“Thereupon the rich man thought, ‘This house will be burned down soon by this great fire. If they and I do not get out at once, we shall be burned. I will save them from this danger with an expedient.’

“An idea came to his mind that his children would be attracted by the various toys which they wished to have. He said to them, ‘The toys you wish to have are rare and difficult to obtain. You will be sorry if you do not get them now. There are sheep-carts, deer carts, and bullock-carts outside the gate. You can play with them. Come out of this burning house quickly! I will give you any of them according to your wishes.’ “

This is the fifth segment. The Buddha wants to provide them with the happiness of the three vehicles. As he has told them about the frightening and dreadful happening in order to terrify them, they feel apprehensive, and when they hear the attractions of the three vehicles suddenly their hearts are filled with joy. This is not the real teaching; it is called an expedient device.

What living beings are fond of is replacing suffering with pleasure. Here he speaks of the joys of the three vehicles. These (joys) are what they are fond of; it looks as if they are [true joys], yet [in reality] they are not. What I mean by replacing suffering with pleasure is that in the absence of suffering there is pleasure, and in the absence of pleasure there is suffering. [However], [the statement] that there is no suffering eternally in the three vehicles must not be spoken of in this sense. Traces follow the state of their minds, enabling them to pull themselves out of the stations of suffering, which is a consummate case of an expedient device. Because there are no three vehicles, how can there be pleasure? Yet it is suggested that there is pleasure. [Why?] This also is an expedient device. It has been stated that the joy of the three vehicles consists in bringing suffering to an end (nirodha) but, because suffering has not been destroyed and [the vehicles] have not been clearly revealed, again [it proves that] they are expedient devices. The Buddha’s teaching is [for the sake of] others; those in the Lesser Vehicle follow their masters. These two teachings are compared to the ox and goat, which are the subjects of men. Because the pratyekabuddhas can neither teach [others] nor follow the masters, they are compared to the deer. Transmigration in the three worlds is represented in its walking and trotting the long passage of suffering. li is capable of the unconditioned. One may have joy by replacing walking [the long path of suffering] with it; it is symbolized by the carts. No sooner do they (beings) come out of the burning house through the doorway of the teaching, than they can get it (li). Hence, it is stated that “[they] are outside of the door.”