ཐེག་པ་གསུམ། — the three yānas (“vehicles”), three scopes of motivation and method, each one containing the previous.
| Vehicle | Tibetan | Goal | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hinayana (lesser vehicle) | ཐེག་དམན། | Personal liberation from samsara — arhatship | Renunciation, ethics, analysis of the 4 Noble Truths |
| Mahayana (great vehicle) | ཐེག་ཆེན། | Buddhahood for the benefit of all beings | Bodhicitta, the six perfections, emptiness |
| Vajrayana (diamond vehicle) | རྡོ་རྗེ་ཐེག་པ། | The same buddhahood, in one lifetime | Tantra: empowerment, deity visualization, mantra |
Vajrayana is not a fourth goal but a swift set of methods within Mahayana, which is why Tibetan Buddhism is Mahayana in view and Vajrayana in practice.
Hinayana is a label coined by Mahayana authors and carries a dismissive tone; Theravada is the respectful name for the living tradition. The bodhisattva vows explicitly forbid denigrating it.