Toh 282Kinh Ba Học Xứ

Summary

In The Sūtra on the Threefold Training, Buddha Śākyamuni briefly
introduces the three elements or stages of the path, widely known as “the three trainings,” one by one in a
specific order: discipline, meditative concentration, and wisdom. He teaches that training progressively in
them constitutes the gradual path to awakening.

Acknowledgments

This text was translated from the Tibetan, with comparison to Sanskrit, Chinese, and Pali editions,
introduced, and edited by the Dharmasāgara Translation Group: Raktrul Ngawang Kunga Rinpoche, Rebecca Hufen,
Shanshan Jia, Jason Sanche, and Arne Schelling.

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

Introduction

The Sūtra on the Threefold Training is, in essence, a brief outline of the
core teachings of Buddha Śākyamuni, which he gave while traveling toward Kuśinagara in the last year
before his parinirvāṇa. It was given to a large audience of fully ordained monks in a grove to the north
of Kuṭigrāmaka, a village in the ancient Indian country of Vṛji, which extended from the north bank of the
Ganges opposite Pāṭaliputra up to the Madhesh regions of what is currently southern Nepal. The sūtra’s
condensed teaching represents the three stages of the gradual Buddhist path to enlightenment and
emphasizes how the trainings are undertaken in progression. The first training, discipline, is taught as
the basis for the second training, meditative concentration, which in turn is a prerequisite to wisdom,
the third training.

There appear to be several parallels or versions of this text. In its Tibetan translation it is
preserved not only as an independent sūtra, but also in the form of short passages in two long vinaya
texts, the Bhaiṣajyavastu (sixth chapter of the Vinayavastu) and the Vinayakṣudrakavastu. It is also found as a passage in the non-Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, of which so far only incomplete Sanskrit manuscripts
are extant, although a Sanskrit version has been reconstructed by Ernst Waldschmidt (1951). With some
variant readings, the same passage appears, too, in the still extant Pali Mahāparinibbāna Sutta. Translations of it in Chinese can be found as part of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra and passages in some vinaya texts.

A number of studies and translations of the aforementioned texts in Western languages have been
carried out, for example those by Waldschmidt (1951) and Rhys Davids (1951). However, there have hitherto
been no translations, as far as we know, of the independent sūtra.

In this translation of the sūtra from the Tibetan Kangyur, the text is introduced with the title in
Sanskrit and Tibetan, proceeding with the homage and then the general opening formula of “Thus have I
heard at one time.” Naturally, in the other versions in which this text is embedded as part of a larger
work, these introductory statements and the concluding sentence are not included. Besides this, there are
a few variant readings in the Tibetan, Sanskrit, Pali, and especially in the Chinese. Since most of them
do not alter the meaning significantly, we have chosen to note only the most important variants.

The Translation

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The Sūtra on the Threefold Training

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Thus have I heard at one time. As the Bhagavān was wandering in the land of Vṛji, he arrived at the
village of Kuṭigrāmaka and settled to the north of that village in a grove of sāl trees,
with a great saṅgha of bhikṣus. Thereupon the Bhagavān taught the following to the
bhikṣus:

“This, bhikṣus, is discipline.
This is meditative concentration. This is wisdom. Bhikṣus, training in discipline will lead one to abide
for a long time in meditative concentration. Training in meditative concentration will lead one to gain
wisdom. By training in wisdom, one’s mind will be completely liberated from desire, anger, and ignorance.
In this way, having a completely liberated mind, a noble śrāvaka will perfectly know: ‘My defilements have ceased. I have lived the sublime life. What
was to be done has been done. From here onward, I will not know any further existence.’ ”

After the Bhagavān had thus spoken, the bhikṣus rejoiced and praised the Bhagavān’s words.

This completes “The Sūtra on the Threefold Training.”

Bibliography

Tibetan texts

Other works

śrāvaka
nyan thos
ཉན་ཐོས།
śrāvaka
Primarily referring to those disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain the
state of an arhat by seeking self liberation. It is usually defined as “those who hear the
teaching from the Buddha and make it heard to others.”