's ultimate purpose was the deliverance of humanity into Buddhahood.
The Buddha's goal was to empower humanity to evolve into a higher state of existence, not just to rescue humanity through some divine interdiction or supernatural force. This distinction between rescue and empowerment illustrated how good parents raised older children to become mature adults, as opposed to looking after the very young. His decision not to run into the house and carry the children out was based on his stance that Salvation by an external power would leave people feeling weak and dependent. Instead, he used the promise of Salvation as an incentive that would motivate them to action, in order to get them to safety. But, ultimately, his goal was to empower humanity with the One Vehicle of Deliverance that would put them in the driver's seat of Perfect Enlightenment.
For the sake of all beings through this parable I offer the One Buddha-Vehicle . . . If my children have this Vehicle, night and day for many eons, they will always be able to find enjoyment in it. They will ride this treasured Vehicle directly to the Lion-throne of wisdom, seat of Perfect Enlightenment.226
Herein Sakamuni, personified as the Savior of All Humanity, took on the aspect of the Father of Humanity, responsible for raising all beings to become parents themselves. For those who would be willing to put their life in his hands, the Buddha would open the gate to their eventual deliverance.
Sariputra approached Sakamuni with appreciation on behalf of all the disciples, who now understood in principle that the Buddha used the Three Vehicles to save them and now was getting ready to give them access to the One Vehicle. Referring to their continuing Transmigration together, Sakamuni reminded Sariputra that because of the mortal veil he and all current disciples had forgotten who they were in their past lives. He said that although in this life they practiced the Vehicles of Learning and Realization, in the remote past they had all been devoted Bodhisattvas.
The Buddha clarified that the actual reason he taught them to use skillful methods was to bring his "children" out of their mortal mindset to enable them to receive the One Vehicle of Deliverance, which, he told Sariputra, can be "boarded through faith alone."
Faith, in action, constituted a willingness to explore the unexplored and required trust, a confidence in the Buddha, knowing that he would never mislead them. Actionable faith was an attribute natural among Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas. Hearing the Buddha recall their Selfless achievements in past lives, Sariputra and all the disciples were stunned. Yet, in that moment, they felt their minds and hearts surge forward with a strong desire for exploring the unknown.
PREDICTIONS
Unable to remember past lives, the disciples of the Buddha did not know that in the course of Transmigration they all previously had practiced the Bodhisattva Way. But Sakamuni said that while they had forgotten, he did not. Therefore, they were qualified to become Buddhas.
Thus reminded that they possessed the credentials, the disciples were startled to learn that the Doctrine of Deliverance would apply to them. Feeling the need to dramatize the truth of it, the Buddha took the unprecedented step of prophesying the future enlightenment of his immediate disciples.
First, Sakamuni foresaw that in a future life Sariputra would be reborn as a Buddha named Bright Flower, Declarer of Truth, and at that time transform his world of followers into a Buddha-land called Free of Dirt. The wise Kasyapa would be reborn as a Buddha named Shining Light, Declarer of Truth, and during the Eon of Magnificent Adornments he will create the Buddha-land of Radiant Virtues; Subhuti would become Astounding Features Buddha, Declarer of Truth, and during the Eon of Manifesting Jewels he will create the Buddha-land Bejeweled Treasures. Next, he predicted the same for each of the Ten Foremost Disciples. Katyayana would be known as the Golden Light Buddha, Declarer of Truth; and Maudgalyayana would become E
vergreen Sandalwood Fragrance Buddha, Declarer of Truth.
The Sangha leader of women disciples, Mahaprajapati, was to be the Buddha Beheld with Joy by All Sentient Beings, and so on, he continued, until he had predicted Buddhahood for everyone in attendance.227 In conclusion he declared that anyone who ever boarded the One Vehicle, now or in the future, even if all they did was repeat just one phrase from the Lotus Sutra, they too would be assured of eventual Perfect Enlightenment:
Hearing the [Lotus] Cosmology I preach, even be it but one verse, All, without exception, will doubtlessly become Buddhas . . .228
Once the Buddha predicted their future Perfect Enlightenment, they joyfully accepted their unexpected destiny. Suddenly realizing that they all had inherited a legitimate claim to the realm of Buddhahood, the Foremost Disciples, representing all his listeners, told the Parable of the Missing Son229 to convey their gratitude to Sakamuni and to let him know that now they understood what they had failed to comprehend earlier.
In his youth a poor man suffering from amnesia had gone missing from his home. Having no recollection of his past, he became lost and fearful. To survive the wanderer sought odd jobs requiring hard labor. His father searched for him everywhere but to no avail. Eventually, the father moved to a different land where he became a prosperous landowner. The father (a metaphor for the Buddha) amassed a great "property" with huge grain-producing fields and farm animals. Many devoted laborers worked on his vast land, and his treasury bulged with gold, silver, lapis lazuli, and other precious gems.
One day, his long lost son, now a drifter, came upon the gate of a great estate. Peering inside he saw the owner—a distinguished and majestic man—unaware that this was his father. Suddenly he was seized by the fear that he had been spotted and started to run away, imagining that he would be punished for trespassing. The father immediately recognized him to be his lost son, and seeing him flee, he sent his aides to retrieve him. When they caught up with him, the panicked man struggled against them and protested his innocence. Terrified that he might be put to death, he fainted. The father witnessing his reaction ordered them to let him go. Released, the drifter continued in his usual ways, going to a poor village nearby in search of meager sustenance.
