In Theravāda Buddhism, pariyatti, paṭipatti, paṭivedha (Pāli; "Learning; practicing; realizing") is the educational concept consisting of three progressive stages culminating in full understanding of the Buddha's teaching. Pariyatti refers to the theoretical study of the Buddha's teaching as preserved within the suttas and commentaries of the Pāli Canon; paṭipatti means to put the theory into practice; and paṭivedha means penetrating the theory or rather experientially realizing the truth of it, that is the attainment of the four stages of awakening. Traditionally, pariyatti serves as the foundation of paṭipatti, and paṭipatti serves as the foundation of paṭivedha.
The Pāli Canon is the most complete Buddhist canon surviving in a classical Indian language, Pāli, which serves as the school's sacred language and lingua franca. In contrast to Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna, Theravāda tends to be conservative in matters of the theoretical study of the doctrine (pariyatti) and monastic discipline (vinaya). One element of this conservatism is the fact that Theravāda rejects the authenticity of the Mahayana sutras (which appeared c. 1st century BCE onwards).
