This chapter contains discourses that explore sets of three qualities, concepts, or principles integral to the Buddha's teachings. Each sutta delves into triads such as the three kinds of right conduct, the three types of happiness, or the three aspects of wisdom. These teachings highlight the interrelated nature of these elements and their combined importance in the practice of the Dhamma. The "Book of Threes" offers a deeper understanding of how these grouped qualities work together to foster spiritual development and insight on the way of practice to enlightenment.
The Book of the Threes
The Buddha explains the characteristics of an immature and wise person.
The Buddha explains how bodily, verbal, and mental misconduct lead to self-infliction of harm.
The Buddha explains the three types of persons existing in the world based on their mental qualities.
The Buddha explains the three kinds of persons found existing in the world and who should not be associated with, who should be associated with, and who should be attended to closely with honor and respect.
The Buddha describes three types of people - the blind, the one-eyed, and the two-eyed.
Where children honor their mother and father, those families are said to dwell with Brahmā.
The Buddha describes the three divine messengers that appear among human beings and what happens to those who do not heed their message.
The Buddha explains the three guiding authorities for developing wholesome qualities and maintaining purity - 1) Oneself, 2) world, and 3) Dhamma.
The three characteristics of the conditioned and the unconditioned.
The Buddha describes three cases where vigour should be applied.
The Buddha explains the three bases of sectarian views that when closely examined, culminate in inaction. He then shares the Dhamma that is irrefutable, undefiled, blameless, and not disapproved of by the wise.
When a brahmin assumes that the Buddha’s serene faculties and radiant appearance must result from enjoying the finest worldly luxuries, the Buddha explains the true “luxurious and lofty beds” he attains—the heavenly bed, through abiding in the jhānas; the brahmic bed, through the boundless cultivation of loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity; and the noble bed, through the complete abandonment of passion, aversion, and delusion.
The venerable Nandaka teaches Sāḷha and his friend about how to independently verify the unwholesome and wholesome mental qualities.
The Buddha explains the three unwholesome roots and the three wholesome roots.
For beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving, kamma is the field, consciousness the seed, and craving the moisture for the establishment of their consciousness in the three realms of existence: sensual, form, and formless.
For beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving, kamma is the field, consciousness the seed, and craving the moisture for the establishment of their intention and aspiration in the three realms of existence: sensual, form, and formless.
The Buddha uses the gradual purification of gold as a metaphor for mental cultivation through meditation. Just as a goldsmith removes coarse, medium, and subtle impurities until the gold is workable and radiant, a meditator abandons defilements in stages. This gradual refinement leads to deep collectedness of mind, forming the foundation for supernormal abilities and, ultimately, liberation.
Before his awakening, the Buddha reflected on the gratification in the world, the drawback in it, and the escape from it.
Singing, dancing, and excessive laughter are all considered inappropriate expressions for the Noble Ones. The appropriate expression of joy for one who delights in the Dhamma is simply a gentle smile, reflecting dignified restraint.
Indulging in 1) excessive sleep, 2) consuming intoxicants, and 3) sexual intercourse gives no satiation.
What are the causes for the arising of kamma? The Buddha explains that greed, aversion, and delusion are the roots of unwholesome kamma, leading to painful results, and leading to further kamma. In contrast, non-greed, non-aversion, and non-delusion are the roots of wholesome kamma, leading to pleasant results and to the cessation of kamma.
What gives rise to kamma? The Buddha explains that the roots of kamma lie in how one relates to the past, future, and present. Through repeated reflections and mental re-examination, desire springs up and binds one to objects of attachment. But when one sees the consequences of those things clearly, one instead turns away from them, leading to kamma arising from complete penetration and wisdom.
Three things thrive when obscured, not when exposed. And three things that shine forth when exposed, not when obscured.
The Buddha describes three persons based on how they respond to anger. One person is like a line etched on rock, another like a line etched on ground, and the third like a line etched on water.
The Buddha shares in brief the three types of growth - 1) confidence, 2) virtue, and 3) wisdom.