Theory of Purna Buddhism

Theory of Purna Buddhism

Historical Foundations of Maitriyana Spirituality as an Integrative and Reconciliatory Way

By Master Maitreya Samyaksambuddha

“In the Universe there are not two vehicles, much less three.”

Siddharta Gautama

 

 

In order to be able of posing the existence of a New Way or a Buddhist Vehicle, it is not only necessary to be a genuine spiritual master but it is necessary to have an Integrative and Complete Knowledge of Buddhism as well. This comprehensive study is the theory of Purna Buddhism (Purnayana) that the Maitriyana Spirituality performs as a Way of Reconciliation, because before establishing a Unity between Buddhist Spirituality and Western Wisdom, the Unity must first be clarified within the very Buddhism, which was characterized for having multiple ways of understanding its Pathways. The full understanding of the various Buddhist pathways is Purna Buddhism.

 

The Maitriyana, called Cicheng in Chinese and Jijo in Japanese, may be regarded as the most evolved form of Buddhist Spirituality, by reconciling the Theravada, Mahayana and the Western Wisdom under a Third Way. This is because anciently there have been around twenty subdivisions of Buddhism, which were the origin of the division between the Hinayana and Mahayana, whose modalities of the past were led by the Sthaviravada (focused on monks converted into ascetics) and the Mahasánguika (focused on the common people). At the same time, the contemporary Mahayana has their own internal divisions, since there have been schools such as Madhyamika, Yogacara, Chan, Avatamsaka, Pure Land, Tien-tai, Tendai, Nichiren, Vajrayana and many others. These divisions do not necessarily involve conflict, but oftentimes they were the result of new developments. The problem obviously arises when schools and lineages discredit one another.

Now, to pose the existence of a Third Way is something introductory and superficial, because actually it is not consistent with the true Buddhist teachings, whose classification of teachings (panjiao) was much more complex than the illusory academic division between Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana. Therefore, during the earliest period corresponding to the first teaching of Siddharta Gautama there were already multiple paths which did not correspond with the commonly known academic and social classification. One of the irrefutable proofs of the existence of multiple Pathways or Vehicles (Yanas) emerges from the very Pali Canon, since in texts such as the Anguttara Nikaya Siddhartha Gautama implicitly stated that there are three Ways:

1. Samasambuddha-yana (Samyaksambuddha-yana)
2. Paccekabuddha-yana (Pratyekabuddha-yana)
3. Savakabuddha-yana (Sravakabuddha-yana)

Despite the fact that a systematization of these three Ways within the Pali Canon was never performed, the profound study of this work clearly demonstrates that the first Way is the Vehicle of the Self-enlightened ones (Samasambuddhas), who are socially engaged in teaching others their Truth, spiritually guiding their disciples toward the Cure (Nirvana); the second Way is the Vehicle of the Self-enlightened ones who are the Solitary Enlightened Beings (Paccekabuddhas) that do not teach others, guiding only through their good and appropriate conduct (abhisamacarikasikkha), as they have no mastery on the spiritual fruits (phalesu vasibhavam); and the third Way is the Vehicle of the enlightened disciples (Arahants).

This esoteric division of spiritual levels was the first model of Purna Buddhism. According to this primal perspective, it is illusory the division amongst those who seek the Awakening (Bodhi) by themselves and those who seek it in the guidance of a spiritual master. Therefore, Siddharta Gautama later said in the Lotus Sutra that there are not two ways much less three but only One Vehicle (Ekayana), which is clearly the Way of the Samasambuddha, because this first reconciliatory Way is the integration of the paccekabuddhayana with the arahantyana, being the oldest and most important historical precedent of the Maitriyana.

 

