Lotus Sutra
Saddharmapundarika Sutra
The Buddha's earlier teachings of multiple paths to liberation were provisional accommodations to different capacities, and in truth there is only one vehicle leading all beings, without exception, to buddhahood.
- skillful means (upaya): earlier teachings as provisional, not final
- one vehicle (ekayana) leading all beings to buddhahood
- the parable of the burning house
- composed anonymously in stages over roughly two centuries
One of the most influential Mahayana sutras, composed in stages over roughly two and a half centuries by unknown authors, presented as a late sermon by the Buddha that reveals earlier, more limited teachings to have been skillful means (upaya) rather than final truth. It introduces the parable of the burning house and the doctrine that buddhahood is available to all beings, including women. Its exact place and process of composition in India remain scholarly reconstructions rather than settled fact.
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