The Book of the Threes

Fools are dangerous, but the wise are safe.

Marks of a fool and an astute person: body, speech, and mind.

Marks of a fool and an astute person: thinking, speaking, and doing.

Marks of a fool and an astute person: recognizing mistakes.

Marks of a fool and an astute person: asking questions.

Marks of a fool and an astute person: wholesome and unwholesome.

Marks of a fool and an astute person: blameworthy and blameless.

Marks of a fool and an astute person: hurtful and kind.

Marks of a fool and an astute person: keeping your mind healthy.

Immorality, envy, and meanness determine rebirth.

What well-known mendicants should encourage.

Places that should be commemorated by kings and mendicants.

People who are hopeless, hopeful, and have done away with hope.

Wheel-turning Monarchs and Buddhas both rely on principle as authority.

Quality takes time: the parable of the chariot-maker.

Practices that can’t fail.

Hurting yourself and others.

Spiritual practice isn’t for rebirth in heaven.

Shopkeepers and mendicants both have to work hard.

Shopkeepers and mendicants both have to be clever, responsible, and well supported.

Of various individuals on the path, which is best?

Healing the body, healing the mind. Everyone should be treated, even if they don’t recover.

Hurtful or pleasing choices lead to hurtful or pleasing experiences in future lives.

Three people who are very helpful.

A mind like an open sore, like lightning, and like a diamond.

You should associate with people who are equal or better than you.

Who to associate with, and who to shun.

Speech like dung, like flowers, and like honey.

Being spiritually blind, one-eyed, or with two eyes.

How to make the wisdom of hearing Dharma last when the talk is over.

Parents should be honored like Brahmā.

Could there be a state of convergence with no sense of self?

Even the Buddha found it hard to get students to understand.

Greed, hate, and delusion, and their opposites, are like seeds.

The Buddha sleeps well, even on the cold, hard ground.

The god of death questions us, but we are punished by our own deeds.

The gods rejoice when they see people practicing well.

One should aspire to be like an awakened mendicant, not like Sakka.

Siddhattha’s delicate upbringing.

Practicing with yourself in charge, or with others, or the teaching.

Factors in making good karma.

How to know a faithful person.

The advantages of teaching Dharma.

Teachers and audience should have understanding.

Giving, going forth, and caring for parents are praised.

Villagers make good karma when good mendicants are there.

The difference between conditioned and unconditioned.

A family is supported by their head, as a tree is supported by a mountain.

Being keen in three ways.

Why a mendicant is like a thief.

You can begin to practice even late in life: advice to elderly brahmins.

You can begin to practice even late in life: advice to elderly brahmins.

How is the teaching realizable in this very life?

How is the teaching realizable in this very life?

How is extinguishment realizable in this very life?

Why has the world become depopulated?

The Buddha is accused of soliciting gifts for his community only.

A master of Vedic knowledge in the brahmanical system and in the Buddha’s.

A master of Vedic knowledge in the brahmanical system and in the Buddha’s.

A brahmin argues that a sacrifice is less selfish than the mendicant’s life. And the king’s men are deploring the decline in psychic abilities among the Saṅgha.

The beliefs that everything is caused by past karma, by a creator God, or by chance all lead to inaction. The Buddha teaches dependent origination.

Perils that tear mothers and children apart.

The high and luxurious beds that the Buddha uses.

A recently disrobed monk boasts of knowing everything about the Buddha’s teaching.

How to navigate among different spiritual opinions.

How to navigate among different spiritual opinions.

Assessing whether someone is fit to hold a discussion.

The differences between greed, hate, and delusion.

Unwholesome roots create unwholesome actions, and lead to suffering.

The uposatha observance day of the cowherds, the Jains, and the Buddha.

Why should we give up greed, hate, and delusion?

Who has good teaching and practice?

Does convergence come first, or knowledge?

Do we purify ourselves by wearing out old karma?

How to encourage and support those close to you.

How consciousness, karma, and craving create and sustain future lives.

How consciousness, karma, and craving create and sustain future lives, with an emphasis on intention.

Not all spiritual paths are of equal value.

Some fragrances spread even against the wind.

Ānanda gets the Buddha to talk about the scale of the universe.

The duties of an ascetic.