With respect to the vision of the Mahayana, the Unity of Maitriyana starts from one of the most essential principles of Buddhism taught by Siddhartha Gautama and other subsequent spiritual masters. This principle of Unity and Reconciliation can be found under paradoxical dialectic logic; therefore it is called Non-Two. In this sense, the Maitriyana may be called the Way (Dao) of Non-Two. A precursor of Maitriyana as Non-Two is the Heart Sutra, which affirms that form and emptiness are not different, as well as Maya and Samsara are not different entities with respect to the Absolute and Nirvana. Another precursor is the Vimalakirti Sutra, saying that the dharmic gate of the Non-Duality is the experience of an Absolute Emptiness which transcends the opposite poles of mundaneness, like good and evil, truth and lie, right and wrong, pleasure and pain, what is abstract and what is concrete. The ultimate aim of Buddhist Spirituality is to achieve the unification of the polarities, experiencing the empty substratum of Being from where all dualities emerge or dissolve. Therefore, without the experience of Emptiness (Sunyata) the Free and Enlightened Beings (Arhats-Bodhisattvas) could not achieve the union between what is finite and the infinite in the inter-existence of all beings. The literature of the prajñaparamita emphasizes that the self-realisation of Emptiness is what allows the development of spontaneity and the endless compassion of the spiritual master. The uniqueness of the gaze of the Free and Enlightened Being (Arhat-Bodhisattva) lies in the Detachment from dualism, which is the profound insight inherent in the integration of the Being, Emptiness and form. Regarding the Chinese Spirituality, this has also a precursor of the idea of ​​Non-Two in the fusion between Li and Shih, which is expressed in the principle of the mind as Tality and Change. In the spiritual master, the vision of the existence and nonexistence are in a harmonious way, so that the interdependence between what is hidden and what is discovered is revealed. Here, the Being and Emptiness are Non-Two, fusing themselves completely into a Unity within which the Real and the illusory are mutually reflected and penetrated.

From this dialectical paradoxical logic, the precursor second scheme of the Maitriyana was the Ekayana Buddhism (the One Vehicle) appearing on some Sutras of the Mahayana Canon. In the first and second centuries A.D. the debates and conflicts between the conservative and progressive Buddhist schools reached a significant level, so the Ekayana Buddhism (the One Vehicle) that Siddhartha Gautama taught became popularized at the end of his life from the idea of Sammasambuddhayana, this Vehicle being proposed as a Way that can be followed by everyone, since all Buddhist schools are recognized to belong to the Reconciliatory Way (Maitriyana) which is the experience of the Awakening (Bodhi), so that they are preserved as different methods or strategies in order to achieve one and the same Purpose (Dharma); therefore their use depends on both the personal abilities of the apprentice and the sociocultural circumstances where the individual is found. Therefore, in the same way as the Maitriyana, the Ekayana Buddhism (the One Vehicle) is an inclusive Way that embraces all the studies and spiritual practices, by reaffirming the dignity of all Buddhist schools without showing any favoritism. This reconciling idea has influenced enormously to canonical texts of Mahayana such as the Lankavatara Sutra, the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, the Shurangama Sutra, the Srimaladevi Simhanada Sutra, the Sraddhotpanna Sutra, the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, the Vajrasamadhi Sutra, the Mahābherīhāraka-Parivarta and the Samdhinirmocana Sutra. From the study of these Sutras, the Ekayana Buddhism (the One Vehicle) is revealed as a clear precursor of Maitriyana, by developing its prospects for Metapsychology, Metaphilosophy and Metapolitics respectively from the incisive analysis of the Lankavatara Sutra, the phenomenological greatness of the Avatamsaka Sutra and the revolutionary depth of the Lotus Sutra. The Ekayana Buddhism (the One Vehicle) seeks the spiritual development of the Buddha nature (Buddha-dhatu) or luminous mind (citta pabhassara) which is the seed of the Awakening (Tathagata-garbha) which potentially is found in all human beings and that it must be cultivated or updated through the ethical discipline and the contemplative practice. In accordance with Maitriyana, the Ekayana Buddhism (the One Vehicle) is the synthesis of the teachings about the awakened mind (bodhicitta): by being an organic totality that produces the reconciliation (maitri) of any opposition or contradiction between Hinayana and Mahayana. The realization of this Unity cannot be reached by an intellectual pursuit, but rather by a spiritual practice that does not perceive any fundamental difference between a monk and a layman, since in both individuals the potential for the Cure (Nirvana) is found in the same manner. Beyond the fact that the Mahayana has developed different inner schools, such as the Madhyamika and the Yogacara, the Ekayana Buddhism perceives that its sacred texts seek to uniting and channeling the various spiritual teachings within one Supreme Dharma. However, this process of unification does not pose One Vehicle in practice and theory, since it is stated that the Vehicle of the experience of the Awakening (Bodhi) – or Samasambudhayana– is actually the only Way. Therefore, in Japan the Master Nichiren concluded that the maximum teaching of Gautama Buddha is the Lotus Sutra precisely because it is in this body of wisdom in which the Ekayana Buddhism more faithfully is expressed, considering that each of the Buddhist Pathways are no more than different ways of reaching a same purpose which is the Cure (Nirvana), guiding people according to their own level of understanding and culture type. To lead humanity toward the supreme understanding, Siddhartha Gautama taught all the distinct Yanas.

