The Visuddhimagga (Pali; English: The Path of Purification; ), is the 'great treatise' on Buddhism practice and Theravāda Abhidhamma written by Buddhaghosa approximately in the 5th century in Sri Lanka. It is a manual condensing and systematizing the 5th century understanding and interpretation of the Buddhist path as maintained by the elders of the Mahavihara Monastery in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.
It is considered the most important Theravada text outside the Tipitaka canon of scriptures,[See, for instance, Kheminda Thera, in Ehara 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."] and is described as "the hub of a complete and coherent method of exegesis of the Tipitaka."
Background
Structure
The structure of the
Visuddhimagga is based on the
Ratha-vinita Sutta ("Relay Chariots Discourse,"
Majjhima Nikaya 24), which describes the progression from the purity of discipline to the final destination of nibbana in seven steps.
[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.] The
Visuddhimagga's material also strongly resembles the material found in an earlier treatise called the
Vimuttimagga (c. 1st or 2nd century).
[Vimuttimagga & Visuddhimagga - A Comparative Study. PV Bapat, lvii]
Reflecting later developments
The
Visuddhimagga's doctrine reflects Theravada
Abhidharma scholasticism, which includes several innovations and interpretations not found in the earliest discourses (
suttas) of the Buddha.
[Kalupahana, David J. (1994), A history of Buddhist philosophy, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited] Buddhaghosa's
Visuddhimagga includes non-canonical instructions on Theravada meditation, such as "ways of guarding the mental image (nimitta)," which point to later developments in Theravada meditation.
Kasina-meditation
The
Visuddhimagga concerns
kasina-meditation, a form of concentration-meditation in which the mind is focused on a (mental) object.
[Bhikkhu Thanissaro, Concentration and Discernment] According to Thanissaro Bhikkhu, "the text then tries to fit all other meditation methods into the mold of kasina practice, so that they too give rise to countersigns, but even by its own admission, breath meditation does not fit well into the mold."
In its emphasis on
kasina-meditation, the
Visuddhimagga departs from the Pali Canon, in which
dhyana is the central meditative practice, indicating that what "jhana means in the commentaries is something quite different from what it means in the Canon."
Non-Theravada influences
David Kalupahana notes that the
Visuddhimagga contains "some metaphysical speculations, such as those of the
Sarvastivadins, the
Sautrantikas, and even the
Yogacarins". Kalupahana comments:
Contents
Summary
The
Visuddhimagga is composed of three sections, which discuss: 1)
Sīla (ethics or discipline); 2)
Samādhi (meditative concentration); 3)
Pañña (understanding or wisdom).
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The first section (part 1) explains the rules of discipline, and the method for finding a correct temple to practice, or how to meet a Kalyana mittata.
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The second section (part 2) describes samatha practice, object by object (see Kammatthana for the list of the forty traditional objects). It mentions different stages of concentration.
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The third section (part 3-7) is a description of the five (aggregates), , the Four Noble Truths, dependent origination (Pratitya-samutpada), and the practice of vipassana through the development of wisdom. It emphasizes different forms of knowledge emerging because of the practice. This part shows a great analytical effort specific to Buddhist philosophy.
Seven Stages of Purification
This comparison between practice and "seven relay chariots" points at the goal. Each purity is needed to attain the next. They are often referred to as the "Seven Stages of Purification" (
satta-visuddhi):
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Purification of Conduct ( sīla-visuddhi)
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Purification of Mind ( citta-visuddhi)
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Purification of View ( ditthi-visuddhi)
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Purification by Overcoming Doubt ( kankha-vitarana-visuddhi)
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Purification by Knowledge and Vision of What Is Path and Not Path ( maggamagga-ñanadassana-visuddhi)
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Purification by Knowledge and Vision of the Course of Practice ( patipada-ñanadassana-visuddhi)
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Knowledge of contemplation of rise and fall ( udayabbayanupassana-nana)
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Knowledge of contemplation of dissolution ( bhanganupassana-nana)
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Knowledge of appearance as terror ( bhayatupatthana-nana)
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Knowledge of contemplation of danger ( adinavanupassana-nana)
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Knowledge of contemplation of dispassion ( nibbidanupassana-nana)
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Knowledge of desire for deliverance ( muncitukamyata-nana)
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Knowledge of contemplation of reflection ( patisankhanupassana-nana)
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Knowledge of equanimity about formations ( sankharupekka-nana)
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Conformity knowledge ( anuloma-nana)
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Purification by Knowledge and Vision ( ñanadassana-visuddhi)
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Change of lineage
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The first path and fruit
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Sakadagami
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The third path and fruit
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The fourth path and fruit
The "Purification by Knowledge and Vision" is the culmination of the practice, in four stages leading to liberation and Nirvana. The emphasis in this system is on understanding the three marks of existence, dukkha, anatta, anicca. This emphasis is recognizable in the value that is given to vipassana over samatha in the contemporary vipassana movement.
