The three core stages of the Buddha's teachings in the Nikaya Suttas

The three core stages of the Buddha's teachings in the Nikaya Suttas: learning the Right Dhamma, understanding the Right Dhamma, and practicing the Right Dhamma.

These are three inseparable stages on the path to enlightenment. If any of these three are missing, the practice will be incomplete and unlikely to yield the desired results.

- First, you must learn the right Dharma so that it is easy to understand and practice to get results. If you choose to learn the wrong Dharma in the first step, you will definitely not be able to practice the Dharma correctly. Nowadays, many methods of practice are wrong, such as doing what Buddha taught, praying, chanting mantras, kneeling, asking for blessings from gods, using money to buy blessings, going far from Buddha's teachings or faking Buddha's teachings.

- So how do we know that Dharma is a good Dharma, leading to the higher? That is to contemplate and practice for ourselves. If we see that Dharma makes our body and mind peaceful, calm, let go of greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, doubt, give up wrong views, and wisdom grows every second, every minute, every hour, then that is the right Dharma. With that Dharma, let us rejoice in the Dharma, be happy in the Dharma, achieve the Dharma and attain the Dharma.

1. Learning the Right Dharma (Pariyatti) – The Foundation of Knowledge

Learning the Dharma is the first stage, meaning to study, explore, and memorize the Buddha's teachings recorded in the scriptures. It involves reciting, listening to discourses, and internalizing doctrines such as the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, Dependent Origination, Impermanence, Suffering, Non-self, Morality, Concentration, and Wisdom (Sīla, Samādhi, Paññā), etc.

Those who learn but don't understand will go astray:

• Superstition and rigid adherence to forms: If one merely memorizes without deep comprehension, they can easily fall into superstition, clinging to rituals and external forms while neglecting the core meaning. They might believe in things not found in the authentic teachings or practice incorrectly due to misunderstanding.
• Inability to distinguish true from false Dharma: Without a clear understanding of the teachings, they can be easily swayed by misguided teachings, mixed doctrines, or untrue rumors. The mind is susceptible to being led by views inconsistent with the path to enlightenment.
• Creating more attachments: Learning without understanding can lead to arrogance due to knowledge, clinging to what one knows without being open to new insights, or turning the teachings into a dry, theoretical system lacking practical application in daily life. This hinders the development of wisdom.

2. Understanding the Right Dharma (Paṭipatti) – Comprehension Through Contemplation

Understanding the Dharma is not just grasping information literally; it means comprehending the profound meaning of the teachings through contemplation, reflection, and personal introspection. This is the process of "digesting" knowledge, making it one's own. This understanding must be Right Understanding (Sammā-diṭṭhi) and Right Thought (Sammā-saṅkappa) within the Noble Eightfold Path.

• Without clear understanding, one cannot practice correctly: If there's no proper understanding, actions can easily go astray. For example, someone who learns about meditation but doesn't understand the principles of observation and letting go might try to force their mind to stop thinking, leading to suppression and hallucinations (as discussed previously), rather than genuine concentration.
• Learning without understanding means the teachings are mere superficial knowledge: If knowledge isn't transformed into understanding, it remains only in the intellect, unable to truly transform the mind or resolve life's defilements. It's like reading a cookbook without ever truly understanding how to blend ingredients to create a delicious dish.

3. Practicing the Right Dharma (Paṭivedha) – Application in Daily Life

Practicing the Dharma is the most crucial stage, where the teachings are put into practical application in life, turning knowledge and understanding into direct experience. This is the comprehensive practice of Morality, Concentration, and Wisdom (Sīla, Samādhi, Paññā), through the Noble Eightfold Path, at all times and in all places:

• Those who learn and understand but don't practice are like an empty shell:
• Teachings have no real-world value: A person might intellectually understand Impermanence, but if they don't practice letting go of attachments to possessions or relationships when faced with loss, that understanding is merely empty theory.
• Inability to transform defilements: The purpose of the Dharma is to help beings end suffering. If one only understands but doesn't practice, greed, hatred, and delusion will persist, and suffering will continue. It's like knowing exactly how to cure an illness but refusing to take the medicine.
• Lack of direct realization: Enlightenment and liberation are direct, experiential realizations that cannot be attained through theory or intellectual understanding alone. They require diligent practice for the mind to be purified and wisdom to unfold.
• Failure to master oneself: Mastering the breath, mastering the body, and abandoning greed, hatred, delusion, etc., are all results of continuous, unceasing practice. Those who don't practice will forever be dominated by desires and defilements.

Conclusion

In summary, the Buddha's teaching on learning the Right Dharma, understanding the Right Dharma, and practicing the Right Dharma is a complete and continuous cycle. Learning provides knowledge. Understanding transforms knowledge into initial wisdom. And practicing turns wisdom into lived experience, into direct realization, leading to liberation. Lacking any of these stages, the path to practice will be incomplete and challenging to achieve the goal of enlightenment that the Buddha taught.

- Please read the book "The Way Back to Buddha's Land" by Venerable Thich Thong Lac to open your mind and feel whether you have been practicing the wrong Dharma all this time?