triyāna. 三乘 or 三乘法門 (1) The three vehicles acrosssaṃsārainto nirvāṇa, i.e. the carts offered by the father in theLotus Sutrato lure his children out of the burning house: (a) goat carts, representingśrāvakas; (b) deer carts, pratyekabuddhas; (c) bullock carts, bodhisattvas. (2) The three principal schools of Buddhism-- Hīnayāna, Madhyamayāna, Mahāyāna.