By preserving the basic teachings of the Lotus Sutra in its interior, the Maitriyana is the set of the most profound ideals, by conceiving the spiritual practice in a perfectly integrated manner in order to be able to reveal the reconciling essence of the Truth to all the peoples of the world. This Supreme Spirituality is capable of leading humanity from the division, discord and conflict toward unity, harmony and peace. The Maitriyana is a spiritual movement in direct lineage with Siddharta Gautama and other spiritual masters who are founders of schools, always working for world peace, social justice, education and ecology. The Free and Enlightened Being (Arhat-Bodhisattva) shared his teachings to all, guiding peoples toward the Salvation. The Way of the Maitriyana is integrative and comprehensive, by embracing multiple studies and practices by acknowledging the interconnectivity which underlies all the diversity. Maitriyana carries the flame of the Samasambudhayana and the Ekayana Buddhism (the One Vehicle), since it studies and practices the teachings of all the spiritual traditions, recognizing them as different means to achieve the Cure (Nirvana). Although the core of Maitriyana is the Buddhist Spirituality, certainly the concepts of wisdom from other spiritual paths are combined. This means that an Ecumenism is established as a way of making profound connections with the entire humanity, recognizing the Buddha nature which is present in the neighbor. The spiritual master teaches the apprentice to perceive the Cosmic and Perennial Truth within the daily life, by providing the opportunity to practice a lifestyle supported by the great Free and Enlightened Beings (Arhats-Bodhisattvas). Here the individual can only feel gratitude toward the existence, because his or her mind has been purified, sublimated and put at the service of the common good, going through a Way that is connected to the Universal Truth.

In accordance with the Lotus Sutra, one may establish that the Maitriyana has the most difficult to believe and the most difficult to understand preached Sutras, turning all the earlier revealed and proclaimed teachings into One. As with the Lotus Sutra, the Maitriyana Spirituality is an infinite ocean within which many rivers and streams are found, being an inclusive and reconciling diagram of the life Force underlying all beings in the Cosmos. The Maitriyana incorporates within itself all the Buddhist Sutras, so it is a Supreme Vehicle (Saijojo), being characterized as the most evolved expression of Buddha-Dharma-Sangha and cannot be compared to any other School or Way because it reunifies the deepest and most fundamental principles of Spirituality. The Maitriyana emanates a high supremacy coming from having the Sense of Purpose (Dharma) of wishing to lead humanity for thousands of years, since the most extraordinary result of their meditative practices is the Salvation both of the apprentice and the entire society. Obviously, this often implies suffering small difficulties and tribulations, such as for example accusations that this spiritual movement is not the Real Dharma, but the Truth of Maitriyana is concordant with the teachings of the Awakened Beings (Buddhas) both from the past and the future.

Ultimately the Maitriyana is nothing more than the Perennial Buddhism which every spiritual master has incarnated within himself and that is definitely possessed by all living being in a latent form, so its Truth is applicable to any place, time and person. In fact, Maitriyana is also thought and felt as an eternal energy of pure consciousness which permeates throughout the whole Universe, holding to all beings as an Originating Life Force. From a proper meditation and lifestyle, any individual can experience this all-embracing Cosmic Wisdom. As with the Lotus Sutra, the Maitriyana may be followed by billions of people, not only for containing the core and the culmination of the Buddhist teachings, but also for showing how all human beings can achieve the Awakening (Bodhi) by expressing a higher and amplified state of consciousness (H-ASC) which is in harmony with the eternal buddhic energy existing in the past, present and future, by supporting and guiding all living beings of the Universe towards the Vacuity and Unity. The Maitriyana integrates the Cosmos with the inner world, by promoting a daily life in harmony with the Eternal and Universal Truth. This implies Sublimation (Nirodh) of the mind, practicing and studying a Way that brings to bloom the compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajña) as the only requirement for the true Liberty. This new and ancient spiritual perspective teaches to experiencing the Cure (Nirvana) of suffering in the here and now, recognising the Buddha nature in neighbor as a way to have the connection of mind to mind and from heart to heart that is very much in need by the world. Therefore, the Maitriyana is the Evolution of Ekayana Buddhism (the One Vehicle), by integrating and unifying all the spiritual paths as different forms of going to the same goal of the Awakening (Bodhi), so it develops a creative and flexible scheme.

