The path to enlightenment
Having developed a burning love of reason and truth, there are two possible paths. Those with bodhicitta go one way, while those without it go another. I will call these paths respectively, "Mahayana" (lit, "the greater path", not to be confused with Tibetan Buddhism or Zen Buddhism) and "Hinayana" (lit "the lesser path", not to be confused with Theravada Buddhism). Those whose faith in reason is relatively poor, and whose ego crrespondingly strong, will take the Hinayana path, but may take to the Mahayana path at a later time. If one has a choice whether to cross a river once or twice, one prefers to cross it only the once. Yet for some there is no choice.
I will here attempt a brief description of the Mahayana path. My aim is to provide the equivalent of a map, showing the various levels of mental development in perspective, and giving some idea of scale. Words and categories can do little more than this!
The stages of the Hinayana and Mahayana are similar only in the sense that both lead to a direct understanding of Reality, or God. This understanding is known as Nirvana. In all other respects the two paths are vastly different. For the Hinayanist, important delsuions remain unchallenged, development is arrested, and they stagnate with a distorted perspective of the world. The Hinayanist has faith in the core of his ego, whereas the Mahayanist hates it with all his being. The Hinayanist says "I don't want to be sugar, I want to eat it!" while the Mahayanist says "I want Truth alone."
What is it that motivates the Mahayanist to strive for such a lofty Goal? His empowerment is a passionate love of reason and truth. His desire to never be in error provides motivation enough to carry him to his ideal. He may also regard it as his duty to ensure the survival of wisdom in the Universe, seeing wisdom as a lifeform of even greater importance than that of the human species. Such a duty provides no small impetus.