triśikṣā

triśikṣā, in Buddhism, the three types of learning required of those who seek to attain enlightenment. The threefold training comprises all aspects of Buddhist practices. Arranged in a progressive order, the three are: (1) śīla (“moral conduct”), which makes one’s body and mind fit for concentration, (2) samadhi (“meditation”), concentration of the mind being a prerequisite to attaining a clear vision of the truth, and (3) prajna (“wisdom”), understood not as a collection of empirical knowledge but as an intuitive experience of ultimate reality, attained in a state of samadhi.