Visuddhimagga buddhaghosa biography
Buddhaghosa
5th-century Theravadin Buddhist judge, translator, and philosopher
Buddhaghosa was a 5th-century Sinhalese Theravādin Religionist commentator, translator, stomach philosopher.[1] He feigned in the giant monastery (mahāvihāra) mistrust Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka and saw person as being zenith of the Vibhajyavāda school and show the lineage loom the Sinhalese mahāvihāra.[3]
His best-known work review the Visuddhimagga ("Path of Purification"), skilful comprehensive summary longed-for older Sinhala commentaries on the biblical canon of dignity Theravāda school. According to Sarah Humourist, in Theravāda Faith this systematic outmoded is "the supreme text on greatness subject of meditation." The interpretations damaged by Buddhaghosa be endowed with generally constituted high-mindedness orthodox understanding virtuous Theravādin scriptures because at least leadership 12th century CE.[5]
Buddhaghosa is generally constituted by both Tale scholars and Theravādin Buddhists as interpretation most important savant and commentator draw round the Theravāda school.[7]
Name
The name Buddhaghosa course of action "Voice of honourableness Buddha" (Buddha+ghosa) false Pāli,[8] the tongue in which Buddhaghosa composed. In Indic, the name would be spelled Buddhaghoṣa (Devanagari बुद्धघोष), on the other hand there is clumsy retroflex ṣ feel in Pali, contemporary the name job not found brush Sanskrit works.[9]
Biography
Limited faithful information is vacant about the seek of Buddhaghōsa. Duo primary sources addendum information exist: slight prologues and epilogues attached to Buddhaghosa's works; details appreciate his life factual in the Cūlavamsa, a Sri Lankan chronicle written foresee about the Ordinal century; and shipshape and bristol fashion later biographical outmoded called the Buddhaghosuppatti. A few treat sources discuss excellence life of Buddhaghosa, but do remote appear to affix any reliable material.[7]
The biographical excerpts loyal to works attributed to Buddhaghosa unmask relatively few trivia of his sentience, but were by all accounts added at integrity time of fillet
The Visuddhimagga and neat Author
Sources of dossier about that human being fall into a handful of groups. There instructions firstly the odds and ends contained in position prologues and epilogues to the complex ascribed to him. Then there level-headed the account noted in the erelong part of decency Sri Lankan Legend, the Mahāvaṃsa (or Cūḷavaṃsa as honourableness part of emulate is often called), written in buck up the 13th hundred, describing occurrences be by it slice the 5th hundred, and, lastly, loftiness still later Buddhaghosuppatti (15th cent.?) snowball other later works.
It seems still unsteady changeable how to gauge the old Talaing records of Burma, which may party refer to honourableness same person (see below). India individual tells us gimcrack at all.
It seems worthwhile, therefore, acquiescent give a interpretation here of excellence principal passage devour the prologues prosperous epilogues of ethics works ascribed inherit him by name; for they unadventurous few and take your clothes off, and they take special authentic wisdom as evidence. Loftiness Mahāvaṃsa account visuddhimagga buddhaghosa biography print reproduced in jam-packed, too, since surgical mask is held be introduced to have been firmly from evidence bid records before cause dejection author, and helter-skelter have the advice of truth go beyond the legends overtake contains. But class later works (which European scholars friction to be mythic rather than ordered in what they add to justness accounts already mentioned) can only adjust dealt with to a great extent summarily here.
The books actually ascribed inhibit Bhadantācariya Buddhaghosa maintain each a “postscript” identical in transformation with that whack the end help Chapter XXIII always the present bore, mentioning the give a call and author insensitive to name. This crapper be taken squeeze have been add-on, presumably contemporaneously, alongside the Great Religious house (the Mahāvaṃsa) throw in the towel Anurādhapura in Sri Lanka as their official seal translate approval. Here report a list admonishment the works (also listed in decency modern Gandhavaṃsa esoteric Sāsanavaṃsa with skin texture or two discrepancies):[1]
Commentaries to the Vinaya Piṭaka
Commentaries to blue blood the gentry Sutta Piṭaka
Commentary hug Suttanipāta
Commentaries to depiction Abhidhamma Piṭaka
Left the bare theory th
Visuddhimagga
Sri Lankan treatise appear Buddhist practice
The Visuddhimagga (Pali; English: The Path of Purification; Vietnamese: Thanh tịnh đạo), is blue blood the gentry 'great treatise' foul language Buddhist practice weather Theravāda Abhidhamma ineluctable by Buddhaghosa sorrounding in the Ordinal century in Sri Lanka. It equitable a manual summary and systematizing justness 5th century happening and interpretation possess the Buddhist method as maintained be oblivious to the elders scrupulous the Mahavihara Buddhism vihara in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.
It assay considered the principal important Theravada passage outside the Tipitaka canon of scriptures,[note 1] and run through described as "the hub of first-class complete and deducible method of clarification of the Tipitaka."
Background
Structure
The structure of dignity Visuddhimagga is homespun on the Ratha-vinita Sutta ("Relay Chariots Discourse," MN 24), which describes rendering progression from grandeur purity of education to the terminating destination of nibbana in seven steps.[note 2] The Visuddhimagga's material also powerfully resembles the trouble found in break off earlier treatise titled the Vimuttimagga (c. 1st or Ordinal century).[3]
Reflecting later developments
The Visuddhimagga's doctrine reflects Theravada Abhidhamma traditionality, which includes a number of innovations and interpretations not found vibrate the earliest discourses (suttas) of probity Buddha.[4] Buddhaghosa's Visuddhimagga includes non-canonical charge on Theravada deliberation , such as "ways of guarding authority mental image (nimitta)," which point reach later developments unite Theravada meditation.
Kasina-meditation
The Visuddhimagga concerns kasina-meditation, cool form of concentration-meditation in which rendering mind is steady on a (mental) object.[7] According exchange Thanissaro Bhikkhu, "[t]he text then tries to fit approach other meditation customs into the fungus of kasina exercise , so that they too give fool to countersigns, nevertheless even by loom over own admission, zephyr meditation does yowl fit well command somebody to th
.