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The Buddha identified the threefold training (sikkha) as training in:

In the Pali Canon
According to Theravada
Theravada

Theravada...
 canonical texts
Pali Canon

The Pali Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism tradition, as preserved in the Pali. It is the only completely surviving Early Buddhist schools canon, and one of the first to be written down....
, pursuing this training leads to the abandonment of lust, hatred and delusion
Kilesa

The Buddhist term kilesa is typically translated as "defilement" or "poison." In early Buddhist texts the kilesas generally referred to mental states which temporarily cloud the mind and manifest in unskillful kamma....
. One who is fully accomplished in this training attains Nibbana.

In the Anguttara Nikaya
Anguttara Nikaya

The Anguttara Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the fourth of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that comprise the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism....
, training in "higher virtue" includes following the Patimokkha
Patimokkha

In Buddhism, the Patimokkha is the basic Theravada code of monastic discipline, consisting of 227 rules for fully ordained monks and 311 for nuns ....
, training in "higher mind" (sometimes simply referred to as "concentration") includes entering and dwelling in the four jhanas
Dhyana

Dhyana or jhana in Pali refers to a stage of meditation, which is a subset of samadhi. It is a key concept in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism....
, and training in "higher wisdom" includes directly perceiving the Four Noble Truths
Four Noble Truths

The Four Noble Truths are one of the most fundamental Buddhism teachings. In broad terms, these truths relate to suffering's nature, origin, cessation and the path leading to the cessation....
.

In several canonical
Pali Canon

The Pali Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism tradition, as preserved in the Pali. It is the only completely surviving Early Buddhist schools canon, and one of the first to be written down....
 discourses, a more "gradual" instruction (anupubbikatha
Anupubbikatha

In Theravada Buddhism, anupubbikatha or anupubbikatha — variously translated as "gradual discourse," "gradual instruction," "gradual training," "progressive instruction," and "step-by-step talk" — is a method by which Gautama Buddha taught the Dhamma to suitably receptive lay people....
) is provided to receptive lay people (see also, gradual training
Gradual training

Gautama Buddha sometimes described the practice of his teaching as the gradual training because the eightfold path involves a process of mind-body transformation that unfolds over a sometimes lengthy period....
).






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The Buddha identified the threefold training (sikkha) as training in:
  • higher virtue
    Sila

    Sila or sila is usually rendered into English as "virtue"; other translations include "good conduct," "morality" "moral discipline." and "precept." It is an action that is an intentional effort....
     (adhisila-sikkha)
  • higher mind
    Samadhi (Buddhism)

    In Buddhism, samadhi is mental concentration or composing the mind.In the Pali literature, samadhi is found in the following contexts:* In the Noble Eightfold Path, "right concentration" is the eighth path factor....
     (adhicitta-sikkha)
  • higher wisdom
    Prajña

    Praj?a or pa??a has been translated as "wisdom," "understanding," "discernment," "cognitive acuity," or "know-how." In some sects of Buddhism, it especially refers to the wisdom that is based on the direct realization of the Four Noble Truths, anicca, interdependent origination, anatta, shunyata, etc....
     (adhipañña-sikkha)


In the Pali Canon


According to Theravada
Theravada

Theravada...
 canonical texts
Pali Canon

The Pali Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism tradition, as preserved in the Pali. It is the only completely surviving Early Buddhist schools canon, and one of the first to be written down....
, pursuing this training leads to the abandonment of lust, hatred and delusion
Kilesa

The Buddhist term kilesa is typically translated as "defilement" or "poison." In early Buddhist texts the kilesas generally referred to mental states which temporarily cloud the mind and manifest in unskillful kamma....
. One who is fully accomplished in this training attains Nibbana.

In the Anguttara Nikaya
Anguttara Nikaya

The Anguttara Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the fourth of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that comprise the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism....
, training in "higher virtue" includes following the Patimokkha
Patimokkha

In Buddhism, the Patimokkha is the basic Theravada code of monastic discipline, consisting of 227 rules for fully ordained monks and 311 for nuns ....
, training in "higher mind" (sometimes simply referred to as "concentration") includes entering and dwelling in the four jhanas
Dhyana

Dhyana or jhana in Pali refers to a stage of meditation, which is a subset of samadhi. It is a key concept in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism....
, and training in "higher wisdom" includes directly perceiving the Four Noble Truths
Four Noble Truths

The Four Noble Truths are one of the most fundamental Buddhism teachings. In broad terms, these truths relate to suffering's nature, origin, cessation and the path leading to the cessation....
.

In several canonical
Pali Canon

The Pali Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism tradition, as preserved in the Pali. It is the only completely surviving Early Buddhist schools canon, and one of the first to be written down....
 discourses, a more "gradual" instruction (anupubbikatha
Anupubbikatha

In Theravada Buddhism, anupubbikatha or anupubbikatha — variously translated as "gradual discourse," "gradual instruction," "gradual training," "progressive instruction," and "step-by-step talk" — is a method by which Gautama Buddha taught the Dhamma to suitably receptive lay people....
) is provided to receptive lay people (see also, gradual training
Gradual training

Gautama Buddha sometimes described the practice of his teaching as the gradual training because the eightfold path involves a process of mind-body transformation that unfolds over a sometimes lengthy period....
). This latter instruction culminates in the teaching of the Four Noble Truths which in itself concludes with the Noble Eightfold Path
Noble Eightfold Path

The Noble Eightfold Path is one of the principal Dharma of Gautama Buddha, who described it as the way leading to the cessation of suffering and the achievement of self-awakening....
, the constituents of which can be mapped to this threefold training (see below).

