The goal of the Buddhist path

The Lotus Sutra is a Mahayana scripture which teaches the superiority of the Mahayana goal in relation to that of Theravada Buddhism, and which also claims that the Buddha actually taught 'only one single vehicle', not two or three, in the sense that all vehicles of Buddhism ultimately lead to the same goal: buddhahood

• According to this view, the teachings of Theravada Buddhism are preliminary instructions for those with little spiritual maturity and the goal of nirvana is only a temporary resting place on the road to buddhahood
• This view is based on the idea that the Buddha adapted his teachings to the needs of his audiences, so he chose to offer nirvana as a goal for those with intense suffering whose deepest wish was to find a way to be free…