shaolin monk corps-金沙1005

the three branches of learning, the basic elements of the truth uncovered by buddha concerning life in this world and of the gospel he preached for forty-nine years, are also the guiding principle of buddhist wisdom and spiritual exercise in practice. the connotation and content of buddhism are inseparable from three branches of learning:, whether the early indian buddhism, the buddhism in china or other buddhist practices with local characteristics. additionally, it concerns all the dharma-gates, and of course include the six paramitas (refers to charity, morality, or abiding by discipline, forbearance, hard-working, contemplation and wisdom) and all the commandments and disciplines.

in summary, three branches of learning are an integrated part of buddhist cultivation, which leads the road to self-liberation from the limitations of time and space, as the core content of buddhist wisdom and spiritual discipline in practice.

in terms of purging human’s psyche of all spiritual impurities, the three branches of learning (refers to sila and vinaya, samadhi and prajna)  have the function of mind purification on the level of surface, in-depth and root respectively.