Prajñā (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

: प्रज्ञा) or paññā (

Pāli Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhi ...

: पञ्ञा), is a Buddhist term often translated as "wisdom", "intelligence", or "understanding". It is described in

Buddhist texts Buddhist texts are those religious texts which belong to the Buddhist tradition. The earliest Buddhist texts were not committed to writing until some centuries after the death of Gautama Buddha. The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts ...

as the understanding of the true nature of phenomena. In the context of Buddhist meditation, it is the ability to understand the

three characteristics In Buddhism, the three marks of existence are three characteristics (Pali: tilakkhaṇa; Sanskrit: त्रिलक्षण trilakṣaṇa) of all existence and beings, namely '' aniccā'' (impermanence), '' dukkha'' (commonly translated as "su ...

of all things: ''

anicca Impermanence, also known as the philosophical problem of change, is a philosophical concept addressed in a variety of religions and philosophies. In Eastern philosophy it is notable for its role in the Buddhist three marks of existence. It i ...

'' ("impermanence"), '' dukkha'' ("dissatisfaction" or "suffering"), and ''

anattā In Buddhism, the term ''anattā'' (Pali: अनत्ता) or ''anātman'' (Sanskrit: अनात्मन्) refers to the doctrine of "non-self" – that no unchanging, permanent self or essence can be found in any phenomenon. While often ...

'' ("non-self"). Mahāyāna texts describe it as the understanding of ''

śūnyatā ''Śūnyatā'' ( sa, शून्यता, śūnyatā; pi, suññatā; ), translated most often as ''emptiness'', ''vacuity'', and sometimes ''voidness'', is an Indian philosophical concept. Within Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and other ...

'' ("emptiness"). It is part of the Threefold Training in Buddhism, and is one of the ten '' pāramīs'' of

Theravāda Buddhism ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

and one of the six Mahāyāna ''pāramitās''.

Etymology

''Prajñā'' () is often translated as "wisdom", but according to Buddhist bioethics scholar

Damien Keown Damien Keown (born 1951) is a British academic, bioethicist, and authority on Buddhist bioethics. He is Professor Emeritus in the Department of History at Goldsmiths, University of London. Keown earned a B.A. in religious studies from the Univ ...

, it is closer in meaning to "insight", "non-discriminating knowledge", or "intuitive apprehension". * ''jñā'' () can be translated as "consciousness", "knowledge", or "understanding".See, e.g., Monier-Williams (1899), "jña," p. 425 (retrieved 14 August 2012 from "Cologne U." a
mw0425-jehila.pdf
). * ''Pra'' () is an intensifier which can be translated as "higher", "greater", "supreme" or "premium",See, e.g., Monier-Williams (1899), "prā," p. 652 (retrieved 14 Aug. 2012 from "Cologne U." at http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/cgi-bin/monier/serveimg.pl?file=/scans/MWScan/MWScanjpg/mw0659-prajalpana.jpg ) or "being born or springing up", referring to a spontaneous type of knowing. Pali scholars

T. W. Rhys Davids Thomas William Rhys Davids (12 May 1843 – 27 December 1922) was an English scholar of the Pāli language and founder of the Pāli Text Society. He took an active part in founding the British Academy and London School for Oriental Studies. ...

and William Stede define ''paññā'' (Sanskrit: ''prajñā'') as "intelligence, comprising all the higher faculties of cognition" and "intellect as conversant with general truths". British Buddhist monk and Pāli scholar Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu translates ''Prajñā'' (Pāli: ''paññā''), as "understanding", specifically the "state of understanding". Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu notes that Pāli makes a distinction between the "state of understanding" (''paññā'') and the "act of understanding" (''pajānana'') in a way different than English does.

Role in Buddhist traditions

''Paññā'' is the fourth virtue of ten '' pāramīs'' found in late canonic (Khuddaka Nikāya) and Theravādan commentary, and the sixth of the six Mahāyāna ''pāramitās''. It is the third level of the Threefold Training in Buddhism consisting of ''sīla'', ''samādhi'', and ''paññā''.

Theravada Buddhism

Theravada Buddhist commentator Acariya Dhammapala describes ''paññā'' as the comprehension of the characteristics of things or phenomena with skillful means. Dhammapala states that ''paññā'' has the attribute of penetrating the true nature of phenomena.

