Ichijo - Ichijo

A Buddhist doctrinal term. It is a translation of the Sanskrit word eka-yana (one vehicle), where the vehicle (vehicle) is a metaphor for the teachings that carry people to Buddhist enlightenment. There are various teachings in Buddhism, but all of them were preached by the Buddha as a means to guide people, and there is only one true teaching, and it is said that all can equally become Buddhas through that teaching. This assertion was established in early Indian Mahayana Buddhism, and is particularly emphasized in the Lotus Sutra. In other words, the teachings of Buddha are divided into three vehicles according to people's qualities and abilities: the Shravaka Vehicle (the vehicle of Buddhist disciples), the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle (the vehicle of those who have attained enlightenment on their own), and the Bodhisattva Vehicle (the vehicle of those who seek the path of Mahayana), but these three vehicles are merely expedient means to lead to the Ichi-jo (also called the Ichibutsu-vehicle), and ultimately everything returns to the true Ichi-jo. This idea of ​​the Ichi-jo has had a great influence on later Buddhism as the essence of Mahayana Buddhism, and was particularly emphasized in the Tiantai and Kegon sects of China.

[Hirotaka Fujita]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

仏教の教理用語。サンスクリット語のエーカ・ヤーナeka-yāna（一つの乗り物）の訳語で、乗（乗り物）は、人々を乗せて仏教の悟りに赴かせる教えをたとえていったもの。仏教にはさまざまな教えがあるが、いずれも仏が人々を導くための手段として説いたもので、真の教えはただ一つであり、その教えによってすべてのものが等しく仏になると説くことをいう。この主張はインドの初期大乗仏教において成立したもので、とくに『法華経(ほけきょう)』で強調されている。すなわち、仏の教えは人々の資質や能力に応じて声聞(しょうもん)乗（仏弟子の乗り物）、縁覚(えんがく)乗（ひとりで覚(さと)った者の乗り物）、菩薩(ぼさつ)乗（大乗の求道(ぐどう)者の乗り物）の三乗に分けられるが、この三乗は一乗（一仏乗ともいう）に導くための方便(ほうべん)にすぎず、究極的にはすべて真実なる一乗に帰すと説く。この一乗の思想は大乗仏教の精髄を示すものとして後代の仏教に大きな影響を与え、中国の天台(てんだい)宗、華厳(けごん)宗においてとくに重視された。

［藤田宏達］

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