Yana (Buddhism)
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- For other uses see Yana (disambiguation).
Yāna (Sanskrit and Pāli) 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.
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[edit] Etymology
In form, yāna is a neuter action noun (comparable to an English gerund) derived from the Sanskrit root yā- meaning "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 yāna acquires many metaphorical meanings, discussed below.
[edit] Usage
In Buddhism and Hinduism, both yāna and mārga (road or path) express the metaphor of spiritual practice as a path or journey. Ancient texts in both religions discuss doctrines and practices associated with various yānas. In Buddhism, yāna often augments the metaphor of the spiritual path with the idea of various vehicles that convey a person along that path. The yāna / mārga metaphor is similar to the Chinese image of the Tao (path or way) but Indian and Chinese cultures appear to have evolved such similar metaphors independently.
[edit] Origins of -yāna
The use of yāna to refer to a spiritual journey may date to the Ṛgveda, possibly composed circa 1500 BCE, whose 10th Mandala makes several references to devayāna, (translators usually render this as the "path of the gods" or similar) and one reference to pitṛyāna ("path of the fathers"). The first verse of the Ṛgveda's burial hymn (10.18) translates approximately as "O Death, take the other path, which is distinct from the way of the gods" (paraṃ mṛtyo anu parehi panthāṃ yaste sva itaro devayānāt). The "other path" is the pitṛyāna, referred to in hymn 10.2 and alluded to in 10.14 and 10.16.
The devayāna and pitṛyāna evolved from the ancient Rig Vedic concern for immortality to the classical Hindu concern with ending saṃsāric existence. The Upaniṣads, which comment on the Vedas, make further reference to devayāna and pitṛyāna. Among other distinctions, the pitryana was said to refer the religious practices of villagers, and the devayāna was said to refer to the practices of recluses living in the forest. The Bṛhadaraṇyaka Upaniṣad (II.iv.11 and IV.v.12) also makes reference to ekayāna, notably in the phrase vedānāṃ vāg ekayānam, which translates approximately to "the Vedas are the direct path to the spirit of the word".
[edit] Yana in Buddhism: path or vehicle
[edit] Path
The usage of 'ekayana' (literally: one-path; can be translated as 'direct path', 'only way' and 'path to convergence') is the oldest occurrence of 'yana' in Buddhism, and occurs in the scriptures of the Pali Canon and the agamas. Here 'yana' does not refer to a school or subsect of Buddhism, but to the practice of satipatthana (the establishment of presence of mind on various objects). This practice is said to lead to the purification of beings, for overcoming of sorrow and the disappearance of distress, for the attainment of the right method, and for realization of Nirvana (Satipatthana Sutta, DN 22). The Satipatthana Sutta, in which satipatthana is praised as the 'ekayana', is often regarded as one of the most important texts in Thervada Buddhism.
[edit] Vehicle
A clear distinction between yana as vehicle or path arises in the Mahāyāna texts, notably Chapter three of the Lotus Sūtra, which relates a parable of a father promising three carts to lure sons out of a burning building, corresponding to the three types of Buddha. In the parable, the goat-cart represents Śrāvakabuddhahood; 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 (upāya) – essentially, a white lie. Their purpose is to direct people toward ekayāna, the one vehicle, depicted in the parable as a jeweled cart driven by a white ox.
[edit] Lists of yānas
Yāna has been used subsequently in a number of schemas of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings in which there have been two, three, five, six, nine, and more vehicles.
[edit] Ekayana (one yana)
In the Pali Canon and agamas the term ekayana can be translated as 'direct path', 'only way' and 'path to convergence'. This earliest usage of 'ekayana' usually refers to the practice of the satipatthana: the establishment of presence of mind, which leads to the purification of beings and the attainment of Nirvana. Gautama Buddha described the practice of Satipatthana as the 'ekayana'.
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 Ekayāna 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 Chan and Zen doctrines and practices.
