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The Path Of Purification: Visuddhimagga (Vipassana Meditation And The Buddha's Teachings)

One of Buddhism’s foundational texts, the Visuddhimagga is a systematic examination and condensation of Buddhist doctrine and meditation technique. The various teachings of the Buddha found throughout the Pali canon are organized in a clear, comprehensive path leading to the final goal of nibbana, the state of complete purification. Originally composed in the fifth century, this new translation provides English speakers insights into this foundational text. In the course of this treatise full and detailed instructions are given on 40 subjects of meditation aimed at concentration, an elaborate account of Buddhist Abhidhamma philosophy, and explicit descriptions of the stages of insight culminating in final liberation. This replaces 9552400236.

Series: Vipassana Meditation and the Buddha's Teachings

Paperback: 950 pages

Publisher: Pariyatti Publishing (September 1, 2003)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1928706010

ISBN-13: 978-1928706014

Product Dimensions: 6 x 3 x 9 inches

Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #390,518 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #141 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Eastern > Buddhism > Sacred Writings #470 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Eastern > Buddhism > Rituals & Practice #603 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Worship & Devotion > Meditations

This is it, the masterful commentary on Buddha's path that is one of the cornerstones of Theravada Buddhism. Although dense and difficult, the effort you put forth to understand this great beast of a book is well rewarded. Read the notes,stop after each paragraph and reflect, and you'll make you're way through. When you're finished, you'll be changed enough that you can go back to the beginning and get new insights on a second trip through.Everyday, after I get off my meditation cushion, I chew my way though a few pages... It's good to be alive in a time when excellent English translations of this and other great Buddhist works are readily available.

The book is technically a manual of commentaries and sub-commentaries stemming from the Sutta Pitaka. As such it addresses each aspect of the Buddha Sasana in an extremely coprehensive way not to be found in the original teachings of the Buddha. Most topics are described in terms of characteristic, manifestation, function and proximate cause in order to describe them both in themselves and in relation to the surrounding conditions. The book itself is divided in three parts each devoted to one of the three fields of practice: Sila or morality, Samadhi or Meditation and Panna or Wisdom. The first section, the easiest to read and understand, describes an extremely wide range of behaviours in terms of their wholesomeness in various circumstances; the second describes instead the various kinds of styles of meditation nad the different object attanaible by meditating; the third part, the most difficult, deals with the matter of the Abhidhamma, namely rupa, citta, cetasika and nibbana. So I would suggest to read this part only after having studies some easier commentary of the Abhidammha itself.All in all a wonderful but very demanding book.

Buddhaghosa's Path of Purification is a classic text of Pali Buddhist literature, requiring no commentary for any serious student of Buddhist thought. Edward Conze cites another edition of this text many times in his famous work "Buddhist Thought in India," commenting frequently on the questionable translation and remarking that he hopes for a superior translation in the future. Perhaps Bhikkhu Nanamoli's (aka Osbert Moore, 1905-1960) translation is the one to fulfill Conze's wish----I am not qualified to make this judgment.Instead, I wish only to address the physical quality of the hardbound edition of this text. Readers who are unfamiliar with Pariyatti Publishers and the BPS Pariyatti series may be concerned, as I was, about the quality of a text of this size (over 900 pages) and scope. I recently received my hardbound copy and I was pleased to see that the text is of extremely high quality---it is simply first rate in every aspect. The text is bound in durable, high-quality red cloth with gold lettering, the signatures are sewn, the acid-free, wood-free paper is of very good density and high quality (the book was printed in China), the typesetting is impeccable and easy on the eyes, and the book is wrapped in a an attractive, semi-glossy dust jacket (the reproduction on does not do it justice). In an age when publishers of college textbooks routinely sell $150+ texts that appear designed to fall apart after one year's use, a reasonably priced book of such high quality, clearly designed to last through many years of use, is a refreshing surprise, recalling distant times when quality was still important to producers of durable goods. I commend Pariyatti Publishing for producing quality editions of these classic and contemporary Buddhist texts. Prospective buyers may purchase without concern over the quality of the physical text; I will let others who are more qualified comment on the quality of Moore's translation.

This ponderous book has already answered so many of my 'advanced' questions, that I had to give it 5 stars. It a difficult style of writing, but it's also obvious the writer is very far along the Buddhist path. I'm only half-way through, but I know when I get to the last page I will start reading again. I bought it because I'm going to Thailand to meditate and wanted to know Theravada philosophy. Just the concept of meditation, using concentration and absorbtion, are worth the time devoted to this book, for me. I agree with another reviewer that we are blessed to have information like this available in our lifetimes. Peace.

Venerable Buddhaghosa wrote this meditation manual in the5th century AC. No-one have made a better one yet...It covers all aspects of Buddhist Meditation.Is complete and profound.A must have!Enjoy!Bhikkhu Samahita, Ceylon.

The Visuddhimagga is an essential text for any serious Buddhist practitioner who wants to delve much deeper than what is popularly offered in the mass market reading materials on meditation and mindfulness. As such, this is certainly not a text for beginners on the path as the text is highly 'technical' and would require the reader to already possess a certain level of knowledge and understanding about Buddhist teachings.

This is a Pali text giving guidance on maintaining Buddhist monastic discipline and on meditation. I ignored the monastic part, but the greater part of the text deals with many aspects of meditation in exhaustive detail.Some of the discussion is annoying in that it does word-analysis involving Pali words. Puns by definition do not translate, so this part is not fun. But the treatment of meditation from the Theravadin side is very valuable. When I was not using a teacher, I found out a lot from this text. One lifetime is not enough to spend on this text.

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