The Three Trainings of Morality, Meditative Concentration, and Wisdom

The crucial part of Buddhist practice and realization, which the Buddha repeatedly explained to us, is the three undefiled studies of precepts, meditative concentration (samādhi), and wisdom. In the study of precepts, one must strictly uphold the precepts; only then can the mind become concentrated. Only after the mind is concentrated can there arise the wisdom of contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā); when contemplative practice matures, the great wisdom of prajñā will be born. Having the great wisdom of prajñā is extremely important, for it can lead to liberation. The arising of prajñā wisdom depends on deep and subtle wisdom of contemplative practice; the acquisition of wisdom of contemplative practice relies on meditative concentration; and the production of meditative concentration depends on the precepts. The three studies of precepts, concentration, and wisdom are linked ring by ring, all of them important; each link is tightly connected, none can be lacking, and none can be omitted or discarded—otherwise there will be no genuine realization.

After meditative concentration has been cultivated, one must learn to transform it into the wisdom of contemplative practice, being adept at shifting one's mental states; otherwise meditative concentration will forever remain just meditative concentration, no different from the concentration of non-Buddhists—prajñā wisdom will not arise, one cannot realize no-self, and one cannot attain liberation and ease. Quite a few people are not interested in sitting quietly, because their minds are too scattered and restless and they cannot sit still, so they have no choice but to rely on concentration within movement. Yet the mind in stillness is not easy to grasp, and the mind in movement is even harder to grasp. Even if concentration within movement is well cultivated, that concentration is still shallower than concentration in stillness; the mind is coarse, thinking is not fine and meticulous, and the wisdom of contemplative practice is also crude and shallow, making genuine realization impossible. Therefore concentration in stillness is both the foundation and the final refuge; great wisdom must be born from concentration in stillness—the patriarchs, generations of masters, Buddhas, and bodhisattvas of the past have all been so.

When concentration in stillness is well cultivated, one's thinking becomes keen and deep and subtle; whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, the mind is always in concentration; afflictions can be subdued; the mind is relaxed and joyful; and one's thoughts naturally consist mostly of wholesome thoughts. Therefore concentration in stillness is extremely important. This is the Dharma treasure passed down by the Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions and by the patriarchs and great masters; one must cherish it and cultivate it well.