What are Vehicles or Yanas?

  • 2017
Table of contents hide 1 the vehicle Hinayana .. 2 emptiness and dependent emergence . 3 energy body or subtle 4 only two outputs .. 5 teacher or qualified guru

The theme of vehicles or yanas in the East is of great importance to know, in case of choosing the path of the Budha, where we are more related or satisfied with ourselves.

Different vehicles offer us various ways of working with our interior and daily performance.

the Hinayana vehicle ...

The first vehicle is the so-called Hinayana or Foundational, in this one the practitioners emphasize unipunctual meditation and the most important is ethical or shila behavior. This vehicle is approached by a large number of yogis and does not include practices such as those of tantra used in another approach. Hinayana is also known as the vehicle of pratiekabudhas and shravakas who are practitioners with advanced spiritual development.

The second Vehicle is known as that of the Mahayana or that of the bodhitsatvas. In this assessment, meditation and the application of antidotes to afflictions are worked on.

The antidotes are used to counteract the harmful effects of our destructive emotions, this is how anger is used as an antidote to tolerance, for desire detachment and other modalities.

emptiness and dependent emergence ...

In the same way in Mahayana one meditates on emptiness and dependent arising and bodhitsatvas are known as spiritual heroes who dedicate their lives to help sentient beings in their awakening and enlightenment.

The third vehicle is known as vajrayana and in this one tantra is practiced. It is important to emphasize that in this vehicle, emphasis is placed on the energy body and the practice of mentor yoga and deities.

energetic or subtle body ……

The last vehicle is the most complex and sophisticated so to speak. It is advisable for practitioners interested in their spiritual development to travel in a timely and disciplined manner from the Hinayana onwards as this is how experience is gained from the foundations to the management of the energy or subtle body.

It is vitally important to understand that the inner development and that of the path of meditation requires a solid advance from the simplest to the most complex. For example, some teachers affirm that if we have not acquired mastery in Shila or ethical behavior as the basis, at the time of arriving at Vajrayana we will encounter difficulties or obstacles such as solidifying our personal or ego importance instead of weakening it.

Only two outputs.

As a metaphor, they often say that Vajrayana is a trunk that has only two exits that of enlightenment or that of afflictions resulting from an uncontrolled ego.

Similarly, when managing the energy body without knowledge and prior guidance, the risk is to generate important imbalances that can be internally and externally dangerous.

teacher or qualified guru ……

In the three vehicles a qualified teacher is required, however in the last one it is essential to have a mentor who is attentive to the practice step by step.

The great yogis have progressed on the path with the indispensable guidance of a teacher with considerable spiritual achievement .

An example of an unsuccessful guide in the time of the Budha is that of the practitioner Angulimala who, following the instruction of an unprepared teacher, is dedicated to cutting fingers to travelers on the paths because he believed that when he reached a hundred fingers he would arrive at the illumination, without knowing that I was generating a huge amount of merit or negative karma.

This is how we must be careful with our practice and with the professors to whom we entrust our performance, because in the end we will reap the result of our actions, not ourselves and others. No vehicle is good or bad depends on our spiritual development to address it safely. So is.

AUTHOR: Pilar Vázquez, collaborator of the great family of the White Brotherhood

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