Level 4: The Three Trainings

The three trainings in Buddhism are discipline, meditation and wisdom. These three higher trainings are arranged in a seemingly progressive order, but also, the practice of each supports the others. Together, they represent the entirety of the path to awakening. When we practice moral conduct and refrain from harming others, we find it easier to rest in a calm, peaceful mind. Our meditation practice then flourishes and we become more available for wisdom, or insight.

The five precepts of Buddhism are commitments we make for a limited, specified period of time or for a lifetime if we so choose. The 5 precepts are a pledge to focus our attention on awakening, to let go of the actions that cause suffering for ourselves and others. This includes promising to refrain from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and partaking in intoxicants that cloud the mind. Committing to the precepts daily reminds us that our own moral, kind behavior is the key to happiness.

The three types of learning in Buddhism, otherwise known as the three wisdom tools, are hearing, contemplating and meditating. Often, even when we hear something that we believe is life changing, it is forgotten once we go about our busy day. By mindfully listening to spiritual teachings, then intentionally contemplating and meditating on them, we digest and metabolize what we have heard, integrating it into our felt experience. Doing so keeps the teachings with us, transforming our lives.

Meditation makes you happy if it is informed by the other two of the three Buddhist trainings of discipline, meditation and wisdom. For example, it’s entirely possible during meditation to simply be mindful of our suffering. This alone will not lead to happiness. Combine meditation with wisdom, the understanding that suffering is caused and has an end, and our meditation practice becomes infused with more positive potential. Thus, the essential rules for a happy life include more than just meditation, but a big picture understanding of why we are meditating.