three ways ［三道］ ( san-dō): Also, three paths. Three stages of practice in the Hinayana teachings. The way of insight, the way of practice, and the way of the arhat, or one who has no more to learn. The way of insight is the stage at which one beholds the four noble truths; hence it is also called the way of beholding the truth. Those who have attained the three stages of worthiness and the four good roots enter the way of insight, where they dispel the illusions of thought and attain the stage of sagehood. They then proceed to the way of practice, where they sever the illusions of desire. The way of the arhat represents the highest stage of awakening attainable to a practitioner of the Hinayana teachings. At this stage one is free from all illusions. The concept of three ways also applies to stages of Mahayana bodhisattva practice.