Practical Aspects of Buddhist Ideals

Tipitaka or the Three Baskets of Buddhist Scripture consists of Sutta, Vinaya and Abhidhamma. Sutta is a teaching in discourses delivered by the Buddha directly to His Disciples and other audiences including lay people and celestial beings. Vinaya is the book of Rules of Conduct defined by the Buddha for His Order, the Sangha. Abhidhamma is the broadest course of analytical study of the natural laws that govern all life forms and existences, a more direct form of teaching than the discourses, being insightful and difficult for complete comprehension for the untrained; it is in an unconventional language called Paramattha sacca, defined as `Truth (or term, exposition) that is true in the highest (or ultimate) sense, as contrasted with the `conventional truth' , which is the `commonly accepted truth'. The purpose of the three baskets is, as a matter of course, deliverance from all miseries, to attain the Ultimate Wisdom or Peace, called Nibbana. There are intermediate stages before this Ultimate Peace, which ideally are conducive to personal, communal and world peace. These stages, though seemingly idealistic for most people, are in fact practicable for `ordinary' lay people with some intellectual curiosity, and a subsequent firm determination to gain one or all of these stages of attainment. The immediate task, the purpose of life is, therefore, to apply all the practical aspects of Abhidhamma.