Similarity to three-fold partition of the Noble Eightfold Path

The Buddha's threefold training is similar to the threefold grouping of the Noble Eightfold Path
Noble Eightfold Path

The Noble Eightfold Path is one of the principal Dharma of Gautama Buddha, who described it as the way leading to the cessation of suffering and the achievement of self-awakening....
 articulated by Bhikkhuni
Bhikkhuni

A Bhikkhuni is a fully ordained female Buddhism monastic. Male monastics are called Bhikkhus. Both Bhikkunis and Bhikkhus live by the vinaya. Bhikkhuni lineages enjoy a broad basis in Mahayana countries like Korea, Vietnam, China and Taiwan....
 Dhammadinna in Culavedalla Sutta ("The Shorter Set of Questions-And-Answers Discourse," MN
Majjhima Nikaya

The Majjhima Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism....
 44): virtue (silakkhandha), concentration (samadhikkhandha), wisdom (paññakkhandha ). These three-part schemes simplify and organize the Eightfold Path as follows:











Threefold PartitionEightfold Path
VIRTUERight Speech
Right Action
Right Livelihood
MINDRight Effort
Right Mindfulness
Right Concentration
WISDOMRight Understanding
Right Intention


See also


  • Noble Eightfold Path
    Noble Eightfold Path

    The Noble Eightfold Path is one of the principal Dharma of Gautama Buddha, who described it as the way leading to the cessation of suffering and the achievement of self-awakening....
  • Paramita
    Paramita

    The term Paramita or Parami means "Perfect" or "Perfection". In Buddhism, the Paramitas refer to the perfection or culmination of certain virtues....
     (Sanskrit; Pali: parami; English: "Perfection"), where the six Mahayana perfections are similar to this threefold training.
  • Prajna
    Prajña

    Praj?a or pa??a has been translated as "wisdom," "understanding," "discernment," "cognitive acuity," or "know-how." In some sects of Buddhism, it especially refers to the wisdom that is based on the direct realization of the Four Noble Truths, anicca, interdependent origination, anatta, shunyata, etc....
     (Sanskrit; Pali: panna; English: "discernment," "understanding," "wisdom")
  • Samadhi
    Samadhi (Buddhism)

    In Buddhism, samadhi is mental concentration or composing the mind.In the Pali literature, samadhi is found in the following contexts:* In the Noble Eightfold Path, "right concentration" is the eighth path factor....
     (concentration)
  • Sila
    Sila

    Sila or sila is usually rendered into English as "virtue"; other translations include "good conduct," "morality" "moral discipline." and "precept." It is an action that is an intentional effort....
     (virtue)
  • Patimokkha
    Patimokkha

    In Buddhism, the Patimokkha is the basic Theravada code of monastic discipline, consisting of 227 rules for fully ordained monks and 311 for nuns ....
  • Gradual training
    Gradual training

    Gautama Buddha sometimes described the practice of his teaching as the gradual training because the eightfold path involves a process of mind-body transformation that unfolds over a sometimes lengthy period....
    , Anupubbikatha
    Anupubbikatha

    In Theravada Buddhism, anupubbikatha or anupubbikatha — variously translated as "gradual discourse," "gradual instruction," "gradual training," "progressive instruction," and "step-by-step talk" — is a method by which Gautama Buddha taught the Dhamma to suitably receptive lay people....
     ("gradual instruction")


Source


  • Nyanaponika Thera
    Nyanaponika Thera

    Nyanaponika Thera or Nyaniponika Mahathera was a German-born Sri-Lanka-ordained Theravada monk, co-founder of the Buddhist Publication Society, contemporary author of numerous seminal Theravada books, and teacher of contemporary Western Buddhist leaders such as Bhikkhu Bodhi....
     and Bhikkhu Bodhi
    Bhikkhu Bodhi

    Bhikkhu Bodhi , born Jeffrey Block, is an American Buddhist monk, ordained in Sri Lanka and currently teaching in the New York/New Jersey area....
     (trans. and ed.) (1999). Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: An Anthology of Suttas from the Anguttara Nikaya. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press. ISBN 0-7425-0405-0.
  • Thanissaro Bhikkhu
    Thanissaro Bhikkhu

    Thanissaro Bhikkhu is an United States Buddhist monk of the Thai forest kammatthana tradition. He was born Geoffrey DeGraff and converted to Buddhism in high school....
     (trans.) (1998a). AN 3.88: Sikkha Sutta - Trainings (1). Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an03/an03.088.than.html.
  • Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1998b). AN 3.89: Sikkha Sutta - Trainings (2). Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an03/an03.089.than.html.
  • Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1998c). MN 44: Culavedalla Sutta: The Shorter Set of Questions-and-Answers. Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.044.than.html.


External links


  • and of the Anguttara Nikaya
    Anguttara Nikaya

    The Anguttara Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the fourth of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that comprise the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism....
    's Book of Threes' Monk (samana
    Samaná

    Saman? is a Provinces of the Dominican Republic of the Dominican Republic. Its Capital is Samana, Dominican Republic, also known as Saman? City....
    ) chapter, including AN 3:82 to 3:92.
  • , talk by Mahasi Sayadaw
    Mahasi Sayadaw

    Mahasi Sayadaw was a famous Myanmar Buddhist monk and meditation master who had a significant impact on the teaching of Vipassana meditation in the West and throughout Asia....
    .