Five-fold way (Buddhism)

One interpretation of the spiritual journey is to see it as a path in five phases. Depending upon the means one uses to travel the path the practices developed may vary. Thus the lesser vehicle - [hinayana]

- approach, the way of the hearers - [sravakayana]

- leads to realization as an [arhat]

; the enlightenment of a [pratyeka buddha]

who has followed the solitary path, perhaps when no buddha was manifest, is somewhere between that of an [arhat]

and one who has been totally enlightened; and the way of the [bodhisattvas]

, totally enlightened beings, is different again.

The five paths are: (i) [sambhara marga]

- the path of accumulation or joining a religious community; (ii) [prayoga marga]

- the path of preparation for discipleship; (iii) [darsana marga]

- the path of seeing, where an understanding of the four noble truths is developed; (iv) [bhavana marga]

- the path of meditation or cultivation where attachment to pleasures is destroyed; (v) [asaiksa marga]

- the path of no-more-learning.