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an.3.89 Aṅguttara Nikāya (Numbered Discourses)

Trainings (1)

“There are these three trainings. Which three? The training in heightened virtue, the training in heightened mind, the training in heightened discernment.

“And what is the training in heightened virtue? There is the case where a monk is virtuous. He dwells restrained in accordance with the Pāṭimokkha, consummate in his behavior & sphere of activity. He trains himself, having undertaken the training rules, seeing danger in the slightest fault. This is called the training in heightened virtue.

“And what is the training in heightened mind? There is the case where a monk—quite withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful [mental] qualities—enters & remains in the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. With the stilling of directed thoughts & evaluations, he enters & remains in the second jhana: rapture & pleasure born of composure, unification of awareness free from directed thought & evaluation—internal assurance. With the fading of rapture, he remains equanimous, mindful, & alert, and senses pleasure with the body. He enters & remains in the third jhana, of which the Noble Ones declare, ‘Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasant abiding.’ With the abandoning of pleasure & pain—as with the earlier disappearance of elation & distress—he enters & remains in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither pleasure nor pain. This is called the training in heightened mind.

“And what is the training in heightened discernment? There is the case where a monk discerns as it actually is that ‘This is stress… This is the origination of stress… This is the cessation of stress… This is the path of practice leading to the cessation of stress.’ This is called the training in heightened discernment.

“These are the three trainings.”

- Translator: Thanissaro Bhikkhu

- Editor: Gabriel Laera


Three Trainings (1st)

“Mendicants, these are the three trainings.
What three?
The training in the higher ethics, the higher mind, and the higher wisdom.
And what is the training in the higher ethics?
It’s when a mendicant is ethical, restrained in the code of conduct, conducting themselves well and seeking alms in suitable places. Seeing danger in the slightest fault, they keep the rules they’ve undertaken.
This is called the training in the higher ethics.
And what is the training in the higher mind?
It’s when a mendicant, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unskillful qualities, enters and remains in the first absorption … second absorption … third absorption … fourth absorption.
This is called the training in the higher mind.
And what is the training in the higher wisdom?
They truly understand: ‘This is suffering’ … ‘This is the origin of suffering’ … ‘This is the cessation of suffering’ … ‘This is the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering’.
This is called the training in the higher wisdom.
These are the three trainings.”