Abhidharma The Abhidharma are ancient (third century BCE and later) Buddhist texts which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the Buddhist ''sutras''. It also refers to the scholastic method itself as well as the f ...

commentaries relate that there are three types of ''paññā''. # Learned ''paññā'' (Pāli: ''suta-maya-paññā''), or knowledge or wisdom that is acquired from books or listening to others. # Reflective ''paññā'' (Pāli: ''cinta-maya-paññā)'', or knowledge or wisdom that is acquired from thought or logic and reasoning. #''Paññā'' from spiritual development (Pāli: ''bhāvanā-maya-paññā''), or knowledge or wisdom that is acquired from direct spiritual experience. Fifth-century Theravada commentator

Buddhaghosa Buddhaghosa was a 5th-century Indian Theravada Buddhist commentator, translator and philosopher. He worked in the Great Monastery (''Mahāvihāra'') at Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka and saw himself as being part of the Vibhajjavāda school and in ...

states that this category of knowledge is produced from higher meditative absorptions. Thai Buddhist monk and meditation-master

Ajahn Lee Phra Suddhidhammaransi Gambhiramedhacarya (1907–1961), commonly known as Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo, was a meditation teacher in the Thai Forest Tradition of the Dhammayuttika Nikaya order of Theravada Buddhism. He was born in the Ubon Ratchathani P ...

classifies the first two types of ''paññā'' as

Dhamma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for ' ...

on the theory-level and the last as Dhamma on the practice-level. Ajahn Lee states that this results in two levels of ''paññā:'' mundane ''paññā'' which is the comprehension of worldly and

subjects, and transcendent ''paññā'' which is an awareness of the supramundane that is realized by enlightened beings. Abhidharma commentaries describe seven ways to gain ''paññā''. # Asking a wise person # Keeping things clean # Balancing the five faculties (faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom) # Avoiding foolish people # Associating with wise people # Reflecting on and analyzing the

# Having the mind inclined towards developing wisdom

''Vipassanā Paññā''

states in his commentary and meditation treatise, the '' Visuddhimagga,'' that there are many different types and aspects of ''paññā'' but does not define them all''.'' Buddhaghosa specifies ''paññā'' in relation to Buddhist meditation as being specifically ''vipassanā-paññā'' ("insight wisdom"). ''Vipassanā-paññā'' meaning insight knowledge endowed with virtue. Buddhaghosa defines ''vipassanā-paññā'' as “knowing in a particular mode separate from the modes of perceiving (''sañjānana'') and cognizing (''vijjānana'').”. Buddhaghosa makes the analogy of how a child, villager and money-changer sees money to explain his definition. The child can perceive (''sañjānana'') coins through the senses but does not know the value, the villager knows the value of the coins and is conscious (''vijjānana'') of the coins' characteristics as a medium of exchange, and the money-changer has an understanding (''paññā'') of the coins that is even deeper than the surface understanding the villager has because the money-changer can identify which coins are real or fake, which village created it, etc. ''Paññā'' in the context of Buddhist meditation is described as essentially being the ability to understand the

of all things, namely

impermanence Impermanence, also known as the philosophical problem of change, is a philosophical concept addressed in a variety of religions and philosophies. In Eastern philosophy it is notable for its role in the Buddhist three marks of existence. It ...

suffering Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, may be an experience of unpleasantness or aversion, possibly associated with the perception of harm or threat of harm in an individual. Suffering is the basic element that makes up the negative valence of a ...

and non-self. Buddhaghoṣa states that the function of ''paññā'' is "to abolish the darkness of

delusion A delusion is a false fixed belief that is not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence. As a pathology, it is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information, confabulation, dogma, illusion, hallucination, or som ...

" in order to understand the "individual essence of states".

Mahāyāna Buddhism

Buddhist-studies scholar Paul Williams states that

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...

Buddhist tradition considers the analysis of ''prajñā'' found in the

texts to be incomplete. According to Williams, the Abhidharma description of ''prajñā'' stops at the discernment of ''dharmas'' as the final reality'','' but Mahayana and some non-Mahayana schools go on to teach that all ''dharmas'' are empty (''dharma-śūnyatā).'' Buddhist scholar John Makransky describes ''dharmas'' in this sense to mean "phenomena".' Williams goes on to say that the meaning of ''prajñā'' according to Mahayana Prajñāpāramitā sutras is ultimately the state of understanding emptiness (''

''). Religious studies scholar

Dale S. Wright Dale S. Wright is Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at Occidental College in Los Angeles. He is author of numerous books on Zen Buddhism Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=T ...

points to the '' Heart Sutra'' which states that those who want "to practice the profound perfection of wisdom (''prajñā'') should view things in this way s empty. Wright states this view is not wisdom, but having the view will make you wise. According to Williams, Indo-Tibetan Buddhist tradition also has another understanding of ''prajñā,'' that is a meditative absorption or state of consciousness that results from analysis and leads to the ultimate truth.

References

Sources

Published sources

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Web-sources

External links

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