Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
The Lamp of Speech: The Vehicle establishes a taxonomical distinction between the Causal Vehicle of Characteristics and the Resultant Vajra Vehicle. The text begins by framing the universal condition of sentient beings as one of ignorance, positioning the teachings of Śākyamuni as the remedy. The author's primary argument focuses on the comparative efficacy of these two paths; while acknowledging that both vehicles share an identical ultimate goal, the text asserts the superiority of the Mantra Vehicle over the Vehicle of the Perfections. By distinguishing between cause and result, the work commits the reader to a hierarchical understanding of Buddhist praxis, where the Vajra Vehicle is presented as a more direct or efficient means of achieving the same objective as the traditional causal path.
Provenance
About this text
A treatise framing the teachings of Śākyamuni as a remedy for the universal ignorance of sentient beings, the Yānavākpradīpa (Tibetan: theg pa gsung gi sgron ma) belongs to the General Unexcelled Yoga Tantra Works. This classical Tibetan work is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཞི, where it extends over two pages. The text establishes a taxonomical distinction between the Causal Vehicle of Characteristics and the Resultant Vajra Vehicle, arguing that while both paths share an identical ultimate goal, the Mantra Vehicle is superior to the Vehicle of the Perfections. It asserts this superiority on the basis that the Mantra Vehicle is not deluded regarding the goal, possesses numerous methods, and is free from hardships. A scholar or serious reader consults this work today to examine its hierarchical understanding of Buddhist praxis and its specific arguments regarding the comparative efficacy of the causal and resultant paths.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “The Lamp of Speech: The Vehicle” (Toh 2316), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2316
Summary & commentary
Significance
This work is significant for its articulation of the relationship between the Sutrayana and Vajrayana paths. It reflects a common Tibetan scholastic effort to systematize the various vehicles of enlightenment into a coherent hierarchy of cause and result.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction
Invocation to Mañjuśrī and a statement on the universal state of ignorance.
2
Distinction of Vehicles
Comparison between the Causal Vehicle of Characteristics and the Resultant Vajra Vehicle.
Themes
Causal vs. Resultant Vehicles (2)
Ignorance and Enlightenment (1)
Superiority of the Mantra Vehicle (2)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Yānavākpradīpanāma. In the language of Tibet: The Lamp of the Speech of the Vehicles. Homage to Mañjuśrī, the Lion of Speech.
All sentient beings of the three realms without exception are shrouded in the darkness of ignorance. The Teacher, the Blessed One Śākyamuni, taught this Lamp of Speech, and thus the sublime Dharma was spoken in three stages: the extensive, the intermediate, and the concise.
Regarding the extensive teaching, it consists of the eighty-four thousand remedies for the three poisons and the afflictions in equal measure; it is the teaching of the various vehicles. The intermediate consists of the twelve branches of the excellent speech: the discourses (sūtra), the melodic verses (geya), the prophecies (vyākaraṇa), the verses (gāthā), the intentional utterances (udāna), the introductory narratives (nidāna), the edifying tales (avadāna), the historical accounts (itivṛttaka), the birth stories (jātaka), the extensive teachings (vaipulya), the marvelous events (adbhutadharma), and the established instructions (upadeśa).
The concise consists of the three baskets (piṭaka): the Sūtra Basket, the Vinaya Basket, and the Abhidharma Basket. The Abhidharma primarily teaches the view; the Sūtra primarily teaches meditation; and the Vinaya primarily teaches conduct. Furthermore, these are of three types: the great, the small, and the pervasive.
The first five [of the twelve branches] are the Sūtra; the next six are the Vinaya; and the very last is the Abhidharma. This is the scripture of the Small Vehicle. The extensive and marvelous events are the Sūtra; the nine [branches] beginning with the Sūtra are the Vinaya; and the established instructions are the Abhidharma Basket. This is the scripture of the Great Vehicle. The five stages beginning with the Sūtra are the Sūtra; the next four are the Vinaya; and the final three are the Abhidharma. This is the scripture of the Unsurpassed [Tantra]. One should understand the application in this same manner.
Specifically, in terms of the distinction: there is the Causal Vehicle of Characteristics and the Resultant Vajra Vehicle. Regarding the distinction between cause and result for these two: although the goal is the same, the Mantra Vehicle is superior to the Vehicle of the Perfections because it is not deluded regarding that goal, possesses many methods, and is without hardships, being mastered by those of sharp faculties.
Mantra is taught to consist of four classes of tantra: Action Tantra, Performance Tantra, Yoga Tantra, and Unsurpassed [Yoga Tantra]. For those of lesser capacity, there is Action Tantra; for those who are not [suitable for] Action, there is Yoga; and for the most excellent, there is Unsurpassed Yoga.
Alternatively, according to the four castes: for the Brahmin caste, there is Action Tantra; for the Shudra caste, there is Performance Tantra; likewise, for the Vaishya caste, there is Yoga Tantra; and for the Kshatriya caste, there is Unsurpassed Yoga. This is renowned as the Unsurpassed Tantra.
In terms of tantra, method, and result, this is taught as the Tantra of Method. This profound and vast pacifying [teaching] is explained as having four lineages: the lineage of the family, the lineage of the meaning, the lineage of blessings, and the lineage of symbols. One should understand these four types of lineages for those who have not entered [the path].
The Lamp of the Speech of the Vehicles is complete.
Translation status: Not among 84000's published translations, and not in progress there. Translations published elsewhere have not been searched for, so one may exist. (source: 84000 catalogue + registry; checked 2026-11-10).
Set in Newsreader and EB Garamond; Tibetan in Noto Serif Tibetan; Chinese in Noto Serif SC.