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The Visuddhimagga ("The path to purity") is a Theravada Buddhist commentary
Atthakatha

Atthakatha refers to Pali-language Theravada commentaries to the canonical Theravadin Tipitaka. These commentaries give the traditional interpretations of the scriptures....
 written by Buddhaghosa
Buddhaghosa

Bhadantacariya Buddhaghosaas a 5th-century Indian Theravadin Buddhist commentator and scholar. His name means "Voice of the Buddha" in the Pali....
 approximately in 430 CE in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is an island country in South Asia, located about off the southern coast of India....
. It is considered the most important Theravada text outside of the Tipitaka canon of scriptures. The Visuddhimagga's structure is based on the Ratha-vinita Sutta ("Relay Chariots Discourse," MN
Majjhima Nikaya

The Majjhima Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism....
 24), which describes the progression from the purity of discipline to the nibbana
Nirvana

In sramana thought, Nirvana is the state of being free from both dukkha and the cycle of rebirth. It is an important concept in Buddhism and Jainism....
, considering seven steps.

s composed of four parts, which discuss: 1) Sila
Sila

Sila or sila is usually rendered into English as "virtue"; other translations include "good conduct," "morality" "moral discipline." and "precept." It is an action that is an intentional effort....
 (discipline); 2) Samadhi
Samadhi

Samadhi is a Hinduism and Buddhism technical term that usually denotes higher levels of concentrated meditation, or dhyana, in Yogic schools. Nirvana of Buddhism is a step towards Samadhi ....
 (meditative concentration); 3) The land of wisdom; and 4) Pañña
Panna

Panna can refer to:* Aam panna, an Indian drink made from mangoes* Panna, India, a city in the state of Madhya Pradesh* Panna , a genus of fish in the family Sciaenidae...
 (wisdom).

comparison between practice and "seven relay chariots" points at the goal.






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.
The Visuddhimagga ("The path to purity") is a Theravada Buddhist commentary
Atthakatha

Atthakatha refers to Pali-language Theravada commentaries to the canonical Theravadin Tipitaka. These commentaries give the traditional interpretations of the scriptures....
 written by Buddhaghosa
Buddhaghosa

Bhadantacariya Buddhaghosaas a 5th-century Indian Theravadin Buddhist commentator and scholar. His name means "Voice of the Buddha" in the Pali....
 approximately in 430 CE in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is an island country in South Asia, located about off the southern coast of India....
. It is considered the most important Theravada text outside of the Tipitaka canon of scriptures. The Visuddhimagga's structure is based on the Ratha-vinita Sutta ("Relay Chariots Discourse," MN
Majjhima Nikaya

The Majjhima Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism....
 24), which describes the progression from the purity of discipline to the nibbana
Nirvana

In sramana thought, Nirvana is the state of being free from both dukkha and the cycle of rebirth. It is an important concept in Buddhism and Jainism....
, considering seven steps.

Summary

It is composed of four parts, which discuss: 1) Sila
Sila

Sila or sila is usually rendered into English as "virtue"; other translations include "good conduct," "morality" "moral discipline." and "precept." It is an action that is an intentional effort....
 (discipline); 2) Samadhi
Samadhi

Samadhi is a Hinduism and Buddhism technical term that usually denotes higher levels of concentrated meditation, or dhyana, in Yogic schools. Nirvana of Buddhism is a step towards Samadhi ....
 (meditative concentration); 3) The land of wisdom; and 4) Pañña
Panna

Panna can refer to:* Aam panna, an Indian drink made from mangoes* Panna, India, a city in the state of Madhya Pradesh* Panna , a genus of fish in the family Sciaenidae...
 (wisdom).
  • The first part explains the rules of discipline, and the method for finding a correct temple to practice, or how to meet a good teacher.
  • The second part describes samatha
    Samatha

    Samatha , samatha or orthographically romanized to shamatha and is often translated as 'Calm Abiding' , comprises a suite, type or style of Buddhist meditation or concentration practices designed to enhance sustained voluntary attention, and culminates in an attention that can be sustained effortlessly and for hours on end....
    's practice, object by object (see Kammatthana
    Kammatthana

    In Buddhism, is a Pali word which literally means the place of work. Figuratively it means the place within the mind where one goes in order to work on spiritual development....
     for the list of the forty traditional objects). It mentions different stages of concentration.
  • The third part is a precious description of the five skandha
    Skandha

    In Buddhism Phenomenology and soteriology, the five skandhas or khandhas are five "aggregates" which categorize all individual experience, among which there is anatta to be found....
    s (aggregates), ayatanas, the Four Noble Truths
    Four Noble Truths

    The Four Noble Truths are one of the most fundamental Buddhism teachings. In broad terms, these truths relate to suffering's nature, origin, cessation and the path leading to the cessation....
     and the dependent origination (see: Pratitya-samutpada
    Pratitya-samutpada

    The doctrine of pratityasamutpada , often translated as "dependent arising," is an important part of Buddhist Phenomenology and, some argue, metaphysics....
    ). This part shows a great analytical effort specific to Buddhist philosophy.
  • The fourth part describes the practice of vipassana
    Vipassana

    Vipassana or vipasyana in the Buddhist tradition means insight into the nature of reality. A regular practitioner of Vipassana is known as a Vipassi ....
     through the development of wisdom. It emphasizes different forms of knowledge emerging because of the practice.


