The feeling of the shravakayana is that you cannot yourself become a Buddha, you cannot be equal to a Buddha, because the Buddha is too great, he is unique. Along with this belief was the feeling that you don’t need to become a Buddha, so there is no need to cultivate bodhichitta, the aspiration to attain Buddhahood, in order to help others. You have a lot of suffering and you want to stop your suffering, so you concern yourself only with your own safety and liberation. You are satisfied with a small path, a small nirvana.

Out of his compassion and love for us, the Buddha gave the small vehicle teaching of nirvana in the beginning. But after a time, our skillful guide tells us it is time to go farther on the path. Even though many of us may be satisfied to stay and enjoy the peace and bliss of individual nirvana, the Buddha reminds us of our ultimate goal: to arrive at the shore of freedom and well-being and then extend a hand to others so that they may cross over to liberation. From the path of the shravakayana we continue onto the bodhisattva path of the Mahayana and continue our journey to the end.