Buddha Bond
Threefold Training
| Threefold Partition | Eightfold Path | Method of Practice |
|---|---|---|
| Virtue | Right Speech | Five Precepts |
| Right Action | ||
| Right Livelihood | ||
| Mind | Right Effort | Four Jhanas |
| Right Mindfulness | ||
| Right Concentration | ||
| Wisdom | Right View | Four Noble Truths |
| Right Intention |
Five Precepts
The first precept consists of a prohibition of killing, both humans and all animals.
The second precept prohibits theft and related activities such as fraud and forgery.
The third precept refers to sexual misconduct, and has been defined by modern teachers with terms such as sexual responsibility and long-term commitment.
The fourth precept involves falsehood spoken or committed to by action, as well as malicious speech, harsh speech and gossip.
The fifth precept prohibits intoxication through alcohol, drugs, or other means.
| Precept | Accompanying virtues |
|---|---|
| 1. Abstention from killing living beings | Kindness and compassion |
| 2. Abstention from theft | Generosity and renunciation |
| 3. Abstention from sexual misconduct | Contentment and respect for faithfulness |
| 4. Abstention from speaking lies (falsehood) | Being honest and dependable |
| 5. Abstention from intoxication | Mindfulness and responsibility |
Four Jhanas
| Jhanas (Concentration Stages) | Factors abandoned | Factors acquired or intensified | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Jhana | Five hindrances: | Five Jhana factors: | • Five hindrances are opposed to the five jhana factors. |
| 1. Sloth and torpor | 1. Applied thought | ||
| 2. Doubt | 2. Sustained thought | • Characterized by rapture and happiness born of seclusion | |
| 3. Ill will / aversion | 3. Rapture | ||
| 4. Restlessness | 4. Happiness | ||
| 5. Greed / sensual desire | 5. One-pointedness of the mind | ||
| 2nd Jhana | • Disappearance of applied and sustained thought | ||
| 1. Applied thought | 1. Rapture | ||
| 2. Sustained thought | 2. Happiness | • Characterized by delight and happiness born of concentration | |
| 3. One-pointedness of the mind | |||
| 3rd Jhana | • Rapture fades, revealing a quiet, subtle, and pervasive happiness. | ||
| Rapture | 1. Subtle happiness | ||
| 2. One-pointedness of the mind | • Characterized by the subtle enjoyment of a mind that is mindful and equanimous | ||
| 4th Jhana | • Happiness is replaced by equanimity. | ||
| Happiness | 1. One-pointedness of the mind | The mind is profoundly stable, still, and equanimous. | |
| 2. Equanimity | |||
| • Mindfulness is purified by equanimity. |
Four Noble Truths
dukkha
('not being at ease', "suffering," from dush-stha, "standing unstable,")
is an innate characteristic of the perpetual cycle (samsara, lit. 'wandering') of grasping at things, ideas and habits;
Now this, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering.
samudaya
(origin, arising, combination; "cause")
dukkha (unease) arises simultaneously with tanha ("craving, desire or attachment, lit. 'thirst');
Now this, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of the origin of suffering: it is this craving [tanha, "thirst"] which leads to re-becoming, accompanied by delight and lust, seeking delight here and there; that is, craving for sensual pleasures, craving for becoming, craving for disbecoming.
nirodha
(cessation, ending, confinement)
dukkha can be ended or contained by the confinement or letting go of this tanha;
Now this, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering: it is the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving, the giving up and relinquishing of it, freedom from it, non-reliance on it.
marga
(path, Noble Eightfold Path)
is the path leading to the confinement of tanha and dukkha.
Now this, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering: it is this noble eightfold path; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.