Sutra on the Threefold Training
The Sutra on the Threefold Training (Skt. Śikṣātrayasūtra; Tib. བསླབ་པ་གསུམ་གྱི་མདོ་, Wyl. bslab pa gsum gyi mdo) is Shravakayana sutra which gives a brief introduction, one by one in a progressive order, to three elements of the path known as the ‘three trainings’ namely that of discipline, meditative concentration and wisdom. The Buddha teaches that training in them progressively constitutes the gradual path to awakening.[1]
Text
There appear to be several parallels or versions of this text. In its Tibetan translation it is preserved not only as an independent sutra, but also in the form of short passages in two long vinaya texts, the Bhaisajyavastu (sixth chapter of the Vinayavastu) and the Vinayaksudrakavastu. It is also found as a passage in the non-Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, of which so far only incomplete Sanskrit manuscripts are extant, although a Sanskrit version has been reconstructed by Ernst Waldschmidt (1951). With some variant readings, the same passage appears, too, in the still extant Pali Mahaparinibbana Sutta. Translations of it in Chinese can be found as part of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra and passages in some vinaya texts.[2]
Tibetan Text
The Tibetan translation of this independent sutra can be found on the Dergé Kangyur, General Sutra section, Toh. 282.
- English translation: Dharmasāgara Translation Group,
The Sūtra on the Threefold Training
