Let’s study together thru the conversation of the students who really need to know about “Buddhism”

Rob : You said once that Buddhism

          emphasizes practice.  I can’t

          imagine how such discourses

          regarded as the fundamentals

          of Buddhism, such as Kamma

          or Rebirth, can be put into

          practice ?

Tim : Well, the majority of discourses

          explain thing as they really are.

          These discourses are something

          to be studied so that we deeply

          comprehend Buddhist teachings

          as well as the nature of the Cycle

          of Existence.  Dependence on

          this comprehension raises faith.

          Having had faith in Buddhist

          teachings, one begins to

          practice according to the

          Buddhist rules of training.

          Without faith in Buddhist

          teachings, one will never

          practice them.  If there are

          so many rules, it might be

         impossible for one to follow

          them perfectly.  In fact, the

          discourses that can be put

          into practice are in the

          minority, compared with

          those to be studied.  Let’s

          go back to the Four Noble

          Truths.  Do you remember

         the Fourth Noble Truth, say

          the truth of the path leading

          to the end of suffering ?

Rob : Yes. It’s the Middle Way.

Tim : This is what has to be practiced

          earnestly.  In fact, the Middle

          Way is generally referred to as

          the Noble Eightfold Path

          because it’s composed of

          eight categories:

          1. Right Understanding (View)

          2. Right Thought

          3. Right Speech

          4. Right Action

          5. Right Livelihood

          6. Right Effort

          7. Right Mindfulness

          8. Right Concentration

          For practical purposes, these

          8 categories are organized

          into 3 groups; morality (Sila),

          mental development (Samadhi),

          and wisdom (Panna).

          Group 1 – Morality includes:

          - Right Speech

          - Right Action

          - Right Livelihood.

          Group 2 – Mental Development

          includes :

          - Right Effort,

          - Right Mindfulness

          - Right Concentration

           Group 3 – Wisdom includes:

          - Right Understanding

          - Right Thought.

Rob : Therefore, that which is to be

          practiced earnestly includes

          morality, mental development

          and wisdom.

Tim : That’s right. These 3 categories

           are know as the “Threefold

          Training”.

Rob : It is clear to me now that

           no matter how many thousand

          discourses are collected in the

          Buddhist Scriptures, what is to

          be put into practice is the

          “Threefold Training”.

Tim : Absolutely right.

Rob : Lord Buddha said that the mind

           is the source of all mentalstates,

          that all mental states are

          fashioned by the mind.  Doesn’t

          this show that mental

          development is the most

          important training?  Why does

          the Threefold Training begin

          with morality ?

Tim : Well, we have been taught that

          the 3 categories must be

          simultaneously practiced. 

          This is because each helps the

          cultivation of the other. 

          However, morality is considered

          as the foundation for all higher

          spiritual attainments.  Without

          this moral foundation, mental

          development will never be

          possible.  Let’s take someone

          who is drunk as an example.

          Is it possible for him to

          concentrate his mind?

Rob : Absolutely not.  A person who

          is drunk is in a stupor!

Tim : He also broke the fifth rule of

          morality.  However, in some

          suttas, Lord Buddha confirmed

          that through the earnest practice

          of the Threefold Training, the

          practitioner will surely attain

          the goal of Buddhism –

          Delierance or Nibbana.

Thanks ®ards : AJ S. Srisopa (Cr. All Dhamma teachers) & background photo