Some people want only to find relief from their own suffering. They feel it is all they can do to try to liberate themselves, and so they take up the practice and attend a retreat or two at Plum Village and receive the benefit of that. This is the shravaka path. Then there are some practitioners who are able to get a direct insight into the nature of dependent co-arising and attain freedom for themselves, but they do not wish to teach or guide others. This is the path of the pratyekabuddha. Others have a wider aspiration. They hope that by practicing the Dharma they will be able to organize Dharma communities and share the benefits of the practice with many people. Rather than just enjoying their own attainment, they want to share the fruits of their practice with others. This is the bodhisattva path. So when the time is ripe the Buddha reveals the path of the One Vehicle (ekayana), the Great Vehicle of the Mahayana, which embraces all three of these paths – the shravakayana, pratyekabuddhayana, and bodhisattvayana. The One Vehicle teaching says you can do more – you can arrive at the fruit of the highest awakening, become a Buddha, and help many other beings across the river of suffering to the shore of freedom.