ekayāna

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Glossaryekayāna

Sanskrit Noun

ekayāna

single vehicle
एकयान
ཐེག་པ་གཅིག་པ་
一乘

Basic Meaning

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

On this topic
Term Variations
Key Term ekayāna
Topic Variation ekayāna
Tibetan ཐེག་པ་གཅིག་པ་  ( tekpa chikpa)
Wylie Tibetan Transliteration theg pa gcig pa  ( tekpa chikpa)
Devanagari Sanskrit एकयान
Chinese 一乘
Chinese Pinyin yīchéng
Japanese いちじょう
Japanese Transliteration ichijō
Korean 일승
Korean Transliteration ilsŭng
Buddha-nature Site Standard English single vehicle
Karl Brunnhölzl's English Term single yāna
Jeffrey Hopkin's English Term one vehicle
Ives Waldo's English Term unique vehicle
Term Information
Source Language Sanskrit
Basic Meaning The notion that ultimately there is only one vehicle, or means, of achieving enlightenment.
Term Type Noun
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/