After the study of the Lotus Sutra it can be stated that in the last years of his spiritual teaching Siddhartha Gautama perfected his model of the traditional three Vehicles (Yanas), stating that the Buddha-Dharma-Sangha has actually five Vehicles:

1. Purisayana
2. Devayana
3. Sravakayana
4. Pratyekabuddhayana
5. Bodhisattvayana

In this second model of Purna Buddhism (Complete or Integral Buddhism), the first Way is the Vehicle of humanity, which is the Way for the common beings with no training in the Spiritual Path, the second Way is the Vehicle of the gods, which is a metaphysical and religious Path, the third Way is the Vehicle of the disciple, which is the Path of those who wish to become a Free Being (Arhat), the fourth Way is the Vehicle of the solitary or silent Buddha, which is the Path of those who seek to achieve the Awakening (Bodhi) only for themselves, the fifth Way is the Vehicle of the Enlightened Being, which is the Path of those who wish to attain the Cure (Nirvana) of all the others.

In this way, in the model of the Lotus Sutra, the Ekayana Buddhism (the One Vehicle) is a Way that unifies and transcends these five vehicles, being a spiritual doctrine based solely on the experience of the Awakening (Bodhi), which enables the human being to evolve from infantile state toward a spiritual maturity. Here the Ekayana Buddhism (the One Vehicle) can be considered a Sixth Vehicle, this level being the place where the Maitriyana is inserted as an Overcoming Vehicle.

Moreover, a third possible model of Purna Buddhism can be found in the Chujia Gongde Jing (Abhiniskramana Sutra or Sutra of the Great Renunciation), translated by the monk Dharmaratna who carried Buddhism for the first time into China, where the existence of Five Yanas is posed, and the Maitriyana being the sixth vehicle that follows them:

1. Ren tian diyu yinyuan (teachings of human being, of heaven, of hell and of causality)
2. Hinayana
3. Mahayana
4. Zhangui Miecui (extinction of sin by repentance)
5. Chujia Gongde (merit of renunciation)

In this model Maitriyana would be a Sixth Vehicle.

 

The model of Ekayana Buddhism (the One Vehicle) may have disappeared in the ancient India along with the rest of the Buddhist schools, but this perspective was essential in the assimilation of China toward the heart of Buddhist Spirituality, by surviving under a new name and thanks to the understanding of the great Free and Enlightened Beings (Arhats-Bodhisattvas) who developed the doctrines and practices of Tiantai (Tendai), Huayan (Kegon) and Chan (Zen) as a synthesis of the diversity of Buddhist schools. In this sense, another great precursor of the Maitriyana was Chan Buddhism, focusing its metaphilosophical practice on the contemplative method of the Lankavatara Sutra, by orienting its metaphilosophical practice into the transcendental vision of the Avatamsaka Sutra and recognizing its metapolitical practice in the utopian aspect of the Lotus Sutra. Therefore, the Master Pai-chang has suggested that the Chan Buddhism would be a Third Way (Chan-yana) which transcends both the Hinayana and the Mahayana, while Master Dogen said that the authentic Zen must deviate from both distinctions. As regards Master Bodhidharma, he is not only considered the founder or the first patriarch of the School of Chan Buddhism in China, but has also been stated that he brought the School of Ekayana Buddhism from South India by transmitting it along with the Lankavatara Sutra to his successor the Master Huike, who established a lineage that was known as the masters of the Lankavatara.

Furthermore, the Master Guifeng Zongmi (Kuei-feng Tsung-mi or Keisho Shumitsu), who was fifth patriarch of the Huayan school and also a patriarch of the Chan lineage Heze (Ho-Tse), has proved to be a genuine precursor of the Maitriyana, by recognising clear and explicitly to the Ekayana as a Way which is superior than the Mahayana for being the most profound kind of spiritual teaching that directly performed the Buddha nature or the intrinsic Enlightenment of Being. Precisely, Master Guifeng Zongmi corrected the scheme of five Vehicles of the Lotus Sutra and of the Sutra of the Great Renunciation to propose his own model for the classification of the five Buddhist Ways, ranging from the superficial level to the deepest level:

1. Purisayana and Devayana (the Way of the humans and the gods)
2. Hinayana
3. Mahayana of the phenomenal appearances (Faxsiang Jiao)
4. Mahayana of the refutation of the phenomenal appearances (Poxiang Jiao)
5. Ekayana

In this fourth model of Purna Buddhism, Yogacara is the third Way while the Madhyamika is the fourth. Here, the articulation of Huayan-Chan lies within the last level, which is a Way that reveals the nature (Xianxing Jiao) of the Intrinsic Liberation. It is in this level where the Reconciling Way of the Maitriyana is positioned.

