Ekayāna

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Key Term	ekayāna
In Tibetan Script	ཐེག་པ་གཅིག་པ་
Wylie Tibetan Transliteration	theg pa gcig pa
Devanagari Sanskrit Script	एकयान
Tibetan Phonetic Rendering	tekpa chikpa
Chinese Script	一乘
Chinese Pinyin	yīchéng
Japanese Script	いちじょう
Japanese Transliteration	ichijō
Korean Script	일승
Korean Transliteration	ilsŭng
English Standard	single vehicle
Term Type	Noun
Source Language	Sanskrit
Basic Meaning	The notion that ultimately there is only one vehicle, or means, of achieving enlightenment.
Has the Sense of	There is only one way to become a buddha.
Definitions
Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism	See page 281: In Sanskrit, lit. “one vehicle” or “single vehicle.” “Vehicle” literally means “conveyance” or “transportation,” viz., the conveyance that carries sentient beings from saṃsāra to nirvāṇa; the term may also refer to the actual person who reaches the destination of the path. The doctrine of a single vehicle is set forth in certain Mahāyāna sūtras , most famously, the Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra (“Lotus Sūtra”), which declares that the three vehicles of the śrāvaka (disciple), pratyekabuddha (solitary buddha), and bodhisattva are actually just three expedient devices (upāyakauśalya) for attracting beings to the one buddha vehicle, via which they all become buddhas.
Tshig mdzod Chen mo	mthar thug nges don snying po'i theg pa ste 'bras bu'i theg pa'o/

The notion that ultimately there is only one vehicle, or means, of achieving enlightenment.

The notion that ultimately there is only one vehicle, or means, of achieving enlightenment.

Mahāyāna, or the Great Vehicle, refers to the system of Buddhist thought and practice which developed around the beginning of Common Era, focusing on the pursuit of the state of full enlightenment of the Buddha through the realization of the wisdom of emptiness and the cultivation of compassion.

Commonly seen in a Mahāyāna context, the three vehicles are the Śrāvakayāna, Pratyekabuddhayāna, and Bodhisattvayāna, which reference the three different types of Buddhist practitioners. However, these three vehicles can also reference the three types of Buddhist teachings of the Hīnayāna, Mahāyāna (or Pāramitāyāna), and the Vajrayāna.

The disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain individual liberation or nirvāṇa. The final goal of the Hearers is to become an arhat, a state in which one has totally eliminated the inner problems of attachment, hatred and ignorance, the main causes for rebirth in this cycle of existence. There are four stages of a śrāvaka path including eight phases.

The disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain individual liberation or nirvāṇa. The final goal of the Hearers is to become an arhat, a state in which one has totally eliminated the inner problems of attachment, hatred and ignorance, the main causes for rebirth in this cycle of existence. There are four stages of a śrāvaka path including eight phases.

Refers to something that is taught for a specific reason, rather than because it is entirely true.