དམ་པའ་ཆས་པད་མ་དཀར་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད intro.56

intro.56

The Buddha relates to Mahākāśyapa the parable of how the rain falls equally on all plants, from the smallest herbs to the greatest trees, nourishing them all in accordance with their needs, and in this way he teaches the Dharma to beings on different levels according to their needs, and does not give them all the teaching on the attainment of omniscience. He teaches another parable on how the light of the sun and the moon shines equally on all, and, in the same way, the light of the Buddha’s wisdom shines on all, whatever their aspirations. This light gives them the exact teaching they aspire to, and that is why there are the teachings of the three yānas. He also teaches the parable of how a potter makes pots from the same clay, but they are used to contain different substances and therefore given different designations. In the same way, there is but one yāna, the Buddhayāna, but because of the differences among beings, there are the designations of śrāvakas, pratyeka­buddhas, and bodhisattvas. The Buddha also teaches the parable of a man who, because he is blind from birth, does not believe there is a sun, moon, or anything to be seen. A compassionate physician obtains herbs from the Himalayas and cures him. Realizing he was previously ignorant, the man thinks he can now see everything, but clairvoyant rishis make him realize his sight is still limited. He practices in solitude and gains higher knowledge. In that way beings are blinded by ignorance, but the Buddha teaches them so that they are freed from saṃsāra. They believe they have attained the ultimate goal of nirvāṇa, but the Buddha explains that there is still the omniscience of buddhas to be attained.