The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga (Vipassana Meditation and the Buddha's Teachings) [Paperback]

Bhadantacariya Buddhaghosa (Author), Bhikkhu Nanamoli (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Vipassana Meditation and the Buddha's Teachings | Publication Date: September 1, 2003

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...I offer my prayers that readers, wherever they are, may find in The Path of Purification advice and inspiration... -- H.H. the Dalai Lama

Buddhaghosa has coomposed one of the great spiritual classics of mankind. -- Edward Conze, author, Buddhist Med

Language Notes

Text: English (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 950 pages
• Publisher: Pariyatti Publishing; 1st edition (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1928706010
• ISBN-13: 978-1928706014
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #288,305 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

113 of 114 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A marvelous translation of an indispensible text., July 27, 2001

By 

Will Hiltz (Taos, NM United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The path of purification: Visuddhimagga (v. 1) (Paperback)

(I am assuming this book is almost identical in substance to the copy I have by the same translator, Bhikkhu Nanamoli, published by the Buddhist Publication Society in 1991. My apologies if it is not.)

This book is, indeed, "The Classic Manual of Buddhist Doctrine and Meditation". Written by Buddhaghosa in the Fifth Century in Sri Lanka, and known by its Pali title, Visuddhimagga, it is the fundamental manual for the Theravadin school of Buddhism, upon which the popular Vipassana meditation is based. But it is ever so much more than merely a Vipassana manual. Divided into three main sections covering the three "baskets" of Buddha's teaching, it first addresses Virtue (Sila) and a brief chapter on acceptable ascetic practices. Next there follows a large and wonderful section on training in Concentration (Samadhi) based on the forty traditional meditation subjects. Finally, it concludes with a large section on Understanding (Panna), the wisdom teachings of the Abhidhamma. If anyone has ever tried to learn and understand the Abhidhamma merely through study of the original texts (available in English through the Pali Text Society), then you will clearly appreciate the need for a commentary, and Buddhaghosa's commentary in the Visuddhimagga is one of the best. In general the book is comprehensive and profoundly helpful to one's practice, and to one's appreciation of the roots of Buddhist tradition as well.

This translation by Bhikkhu Nanamoli is wonderful. For years I had loved a translation by Pe Maung Tin, put out by the Pali Text Society. The language in that translation was more poetic, but I gradually grew to appreciate Bhikkhu Nanamoli's more approachable and practical language, and now I seldom refer to the other. There is for me, a Mahayana practitioner, something very beautiful and attractive in the bare, almost dry purity of Theravadin writings and practices, and this translation captures that quiet beauty very well. It is interesting to note that Bhikkhu Nanamoli, an Englishman who ordained in Sri Lanka at age 43 in 1949, and who then spent most of the rest of his remaining years in study and retreat, wrote this translation solely for his own use, because there were no available copies of the only other extant translation: only later did someone request him to publish it. We are fortunate that he did. I cannot recommend it highly enough to the serious practitioner or student.

59 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most famous books in Buddhist history., May 8, 2003

By 

steve (sunnyvale, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga (Vipassana Meditation and the Buddha's Teachings) (Paperback)

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.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The condensed teaching of the Buddha, February 7, 2006

By 

Bartolomucci Fabrizio "iPhone developer with ... (Lido di Castel Fusano, Rome Italy) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga (Hardcover)

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.