The Foundations of Buddhism

The Buddhist Path !65

the general accounts of the Buddhist path as a gradual progres-

sion from the fundamental practices of generosity (dana) and con-

duct (szlalfila), to the cultivation of concentration (samiidhi) and

wisdom (prajiia/paiiiia) by means of meditative development

(bhiivanii) (see above, pp. 83-4). The often repeated step-by-step

discourse represents perhaps the most succinct statement of this

gradual path in the Nikayas/ Agamas. An equally early but fuller

expression is found in the schema of 'the fruits of asceticism'

(sriimm:zya-phala/samaiiiia-phala ), an essentially stock account of

the path, which is again repeated with slight variations in anum-

ber of places in the Nikayas/ Agamas. This schema is assumed and,

in one way or another, adapted by the later manuals such as the

Visuddhimagga, the Abhidharmakosa, Kamalasila's Bhavanakrama

('Stages of Meditation', eighth century) and also Chinese and later

Tibetan works such as Chih-i's Mo-ho chih-kuan ('Great Calm and

Insight') and Hsiu-hsi chih-kuan tso-ch'an fa-yao ('The Essentials

for Sitting in Meditation and Cultivating Calm and Insight',

sixth century), sGam-po-pa's Thar-pa rin-po-che'i rgyan ('Jewel

Ornament of Liberation', twelfth century) and Tsong-kha-pa's

Lam rim chen mo ('Great Graduated Path', fourteenth century).

It is within this basic framework that I shall set out Buddhist prac-

tice. I will be referring to the details as set out by Buddhaghosa

in his Visuddhimagga and Vasubandhu in his Abhidharmakosa,

since both these accounts acquired a certain authority for those

that followed. It must be emphasized, however, that the Bud-

dhist meditation tradition is extremely rich, and the material I

am presenting embodies a tradition of creative adaptation that

continues down to the present day. Important approaches to the

practice of Buddhist meditation that I am forced to pass over

include Ch'an (Japanese Zen) and esoteric systems of Tibetan
tantra, Chinese Chen Yen (Japanese Shingon), and the less well-
known esoteric Theravada tradition (see Chapter 10).

The role of faith

While the noble eightfold path may he understood as strictly

relevant only to the practice of the 'noble ones', nevertheless its