Siddhis
According to scholars, the
Visuddhimagga is one of the extremely rare texts within the enormous literatures of various forms of Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism to give explicit details about how spiritual masters were thought to actually manifest
Siddhi.
Abilities such as flying through the air, walking through solid obstructions, diving into the ground, walking on water and so forth are performed by changing one element, such as earth, into another element, such as air.
The individual must master
kasina meditation before this is possible.
, who trained via the
Visuddhimagga, was said to demonstrate these abilities.
Influence
Traditional Theravada
The
Visuddhimagga is considered the most important Theravada text outside of the
Tipitaka canon of scriptures,
along with the
Milinda Panha.
[
]
"Of the extra-canonical literature the most important of the early books are the Milinda Panha and Visuddhimagga."
According to
Nanamoli Bhikkhu, the
Visuddhimagga is "the hub of a complete and coherent method of exegesis of the Tipitaka, using the ‘Abhidhamma method' as it is called. And it sets out detailed practical instructions for developing purification of mind."
Contemporary Theravada
The
Visuddhimagga is one of the main texts on which contemporary
vipassana method (and the vipassana movement itself) is based, together with the
Satipatthana Sutta. Yet, its emphasis on
kasina-meditation and its claim of the possibility of "dry insight" has also been criticised and rejected by some contemporary Theravada scholars and
vipassana-teachers.
According to Thanissaro Bhikkhu, "the Visuddhimagga uses a very different paradigm for concentration from what you find in the Canon." Bhante Henepola Gunaratana also notes that what "the suttas say is not the same as what the Visuddhimagga says ... they are actually different," leading to a divergence between a traditional scholarly understanding and a practical understanding based on meditative experience. Gunaratana further notes that Buddhaghosa invented several key meditation terms which are not to be found in the suttas, such as " parikamma samadhi (preparatory concentration), upacara samadhi (access concentration), appanasamadhi (absorption concentration)." Gunaratana also notes that Buddhaghosa's emphasis on kasina-meditation is not to be found in the suttas, where dhyana is always combined with mindfulness.
Bhikkhu Sujato has argued that certain views regarding Buddhist meditation expounded in the Visuddhimagga are a "distortion of the Suttas" since it denies the necessity of jhana. The Australian monk Shravasti Dhammika is also critical of contemporary practice based on this work.
However, according to the Burmese scholar Venerable Pandita, the postscript to the Visuddhimagga is not by Buddhaghosa.[Ven. Pandita (2018). The Authorship of the Vinaya and Abhidhamma Commentaries: A Response to von Hinüber. Journal of Buddhist ethics 25:269-332. University of Kelaniya.]
Editions
Printed Pali editions
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Caroline A. F. Rhys Davids, Visuddhimagga Pali Text Society, London, 1920 & 1921. (Latin script)
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Warren, H. C. & Kosambi, D. D. Visuddhimagga of Buddhaghosâcariya, Harvard Oriental Series, Vol. 41, 1950.
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Hewavitarne Bequest edition, Colombo, Sri Lanka (Sinhala script)
South-East Asia
- Sinhala
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Sinhala Visuddhimargaya, Pandita Matara Sri Dharmavamsa Sthavira, Matara, Sri Lanka, 1953 (Sinhala)
- Burmese
- Thai
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Royal Siamese edition, Bangkok, Thailand (Thai script)
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คัมภีร์วิสุทธิมรรค (Khamphi Wisutthimak), Somdej Phra Buddhacarya (Ard Asabhamahathera), sixth edition. Bangkok: Mahachulalongkornrajvidyalaya University, B.E. 2548 (2005).
English translations
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The Path of Purity, Pe Maung (trans.), Pali Text Society, London, 3 vols., 1922–31 Part 1: Of Virtue, Part 2: Of Concentration & Part 3: Of Understanding
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Bhikkhu Nyanamoli (trans.), The Path of Purification, Visuddhimagga, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy 2011, .
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Buddhist Meditation, Edward Conze (trans.), NB: Partial translation, 2002,
Other European translations
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Der Weg zur Reinheit, Nyanatiloka & Verlag Christiani (trans.), Konstanz, 1952 (German)
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Le chemin de la pureté, Christian Maës, Fayard 2002 (Français),
See also
Notes
Sources
External links
