The bodhisattvas of The Inquiry of Ugra are uniformly wilderness dwellers, only occasionally visiting the greater sangha in order to hear the Dharma.

In discussing the virtues of dwelling in the wilderness, The Inquiry of Ugra offers this:

“O Eminent Householder, if one asks what is the renunciant bodhisattva’s śramaṇa-aim, it is the following: it is mindfulness and clear consciousness, being undistracted, attaining the dhārāṇis, not being satisfied with what he has learned, having attained eloquence in speech, relying on loving-kindness and compassion, having mastery of the paranormal powers, fulfilling the cultivation of the six perfections, not abandoning the spirit of Omniscience, cultivating the knowledge of skillful means, maturing sentient beings, not abandoning the four means of attraction, being mindful of the six kinds of remembrance, not discarding learning and exertion, properly analyzing the dharmas, exerting oneself in order to attain right liberation, knowing the attainments of the fruit, dwelling in the state of having entered into a fixed course, and protecting the True Dharma.

“It is having right view, by having confidence in the maturing of deeds; having right intention, which consists in the cutting off of all discursive and divisive thought; having right speech, which consists of teaching the Dharma in accordance with the receptivity [of others]; having right action, by completely annihilating action; having right livelihood, by overcoming the residue of attachments; having right effort, by awakening to sambodhi; having right mindfulness, by constant non-forgetfulness; and having right absorption, by fully attaining the knowledge of Omniscience.

“It is not being frightened by emptiness, not being intimidated by the signless, and not being overpowered by the wishless, and being able through one’s knowledge to be reborn at will. It is relying on the meaning, not on the letter; relying on knowledge, not on discursive consciousness; relying on the Dharma, not on the person; and relying on the definitive sūtras, not on the sūtras that must be interpreted. In accord with the primordially non-arising and non-ceasing nature of things, it is not mentally constructing an essence of things—that, O Eminent Householder, is what is called the śramaṇa-aim of the renunciant bodhisattva.

Note the admonition about “relying on the meaning, not on the letter; relying on knowledge, not on discursive consciousness; relying on the Dharma, not on the person; and relying on the definitive sūtras, not on the sūtras that must be interpreted.”

These instructions are also found in the Nirvāṇa Sūtra, where Nichiren read them as validating the Lotus Sutra as the highest teaching of the Buddha.

The Nirvana Sūtra declares, “Rely on the dharma, not on the man; rely on the wisdom, not on the knowledge.” “Rely on the dharma” in this passage means to rely on the eternal dharma preached in the Lotus-Nirvana sūtras. “Rely not on the man” means not to rely on those who do not believe in the Lotus-Nirvana sūtras. Those who do not have faith in the Lotus Sūtra, even Buddhas and bodhisattvas, are not “good friends” (reliable teachers) for us in the Latter Age, not to mention commentators, translators and teachers after the extinction of the Buddha who do not believe in the Lotus-Nirvana Sūtras. “Rely on the wisdom” means to rely on the wisdom of the Buddha. “Rely not on the knowledge” means not to rely on the opinions of bodhisattvas in the highest stage and below.

Shugo Kokka-ron, Treatise on Protecting the Nation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Pages 59-60

The Inquiry of Ugra also offers an alternate set of bodhisattva vows. Compares these with the Four Great Vows promulgated by the founder of the Tiantai school and adopted by Nichiren:

“Who, in order to take care of, comfort, and protect all beings, seek the armor [of the bodhisattva]; who for the benefit of all beings take on the great burden, vowing:

The unrescued I will rescue.
The unliberated I will liberate.
The uncomforted I will comfort.
Those who have not yet reached parinirvāṇa, I will cause to attain parinirvāṇa

Finally, The Inquiry of Ugra includes this tip for the bodhisattva that I hope to keep in mind:

Without deception or artifice, he never tires of searching for what is lovable and virtuous in all beings. He is never satisfied with how much he has learned.

In the past I’ve expressed puzzlement at the prediction that future Buddhas will divide the One Vehicle into three in order to save sentient beings.

Why bother? Because even though “the world in which he appears will not be an evil one” the causes and conditions that prompted the Buddha’s provisional teachings will still be present. This significantly alters the meaning of the Mahāyāna.

This is reflected in Jan Nattier’s discussion of The Inquiry of Ugra. As Nattier explains:

Far from describing the Mahāyāna as a form of protest against those pursuing the traditional path to Arhatship, the Ugra urges its audience to maintain harmony within the Buddhist community by honoring one’s Śrāvaka coreligionists. There is, in sum, not a shred of evidence that the Ugra’s authors considered the Śrāvaka path illegitimate–far from it, for they remind the bodhisattva that when he becomes a Buddha, he will lead a community of Śrāvakas himself.

In The Inquiry of Ugra, the Buddha says:

“O Eminent Householder, how should the householder bodhisattva go to the Sangha for refuge? O Eminent Householder, as to the householder bodhisattva going to the Sangha for refuge, if he sees monks who are stream-enterers, or once-returners, or non-returners, or Arhats, or ordinary persons (pṛthagjana), who are members of the Śrāvaka Vehicle, the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, or the Great Vehicle, with reverence and respect toward them he exerts himself to stand up, speaks to them pleasantly, and treats them with propriety. Showing reverence toward those he meets with and encounters, he bears in mind the thought ‘When I have awakened to Supreme Perfect Enlightenment, I will teach the Dharma which brings about [in others] the qualities of a Śrāvaka or a Pratyekabuddha in just this way.’ Thus having reverence and respect for them, he does not cause them any trouble. That is how a householder bodhisattva goes to the Sangha for refuge.

I agree with Nattier’s declaration that the Mahāyāna can be seen as a synonym of the “bodhisattva path,” but she misses how The Inquiry of Ugra sets up the Bodhisattva and the Mahāyāna as a distinct and superior path. Consider this description of the Three Refuges for Bodhisattvas:

“And again, O Eminent Householder, if a householder bodhisattva has four things, he is one who ‘goes to the Buddha for refuge.’ What are the four? (l) he does not abandon the spirit of enlightenment; (2) he does not break his promise; (3) he does not forsake great compassion; and (4) he does not concern himself with the other vehicles. O Eminent Householder, if a householder bodhisattva has these four things, he is one who ‘goes to the Buddha for refuge.’

“And again, O Eminent Householder, if a householder bodhisattva has four things, he is one who ‘goes to the Dharma for refuge.’ What are the four? (l) he relies on and associates with those people who are preachers of the Dharma, and having revered and done homage to them, he listens to the Dharma; (2) having heard the Dharma, he thoroughly reflects upon it; (3) just as he has heard and absorbed it himself, he teaches and explains those Dharmas to others; and (4) he transforms that root-of-goodness which has sprung from his gift of the Dharma into Supreme Perfect Enlightenment. O Eminent Householder, the householder bodhisattva who has these four things may be said to be ‘going to the Dharma for refuge.’

“And again, O Eminent Householder, if a householder bodhisattva has four things, he may be said to be one who ‘goes to the Sangha for refuge.’ What are the four? (l) those who have [not yet] definitively entered into the Śrāvaka Vehicle he should lead to the spirit of Omniscience; (2) those who are drawn to material things he causes to be drawn to the Dharma; (3) he relies on the irreversible bodhisattva Sangha, not on the Sangha of the Śrāvakas; and (4) he strives for the good qualities of the Śrāvakas, but does not delight in their form of liberation. O Eminent Householder, if a householder bodhisattva has these four things, he may be said to be ‘going to the Sangha for refuge.’