In addition, the Master Guifeng Zongmi was also the creator of a framework of practical and theoretical unity between Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism, considering that their founders had the same spiritual value because the three were Awakened Beings (Buddhas). The result of this was a framework of Chan Buddhism as broad as the Maitriyana, being considered as a fifth model of Purna Buddhism. In his work called Ch’an-yuan chu-ch’uan-chi, the Master Guifeng Zongmi said that Chan Buddhism has five internal pathways respectively:

1. Bompu Zen
2. Gedo Zen
3. Shojo Zen
4. Daijo Zen
5. Saijojo Zen

First, the Bompu Zen, called as Bon-pu Chan, which is a common or usual practice of personal enrichment for the common people, it is based on the use of ritual ceremonies, arts or therapies which produce health, happiness, calm or welfare; second, the Gedo Zen named as Wai-dao Chan, which is the non-Buddhist Spirituality, it is the external Way of the Daoism, Confucianism, transcendental meditation, Yoga, Sufism, Mystical Christianity and Esotericism; third, Shojo Zen, called Xiaocheng Chan, which is the Hinayana and its search for personal enlightenment through the recognition of the three features of the existence, it is an experience of Salvation or Cure (Nirvana) from the personal suffering; fourth, the Daijo Zen called Dacheng Chan, which is the Mahayana and its sudden or gradual search for the peak experience of the self-realisation or Awakening (Bodhi) of all beings, it is an insight about the Emptiness and the inseparable Totality of the inter-existence of all beings; and fifth, the Saijojo Zen, called Zui shang cheng Chan, which is the Major Supreme Vehicle of the unconcealment of Buddha-nature or seed of the Awakening within the daily life, it is a practice where Path and Goal are merged through meditation on the here and now in the daily life, so that it is the highest wisdom of the pure and absolute existence. In turn, the Saijojo Zen (Zui shang cheng Chan), that is the Way practiced by all the Awakened or evolved Beings (Buddhas) who consider the very life as a spiritual practice, is composed of three kinds of styles: Theoretical Zen, which is the intellectual understanding or peak vision; the Tathagata Zen, which is an emptying and Unity of the subject with the Cosmos through meditation; and the Patriarchal Zen, which goes directly toward the True Self in the experience of the here and now, in order to be able of living and acting as an Awakened Being (Buddha). It is at this Supreme level where the Maitriyana is inserted as a Superior Vehicle.

Although all the five types of Zen (Chan) help to understand the mind, some are superficial and others are deeper. This model of Purna Buddhism has been validated by many spiritual masters of the contemporary Zen such as Master Seung Sahn Soen-sa.

 

The sixth model of Purna Buddhism or Purnayana was undertaken by the Nyingma School that belongs to the Vajrayana. This School has a system whose creation has been influenced by the Buddhist tantras of India, the Daoism, Zongmi’s Chan Buddhism, the Shamanism, the Eastern Christianity and the Shivaism. However, its tradition says that the origin of its teachings is atemporal and mythological, not only because it was taught by symbolic figures in ancient times, but also because this system is cosmic, by appearing in every space and time of the Universe, since it is based on the energy of the primordial and eternal Buddha, -or immutable light (samantabhadra)- that transcends all duality. The tantric scheme of Nyingma proposed nine Vehicles (Yanas) of Buddhist Spirituality:

1. Shravakayana
2. Pratyekabuddhayana
3. Bodhisattvayana
4. Kriyayoga (Kriyatantrayana)
5. Charyayoga (Charya Tantra or Upayogatantrayana)
6. Yoga Tantra (Yogatantrayana)
7. Mahayoga (Mahayogatantra)
8. Anuyoga (Anuyogatantrayana)
9. Atiyoga o Zogqen (Atiyogatantrayana)

