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The Lotus Sutra
When the Śrāvakas rejoiced because Śāriputra received the Buddha’s prediction—believing that all sentient beings can become Buddhas—there were still many who wondered about the path of liberation. To awaken them, the Buddha presented the Four Noble Truths and then gave the parable of the burning house (the three realms are as unsafe as a burning house): a wealthy elder promises all sorts of goat, deer, and horse carts to entice his children to run out of the burning house, but once they are safe, he gives them only the great white ox cart—symbolizing the One Vehicle or the supreme Buddha Vehicle.
To continue guiding sentient beings toward complete liberation, the Buddha employed a series of skillful means parables:
- The Poor Son—a destitute child whose wealthy father, through various disguises, entices, nurtures, and finally reveals his true identity, showing the latent Buddha-nature within the Śrāvakas.
- Medicinal Herbs—the Dharma is likened to rain nourishing all plants and grasses, each according to its own capacity (according to individual faculties).
- The Illusory City—on a difficult journey, there is a resting place like the nirvana of the Lesser Vehicle, but this is only a temporary stop, so that one may continue onward to the treasury of the all-knowing wisdom.