Aspects of Mahayana Buddhism and its Relation to Hinayana c6.s9.16.2

c6.s9.16.2

As they were sons of Buddha, pure in conduct, wise and learned, and had performed duties under previous countless Buddhas, the Vaipulya Sūtras were preached to them.² Aware of the noble aspirations of these disciples, Buddha tells them that they will, in future, become Buddhas and benefactors of the world. If the Śrāvakas can retain in their memory one verse of this great śāsana, (i.e., the Puṇḍarīka),³ they will attain Bodhi. To show that the Teacher had only one form of teaching, understood differently by different persons according to their capabilities, the treatise uses some interesting analogies, one of which is that the clouds water the trees, plants, and shrubs of the countless lokadhātus but the trees, plants, and shrubs absorb the water in different ways according to their capabilities and grow according to their sizes and species; similarly Buddha showers the dharma possessing the same qualities (rasa), viz., vimuktirasa (emancipation), virāgarasa (absence of attachment) and nirodharasa (suppression of senses), etc.,⁴ and leading to omniscience (sarvajña-jñāna) but producing different results according to the capabilities of the disciples. The simile of the sun shedding the same kind of light over all beings has also been used to show Buddha imparting the same teachings. This could not convince some of the Śrāvakas who enquired as to why there existed distinctions as Śrāvakas, Pratyekabuddhas, and Bodhisattvas.