In this sixth model of Purna Buddhism, the first Way is the Vehicle of the apprentices or disciples who follow a monastic life in pursuit of the personal salvation; the second Way is the Vehicle of the Solitary Awakened Beings who have reached that state by themselves and that they do not have apprentices. Here the first and the second Ways conform the Hinayana. The third way is the Vehicle of the Enlightened Beings who seek the Salvation of all beings since inside all of them a Buddha-nature (Tathagatagarbha) lies. Here the third Vehicle is the Mahayana, which obviously starts first from a self discipline or a previous personal development in order to work for the neighbor, thus showing that the distinction between Hinayana and Mahayana is not applied to the spiritual practice. The conjunction of these first three Ways is the Path of Renunciation, also called Sutrayana or Hetuyana (Causal Vehicle). As regards the fourth, fifth and sixth Ways, these are external Tantras forming the Path of Purification, which is characterized by being more exoteric, gradual and ritualistic, by using chants and visualizations to produce the union between body and mind and the comprehension of form and Vacuity. With respect to the seventh and eighth Ways, the stage of development and the stage of completeness respectively, these are the internal Tantras that form the Path of the transformation, which develops the mandala, the breath, the realisation of the luminous Vacuity, the Tummo and the sacred sexual union. Here, the Path of purification and the Path of transformation form the Vehicle of the Fruits (Phalayana) which characterises to the Tantrayana or Mantrayana. However, the final stage is the ninth Way, which is the Primordial Yoga or Path of spontaneous Liberation that is beyond what is causal and the fruits. This latter Vehicle is the stage of perfection called Dzogpa chenpo or Mahasandhiyoga, being not only the Essence of Mahamudra but also the same spiritual state of the Saijojo Zen, establishing that everything is originally pure through its vision, practice and action, since this is the unifying principle of all the nine Vehicles. In fact, the ninth Vehicle of the Atiyoga has the same three subdivisions than the Saijojo Zen: Semde, Longde and Mengagde, which lead to the self-liberation and the integration of the awakened mind (bodhicitta). The Semde, sometimes considered as a tenth way, is similar to Theoretical Zen, stating that everything is mind and by awakening to the transcendent and Luminous Vacuity. The Dzogchen vision of the Semde is the basis of Atiyogatantrayana, recognizing the very true Buddha nature through the direct transmission from the spiritual master to the apprentice, which is a nondual primordial knowledge (ye-shes) of the immediate intrinsic Awakening (rig pa ‘i rtsal). The Longde, sometimes considered as an eleventh way, is similar to the Tathagata Zen, stating that the totality of the existence is originally free from dualistic visions. The Dzogchen meditation of Longde is the way of Atiyogatantrayana, by choosing the state of presence (rig pa) of Being in the here and now by means of the understanding that there is nothing more than this present, which is a state that goes beyond doubt and dualism by stabilizing the wise vision of the luminous vacuity of mind. The Mengagde, sometimes considered as a twelfth way, is similar to the Patriarchal Zen, asserting that the compassionate wisdom of the original Awakening of Emptiness is omnipresent and eternal, as it transcends the dualistic spatiotemporal framework. The Dzogchen conduct of the Mengagde is the result of the Atiyogatantrayana, continuing with the confidence (gdeng) in the self-liberation (rang grol) and the total integration (bsre ba) of Buddha-nature in the daily life, which is the being-in-action as a wise and compassionate practice of the individual in the world who is in his Path toward the Liberation (grol ba), which is nothing less than the understanding of that he was always essentially liberated (ta drol). As with the Patriarchal Zen of Saijojo Zen, the Mengagde of Dzogchen is a transmission heart-mind to heart-mind between spiritual master and apprentice that does not depend on writings, being the supreme teaching of the Atiyoga Vehicle, by posing a return to the ineffable original purity, which is nothing less than the intrinsic Awakening or the inherent and innate Liberty of the human being. The culmination of all this Way is the activity of the continuous Salvation by means of the practices of going through (thregchod) the illusions and also the direct approach (thödgal) that unifies Emptiness and form at all times. This system is known as the Great Perfection and the Great Love not only because it states that all that exists is empty and non-dual, but also because it proposes to Detachment, compassion and unselfishness as a form of appropriate and spontaneous conduct. Being based on the meditation of the source, the spiritual practice is positioned as an activity of loving (brtse-ba), by deploying the compassionate wisdom as a form of service to others. Therefore, the Free and Enlightened Being (Arhat-Bodhisattva) teaches that True Love is a sufficient practice.