Seven steps

This comparison between practice and "seven relay chariots" points at the goal. Each purity is needed to attain the next.
  • Purity in terms of virtue
  • Purity in terms of mind (that is, concentration)
  • Purity in terms of view
  • Purity in terms of the overcoming of perplexity
  • Purity in terms of knowledge and vision of what is and what is not the path
  • Purity in terms of knowledge and vision of the way
  • Purity in terms of knowledge and vision
  • Unbinding through lack of clinging


See also

  • Buddhaghosa
    Buddhaghosa

    Bhadantacariya Buddhaghosaas a 5th-century Indian Theravadin Buddhist commentator and scholar. His name means "Voice of the Buddha" in the Pali....
  • Sila
    Sila

    Sila or sila is usually rendered into English as "virtue"; other translations include "good conduct," "morality" "moral discipline." and "precept." It is an action that is an intentional effort....
  • Samatha
    Samatha

    Samatha , samatha or orthographically romanized to shamatha and is often translated as 'Calm Abiding' , comprises a suite, type or style of Buddhist meditation or concentration practices designed to enhance sustained voluntary attention, and culminates in an attention that can be sustained effortlessly and for hours on end....
  • Vipassana
    Vipassana

    Vipassana or vipasyana in the Buddhist tradition means insight into the nature of reality. A regular practitioner of Vipassana is known as a Vipassi ....


Printed Pali editions

  • Hewavitarne Bequest edition, Colombo, Sri Lanka (Sinhalese
    Sinhala alphabet

    The Sinhala script is an abugida script used in Sri Lanka to write the official language Sinhala language and also sometimes the liturgical languages Pali and Sanskrit....
     script)
  • Hanthawaddy Press edition, Rangoon, Myanmar (Burmese
    Burmese

    Burmese may refer to:* Something of, from, or related to Burma, a country in Southeast Asia* A person from Burma, or of Burmese descent. For information about the Burmese people, see Demographics of Burma and Culture of Burma....
     script)
  • Royal Siamese edition, Bangkok, Thailand (Thai
    Thai language

    Thai , is the national language and official language language of Thailand and the mother tongue of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group....
     script)
  • Pali Text Society
    Pali Text Society

    The Pali Text Society was founded in 1881 by Thomas William Rhys Davids "to foster and promote the study of Pali texts".Pali is the language in which the texts of the Theravada school of Buddhism is preserved....
     edition, London, England (Roman script)
  • Harvard University Press edition, Harvard Oriental Studies, Vol. 41, Cambridge, Mass., 1950 (Roman script)


English translations

  • The Path of Purity, Pe Maung (trans.), Pali Text Society, London, 3 vols., 1922-31
  • Bhadantacariya Buddhaghosa, Bhikkhu Nanamoli (trans.), The Path of Purification, BPS-Pariyatti Editions, Onalaska, WA (Buddhist Publication Society), 1999. ISBN 1-928706-01-0.
  • Buddhist Meditation, Edward Conze (trans.), NB: Partial translation, 2002, ISBN 81-215-0781-2


Other translations

  • der Weg zur Reinheit, Nyanatiloka & Verlag Christiani (trans.), Konstanz, 1952 (German)
  • Sinhala Visuddhimargaya, Pandita Matara Sri Dharmavamsa Sthavira, Matara, Sri Lanka, 1953 (Sinhalese)
  • Le chemin de la pureté, Christian Maës, Fayard 2002 (Français)


Other references

  • Thanissaro Bhikkhu
    Thanissaro Bhikkhu

    Thanissaro Bhikkhu is an United States Buddhist monk of the Thai forest kammatthana tradition. He was born Geoffrey DeGraff and converted to Buddhism in high school....
     (trans.) (1999). Ratha-vinita Sutta: Relay Chariots (MN
    Majjhima Nikaya

    The Majjhima Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism....
     24). Available at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/majjhima/mn024-tb0.html.
  • Upatissa, Arahant and N.R.M. Ehara (trans.), Soma Thera (trans.) and Kheminda Thera (trans.) (1995). The Path of Freedom (Vimuttimagga). Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society. ISBN 955-24-0054-6.


External links

  • - first 90 pages.


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