Wisdom : Essence of the Buddhist Life

Abstract

Wisdom is the only means to make Buddhists real Buddhists. It is the guiding
light for Buddhists to penetrate the essence of the Buddha’s teachings. In the Buddhist
Scriptures, the Tipitaka, wisdom shares the same meaning with intellect and insight. It is
the base of Buddhist morality. A Buddhist cannot do well and avoid evil without the light
of wisdom. Wisdom can be found and cultivated in human mind. The Buddhist Scriptures
portray the 3 levels of wisdom as wisdom resulting from refl ection (Cintāmaya pañña),
wisdom resulting from studying (Suttamaya pañña), and wisdom resulting from mental
development and spiritual practice (Bhāvanāmaya pañña) which is called the practice of
vipassanā.