It is in this last Vehicle, stage or spiritual level where Maitriyana is positioned within the model of the Purna Buddhism of the Nyingma tradition. The nine vehicles (Yanas) of the Nyingma system that culminate with the three divisions of Dzogchen, are valued all equally because each one provides guidance and Salvation according to the mental and spiritual level of each human being, because actually each vehicle is considered as different levels and degrees in a same process at the School of Life. This Path through Stages (Phatakrama) is the unification of all the Ways of the Nyingma system, forming a harmonious, unified and congruent teaching system. This pedagogical system is based on a unifying principle which comprises the different Vehicles as a sequential apprenticeship order on the same spiritual reality. That is why actually the set of all the nine Vehicles of the Nyingma tradition is not distinct from the One Vehicle (Ekayana) that is the Awakening (Bodhi), which is a complete system of conversion and spiritual Salvation in order that the human being evolves and becomes an Awakened Being (Buddha).

 

All these models demonstrate that the division amongst Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana is academic, incorrect, commercial and superficial, since the differences between these supposed three movements are intellectual constructions very different from the true practices. Therefore, any model that is positioned as a Fourth Way regarding these three is undoubtedly false, for it ignores the depth of all the Buddhist Pathways. On the traditional schemes about Purna Buddhism (Purnayana or Integral-Complete Buddhism) it is demonstrated that Maitriyana can be considered respectively as a Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth or even as a Twelfth Way. However, actually the Maitriyana is the One and Supreme Vehicle which Gautama Buddha and many other Awakened Beings (Buddhas) followed before and after him. By going beyond the mundane differences between the Ekayana, Chanyana or the Atiyogatantrayana, the Maitriyana is the First original Way of Buddhism (Sammasambuddhayana), by unifying Hinayana, Mahayana and the Western Wisdom. The Maitriyana arises as a New integrative and reconciliatory Vehicle amongst all the schools of Buddhism, at the same time that a conversion or a spiritual conquest of West is done, postulating new disciplines as from the dialectic performed by Buddhism with Western movements of the twentieth century, such as it has happened in the past with all the eastern disciplines. The scheme of Purna Buddhism demonstrates that the Maitriyana is composed of a reformulation of the Buddha-Dharma-Sangha as a complex practical and theoretical corpus of Metapsychology, Metaphilosophy and Metapolitics. As it happens with the internal branches of Saijojo Zen and Atiyoga, each one of these 3 disciplines must never be taken alone as a New Way, because it would be vanity and a profoundly incorrect fact to believe that only one of them can be a New Buddhism. In fact, Maitriyana is the Buddhist conversion of the Western disciplines, and not inversely. This dharmic conquest promotes the Maitriyana as the most revolutionary Buddhist movement of the history of humanity, since it allows all humanity to be converted to the Spiritual Path that Gautama followed.

The Reconciliatory Spirituality which emerges as a new Way of Buddhism incorporates all the great wisdom traditions of the world, by transmitting the teachings of the spiritual masters within a Supreme Vehicle. Therefore, Maitriyana is the Perennial Buddhism, whose fundamental process is the result of an emerging global reforming within the psychology, philosophy, politics and religion, by positioning a transcultural movement capable of leading the future generations toward a new civilization and a new humanity. Those who study the Maitriyana receive teachings to understand perfectly the universal harmony of all systems and paths of Spirituality.

The Maitriyana is the culmination of 2600 years of Spirituality; therefore this movement is differentiated from any diluted and bourgeois version of Spirituality. The capitalist civilization represents a terrible menace to Spirituality, trying to destroy it, degrade it or vulgarise it by means of Materialism. Spirituality must be kept intact in the face of movements both from materialism and metaphysics that do nothing more than reinforce the Ego. The creators of Buddhist Schools or Pathways must never seek a mundane interest or a personal prestige, being genuine spiritual masters living according to the principles of the Buddhist theory and practice, whose Purpose (Dharma) is nothing less than to Cure and Save the World. Because the Life Force is always on the side of those who fulfill with its Sense, the Maitriyana positions itself as a beacon of hope for the coming generations. Although there is the possibility that an Awakened Being (Buddha) never achieves to see the success of his or her Path, or even though he or she may fail from the mundane point of view, living according to the supreme duty (Dharma) is the best way to exist.