EN - How to motivate oneself: The third vehicle

1.     The path

The second vehicle is a great vehicle and it lead to liberation. But there is a quicker way. It is said that the third vehicle can lead to liberation in one lifetime. What are the possibilities that we miss when we hold on to the second vehicle? If we stick to the idea of no-thing and no no-thing we still think too much. It is sort of foggy. However if we recognize that mind is without limits, clear and aware by its basic nature than we are working on the third vehicle. No further theories. Experience is important. In the first vehicle we learn about relative truths as suffering and liberation and we want to reach the absolute levels of mind. In the second vehicle we directly experience the emptiness. Now we go about our work the other way around. The third vehicle is a skillful means vehicle. We use the relative truth directly to introduce ourselves to limitless, clear, wakeful nature of mind.

That is why we use images and verses during our meditation during in the third vehicle. The third vehicle meditation has got a build-up from the first to the second vehicle and then to the third. Once introduced to the visualization and text there is a time to dissolve them again and practice the second and first vehicle meditations respectively.

One should understand that there is a relative and an absolute truth. But one is never without the other.



2.     The realization of the third vehicle

After the practice of the virtues of generosity, ethics, patience, diligence meditative wakefulness and insight, when  someone is ready in his or her mind evolution, there is a further development where the thinking of this at that is also cut through. We are now actually on the approach to the enlightenment. At this stage pure lands like Shambhala can be directly perceived.

I would like to stress that we are now beyond self-conscious hocus pocus, it is not like there is some sort of crystal ball in our hands in which we can see things. Moreover the thought process of this and that has been replaced by spontaneous wisdom. Therefore the Shambhalian now makes quick progress towards minds full potential. This is the potential that we all have in our mind as sentient beings. Further levels of self-confidence develop as someone finds his new place he or she holds in this world.

Really, the world is perfect. The world is perfect from an ultimate level. From a relative point of view it may look terrible.Nieuwe alinea