Visuddhimagga

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Buddhaghosa offers the Visuddhimagga to the Chief Monk of the Mahavihara .

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The Visuddhimagga ("The path to purity") is a Theravada Buddhist commentary written by Buddhaghosa approximately in 430 CE in Sri Lanka. It is considered the most important Theravada text outside of the Tipitaka canon of scriptures.^[1] The Visuddhimagga's structure is based on the Ratha-vinita Sutta ("Relay Chariots Discourse," MN 24), which describes the progression from the purity of discipline to the nibbana, considering seven steps.^[2]

Contents 1 Summary 2 Seven steps 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References 5.1 Printed Pali editions 5.2 English translations 5.3 Other translations 5.4 Other references 6 External links

[edit] Summary

It is composed of four parts, which discuss: 1) Sila (discipline); 2) Samadhi (meditative concentration); 3) The land of wisdom; and 4) Prajna (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's practice, object by object (see Kammatthana for the list of the forty traditional objects). It mentions different stages of concentration.
• The third part is a precious description of the five skandhas (aggregates), ayatanas, the Four Noble Truths and the dependent origination (see: Pratitya-samutpada). This part shows a great analytical effort specific to Buddhist philosophy.
• The fourth part describes the practice of vipassana through the development of wisdom. It emphasizes different forms of knowledge emerging because of the practice.

[edit] 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

[edit] See also

• Buddhaghosa
• Sila
• Samatha
• Vipassana

[edit] Notes

1. ^ See, for instance, Upatissa et al. (1995), p. xliii: "The Visuddhimagga is a household word in all Theravāda lands. No scholar of Buddhism whether of Theravāda or of Mahāyāna is unacquainted with it."
2. ^ See Thanissaro (1999) for a translation of the Ratha-vinita Sutta. See the various Visuddhimagga printings listed below to see the manner in which this sutta is explicitly integrated into the work.

[edit] References

[edit] Printed Pali editions

• Hewavitarne Bequest edition, Colombo, Sri Lanka (Sinhalese script)
• Hanthawaddy Press edition, Rangoon, Myanmar (Burmese script)
• Royal Siamese edition, Bangkok, Thailand (Thai script)
• Pali Text Society edition, London, England (Roman script)
• Harvard University Press edition, Harvard Oriental Studies, Vol. 41, Cambridge, Mass., 1950 (Roman script)

[edit] 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

[edit] 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)

[edit] Other references

• Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1999). Ratha-vinita Sutta: Relay Chariots (MN 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.

[edit] External links

• The Path of Purification, Translated from the Pali by Bhikkhu Nanamoli - first 90 pages.

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