Buddhism, systematized some two and a half thousand years ago, is one of the oldest religions on earth. Subsequently spreading over Asia through numerous cultural spheres, it became, more than a philosophy, a body of many philosophical systems embracing a wide variety of beliefs and practices. Generally speaking, however, it may be said that all forms of Buddhism comprise three spheres of learning: ethics, concentration methods, and analytic insight. These three spheres of learning support, enhance, and complete one another, and it is through their mutual interaction and development that Buddhism aims to realize human potential. Corresponding to these three spheres of learning, Buddhist literature includes three general types of material: precepts, scriptures, and philosophical treatises. Because of the interweaving of the three fields of learning, scriptures and treatises include ethical material as well as meditation and analytic principles. Scriptures are presented as the teaching emerging from the meditations of the Buddha.
---from the Preface of Entry Into the Inconceivable: An Introduction To Hua-Yen Buddhism, by Thomas Cleary---
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