The Key Factors to the Accomplishment of All Dharmas: Precepts, Concentration, and Wisdom

During the Buddha's presence in the Saha World, he frequently taught his disciples to cultivate the threefold training of precepts, concentration, and wisdom, repeatedly emphasizing: Precepts give rise to concentration, and concentration gives rise to wisdom. The training in precepts, concentration, wisdom, and so forth can lead to a mind free from outflows: Observing precepts enables the mind to be free from outflows, cultivating concentration enables the mind to be free from outflows, and the growth of wisdom enables the mind to be free from outflows. When the mind is free from outflows, the mind attains liberation, wisdom attains liberation, and the fruition ground progressively advances stage by stage. After the three non-outflow trainings of precepts, concentration, and wisdom are ultimately perfected, one is certain to attain Buddhahood.

Before enlightenment, when the threefold training of precepts, concentration, and wisdom is cultivated to a certain degree and correspondingly fulfilled to a sufficient extent, one can sever the view of self or realize the mind and attain enlightenment. Further advancing the cultivation of the threefold training of precepts, concentration, and wisdom enables entry into the first ground (bhumi), attaining a mind free from outflows. Continuing to advance the cultivation of non-outflow precepts, concentration, and wisdom allows progression from ground to ground until the eighth ground. Further advancement enables cultivation up to the tenth ground of equal enlightenment, and after advancing further to perfect and fully possess precepts, concentration, and wisdom, one can attain Buddhahood.

Therefore, the threefold training of precepts, concentration, and wisdom, as well as the three non-outflow trainings, are extremely important and are key factors in accomplishing the Buddha Way. The Six Perfections (Paramitas) of a Bodhisattva also include the three perfections of observing precepts, cultivating concentration, and prajna-wisdom. Using the observance of precepts and cultivation of concentration as foundational practices, one aims to attain the ultimate result of perfecting prajna-wisdom. Within the Six Perfections, the training in wisdom comes after the training in concentration. The Buddha taught that wisdom arises from concentration; the attainment of genuine great wisdom necessarily arises from profound, subtle contemplation and observation within meditative concentration. This is wisdom realized through direct experience, not superficial wisdom born of speculative reasoning. The entire process from attaining the first fruition (Sotapanna) to Buddhahood follows this principle; every intermediate stage is supported by meditative concentration, and every type of wisdom is the result of meditative concentration.