[edit] Two yanas
Traditionally, the two vehicles in Mahāyāna Buddhism consist of Śrāvakayāna and Pratekyabuddhayāna. These in turn refer to doctrines and practices that supposedly aim at becoming two of the three types of Buddha. Mahāyāna 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 Mahāyāna sutras consider that the two vehicles together comprise the Hīnayāna – literally, inferior vehicle; sometimes, small vehicle. Modern texts sometimes refer to Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna as "two vehicles". But referring to an "inferior vehicle" is often felt to be disrespectful to those Buddhists who do not consider the Mahāyāna sutras to be the word of the historical Buddha. More commonly, Theravāda refers to most non-Mahāyāna Buddhists in today's world.
[edit] Three yānas
Mahāyāna 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:
- Śrāvakayāna: The Hearer vehicle: A path that meets the goals of a Śrāvakabuddha, who achieves liberation after listening to the teachings of a Bodhisattva Buddha. If no Bodhisattva is present in the world, Śrāvakabuddhas do not discover the Dharma for themselves.
- Pratyekayāna or Pratyekabuddhayāna: The individual vehicle: A Solitary Buddha (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 Bodhisattva. They are sometimes said to remain silent and solitary.
- Bodhisattvayāna: The Samyaksambuddha attains liberation and wishes to benefit as many beings as possible. In order to aid others, they vow to remain in the world, and defer their chance to end the cycle of rebirth.
A second classification came into use with the rise of the Vajrayāna, which created a hierarchy of the teachings with the Vajrayāna being the highest path. The Vajrayāna itself became multilayered especially in Tibetan Buddhism.
- Hīnayāna
- Mahāyāna
- Vajrayāna
[edit] Four yānas
Mahayana Buddhists sometimes refer to four yanas that subsume the two different schemes of the three yanas:
- Śrāvakayāna
- Pratyekayāna
- Mahāyāna
- Vajrayāna
[edit] Five yānas
This is a Mahāyāna list which is found in East Asian Buddhism.
- Puruṣayāna - the human vehicle. This is the very beginning of the spiritual path
- Devayāna - the practice of ethics and meditation
- Shrāvakayāna - the practice of renunciation and the Four Noble Truths
- Pratyekayāna - practice concerned with dependent arising (pratitya-samutpada)
- Bodhisattvayāna - practice of the six perfections
[edit] Six yānas
The five yānas plus the Vajrayāna. This schema is associated with Shingon Buddhism in Japan. It was invented by Kukai in order to help to differentiate the Vajrayāna teachings that he imported from China in the early 9th century. Kukai wanted to show that the new teachings were entirely new.
[edit] Nine yānas
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.
- Hīnayāna
- Śrāvakayāna
- Pratyekayāna
- Mahāyāna
- Bodhisattvayāna
- Vajrayāna, consisting of:
- Outer Tantras
- Kriyatantra
- Upatantra (Tibetan spyod rgyud) ‘practice tantra’ and the Ubhayatantra (gnyis ka’i rgyud), ‘dual tantra’, because it practices the view of the next vehicle, Yogatantra, together with the action of the former.
- Yogatantra
- Inner Tantras
- Outer Tantras
[edit] Twelve yanas
Another schema associated with Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna sources:
- Śrāvakayāna
- Pratyekabuddhayāna
- Bodhisattvayāna
- Kriyayoga
- Charyayoga, or Upayoga
- Yogatantra
- Mahayoga
- Anuyoga
- Atiyoga, or Mahāsandhiyoga; in Tibetan, Dzogpa Chenpo (Dzogchen)
- Semde
- Longde
- Mengagde
[edit] External links
- 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
- Entry for yāna in the Pali-English Dictionary, Chipstead, Pali Text Society, 1921-1925,
- Unification of the Twelve Yānas
- Buddhism: Three Yānas (Vehicles) is a dead link; use the Internet Archive link here instead
- Developing Buddhist Traditions in America and the West: The Seven Waves by Brett Greider is a dead link; use the Internet Archive link here instead
- The Nine Yānas by Alak Zenkar Rinpoche
