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InTheravāda Buddhism,pariyatti, paṭipatti, paṭivedha (Pāli; "Learning; practicing; realizing") is the educational concept consisting of three progressive stages culminating in full understanding ofthe Buddha's teaching.Pariyatti refers to the theoretical study of the Buddha's teaching as preserved within thesuttas andcommentaries of thePāli Canon;paṭipatti means to put the theory into practice; andpaṭivedha means penetrating the theory or rather experientially realizing the truth of it, that is the attainment of thefour stages of awakening. Traditionally,pariyatti serves as the foundation ofpaṭipatti, andpaṭipatti serves as the foundation ofpaṭivedha.
The Pāli Canon is the most complete Buddhist canon surviving in aclassical Indian language,Pāli, which serves as the school'ssacred language[1] andlingua franca.[2] In contrast toMahāyāna andVajrayāna, Theravāda tends to be conservative in matters of the theoretical study of the doctrine (pariyatti) and monastic discipline (vinaya).[3] One element of thisconservatism is the fact that Theravāda rejects the authenticity of theMahayana sutras (which appearedc. 1st century BCE onwards).[4][5]
According toU Ba Khin,pariyatti is the teaching of the Buddha, the arahats (fully awakened beings) and the ariyas (persons who have tasted Nibbana), who have really and in detail understood theFour Noble Truths and teach what they themselves know to be true, what they have seen to be true and real from their own experience. At times, when it is not possible to find noble people such as a Buddha, arahats or ariyas to revere and rely on, one will have to establish as one's teacher the teachings of the Buddha contained in the 84,000 sections of the scriptures. One has to practise (paṭipatti) these teachings which lead topaṭivedha, that is the path (magga) and fruition (phala) states andNibbana.[6]
U Ba Khin states, "When one meets with a Buddha, arahats and noble ariyas, it is truly possible to practise morality, concentration and insight and attain the paths and fruits of awakening by merely listening to and following their teachings, which are given based on firsthand personal experience and knowledge."[6]
In thePali Canon,the Buddha states that anymonk,nun, malelay follower, or female lay follower who practices in line with theDhamma (dhammānudhammappaṭipanna) "honor, respect, revere, venerate, and esteem the Buddha with the highest honor."[7][8] This kind ofhonour (puja) is primarily an "internal worship" for inner development (citta,bhāvanā, andsamādhi).[9]
| “ | Any monk or nun or male or female lay follower who practices in line with the teaching, practicing properly, living in line with the teaching—they honor, respect, revere, venerate, and esteem the Realized One with the highest honor. | ” |
| — Mahāparinibbāna Sutta, DN 16 | ||
Honor by practices (paṭipatti-pūjā), or non-material honour, can be done by developing the practices of:
In the practice ofprostration, one can find thechanting verse "Paṭipattiyā Ratanattayapaṇāma" chanted before each of the three prostrations:[10][11][12]
| First Prostration | Imāya dhammānudhamma-paṭipattiyā, Buddhaṁ pūjemi. | By practicing the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma, I venerate the Buddha. |
| Second Prostration | Imāya dhammānudhamma-paṭipattiyā, Dhammaṁ pūjemi. | By practicing the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma, I venerate the Dhamma. |
| Third Prostration | Imāya dhammānudhamma-paṭipattiyā, Saṅghaṁ pūjemi. | By practicing the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma, I venerate the Sangha. |
The Buddha sometimes described the practice (patipatti) of his teaching as thegradual training (Pali:anupubbasikkhā) because theNoble Eightfold Path involves a process of mind-body transformation that unfolds over a sometimes lengthy period.
| “ | Just as the ocean has a gradual shelf, a gradual slope, a gradual inclination, with a sudden drop-off only after a long stretch, in the same way this discipline ofDhamma (dhamma-vinaya) has a gradual training (anupubbasikkhā), a gradual performance (anupubbakiriyā), a gradual progression (anupubbapatipadā), with a penetration tognosis only after a long stretch. | ” |
| — Ud 5.5 | ||
The emphasis on gradual training may be understood by the fact that, just as the human habits that give rise to suffering have been built up over a long period of time, those same habits similarly take a long time to undo, requiring a sustained effort achievable only with a genuine commitment to training.
Theravada (Pali: "Way of the Elders"; Sanskrit, Sthaviravada) emerged as one of theHinayana (Sanskrit: "Lesser Vehicle")schools, traditionally numbered at 18, of early Buddhism. The Theravadins trace their lineage to theSthaviravada school, one of the two major schools (theMahasanghika was the other) that supposedly formed in the wake of theCouncil of Vaishali (now inBihar state) held some 100 years after the Buddha's death. Employing Pāli as their sacred language, the Theravadins preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching in theTipitaka ("Three Baskets").