A donkey tries to moo like a cow. It doesn’t end well.

The duties of a farmer are like those of a mendicant.

What to do if you can’t keep all the rules.

What exactly is a “trainee”?

Even spiritually advanced people can break minor rules.

Even spiritually advanced people can break minor rules.

Even spiritually advanced people can break minor rules.

The three trainings explained, to seeing the truths.

The three trainings explained, to perfection.

A monk is critical of the Buddha, but later feels remorse.

Neither a farmer or a mendicant makes their work bear fruit any faster just by wishing for it.

Seclusion as depicted in other paths and by the Buddha.

The clarity of stream-entry is like a cloudless spring sky.

Assemblies that are the best, or divided, or harmonious. A harmonious assembly lead the mind to happiness and stillness.

A mendicant is beautiful, strong, and fast like a thoroughbred horse: to seeing the truths.

A mendicant is beautiful, strong, and fast like a thoroughbred horse: to non-return.

A mendicant is beautiful, strong, and fast like a thoroughbred horse: to perfection.

A bad mendicant is ugly and rough like jute canvas.

If deeds were experienced exactly as performed, there could be no spiritual practice.

Meditation is like purifying gold. A meditator should progressively eliminate more refined corruptions.

Meditation is like purifying gold. A meditator should focus on different aspects at different times in order to proceed smoothly.

Before awakening, Siddhattha reflected on gratification, danger and escape in the world.

The Buddha became awakened by understanding gratification, danger and escape.

Gratification, danger and escape are essential to both binding and freeing.

Real ascetics understand gratification, danger and escape.

Song, dance, and laughter.

Indulgences never satisfy.

Protecting your mind is like protecting a house.

A simile of a collapsing house.

Sources of deeds: greed, hate, and delusion.

Sources of deeds: past, present, future.

Hypocrisy leads to downfall.

Three people hard to find.

People who are easy to measure, hard to measure, and immeasurable.

Rebirth in the formless realms, for ordinary people and for disciples of the Buddha.

Failure or success in morality, mind, and view.

Failure or success in morality, mind, and view is like loaded dice.

Failure or success in action, livelihood, and view.

Purity of body, speech, and mind.

Purity of body, speech, and mind, with understanding the five hindrances.

Sagacity of body, speech, and mind.

What a mendicant thinks about the food they’re offered.

When mendicants fight, the Buddha doesn’t like it.

The Buddha teaches a simple but powerful message: his teaching is from personal experience, and it works.

The Buddha discusses different kinds of teachers while staying at a hermitage near his home town of Kapilavatthu.

A god from the Pure Abodes visits the Buddha, and complains about how busy he is.

The Buddha helps a monk in distress by teaching of “bitterness”, “rotting flesh”, and “flies”.

Anuruddha asks the Buddha what leads women to bad rebirth.

Anuruddha complains of not being awakened.

Three things shine in the open: the moon, the sun, and the teachings of the Buddha.

A line drawn in stone, sand, or water.

Three ways a mendicant is like a king’s warrior.

Educated in fancy talk, in questioning, or to the fullest extent.

A good friend does what’s hard.

Impermanence, suffering, and not-self are natural laws discovered by the Buddha.

The teacher called Makkhali is the worst of all, like a hair blanket.

Success in faith, morality, and wisdom.

Growth in faith, morality, and wisdom.

Training people is like training wild horses.

Training people is like training good horses.

Training people is like training thoroughbred horses.

The ultimate end, the ultimate sanctuary, the ultimate spiritual life, the ultimate goal: the three trainings.

The ultimate end, the ultimate sanctuary, the ultimate spiritual life, the ultimate goal: the three wonders.

The ultimate end, the ultimate sanctuary, the ultimate spiritual life, the ultimate goal: view, knowledge, freedom.

Wholesome and unwholesome deeds determine rebirth.

Blameless and blameworthy deeds determine rebirth.

Ethical and unethical deeds determine rebirth.

Pure and impure deeds determine rebirth.

Wholesome deeds keep you whole.

Blameless deeds keep you whole.

Ethical deeds keep you whole.

Pure deeds keep you whole.

Kinds of homage: body, speech, and mind.

A good morning, a good afternoon, a good evening.