__NOTOC__ The ''Vimuttimagga'' ("Path of Freedom") is a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

practice manual, traditionally attributed to the

Arahant In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...

Upatissa (c. 1st or 2nd century). It was translated into Chinese in the sixth century as the ''Jietuo dao lun'' 解脫道論 by

Sanghapala Sanghapala (506–518 CE) was a famous Khmer monk who traveled to Southern and Northern Dynasties China. He, along with the fellow Funan monk, Mandrasena, translated Buddhist scriptures to Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to ...

. The original text (possibly

Pali 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'' Buddh ...

Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit (BHS) is a modern linguistic category applied to the language used in a class of Indian Buddhist texts, such as the Perfection of Wisdom sutras. BHS is classified as a Middle Indo-Aryan language. It is sometimes called "B ...

) is no longer extant, but the work has survived in Chinese. The book was probably written in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

and then later brought to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Some doctrines of the Vimuttimagga have been associated with those attributed to the

Abhayagiri monastery Abhayagiri may refer to: * Abhayagiri vihāra a ruined monastic complex of great historical significance in Sri Lanka * Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery Abhayagiri is a Theravadin Buddhist monastery of the Thai Forest Tradition in Redwood Vall ...

by Dhammapāla, but this has been disputed in recent scholarship.

The Vimuttimagga recommends various meditation practices such as

Anapanasati Ānāpānasati (Pali; Sanskrit ''ānāpānasmṛti''), meaning " mindfulness of breathing" ("sati" means mindfulness; "ānāpāna" refers to inhalation and exhalation), paying attention to the breath. It is the quintessential form of Buddhist ...

, Kasina meditation and Buddha- anussati - recollection of the virtues of the Buddha. Its chapters are (based on the translation by Ehara,

Soma Soma may refer to: Businesses and brands * SOMA (architects), a New York–based firm of architects * Soma (company), a company that designs eco-friendly water filtration systems * SOMA Fabrications, a builder of bicycle frames and other bicycle ...

& Kheminda): # Introductory Discourse (referencing the three trainings and ultimate freedom)This chapter's introductory stanza in Pali is: "'Sīlaṃ samādhi paññā ca, vimutti ca anuttarā; Anubuddhā ime dhammā, gotamena yasassinā.'" This verse can be found in both the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta ( DN 16) and the Anubuddha Sutta ( AN 4.1). Vajira & Story (1998) translate this verse as: "Virtue, concentration, wisdom, and emancipation unsurpassed — These are the principles realized by Gotama the renowned....'" # On Distinguishing

Virtue Virtue ( la, virtus) is morality, moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is Value (ethics), valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that sh ...

# On Austerities # On Distinguishing

Concentration In chemistry, concentration is the abundance of a constituent divided by the total volume of a mixture. Several types of mathematical description can be distinguished: '' mass concentration'', '' molar concentration'', ''number concentration'', ...

# On Approaching a Good Friend # The Distinguishing of Behavior # The Distinguishing of the Subjects of Meditation # Entrance into the Subject of Meditation # The Five Forms of Higher Knowledge # On Distinguishing

Wisdom Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledg ...

# The Five Methods ( aggregates,

sense organs A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system re ...

, elements, conditioned arising,

truth Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth 2005 In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as belief ...

) # On Discerning

Truth Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth 2005 In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as belief ...

Relationship to the ''Visuddhimagga''

The ''Vimuttimagga'' bears a striking similarity to the ''

Visuddhimagga The ''Visuddhimagga'' (Pali; English: ''The Path of Purification''), is the 'great treatise' on Buddhist practice and Theravāda Abhidhamma written by Buddhaghosa approximately in the 5th century in Sri Lanka. It is a manual condensing and sys ...

'' by

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 ...

, and it is highly probable that it had an influence on

. While the ''Visuddhimagga'' is a much longer work, both texts differ on several points. According to

Bhikkhu Analayo Bhikkhu Anālayo is a bhikkhu (Buddhist monk), scholar, and meditation teacher. He was born in Germany in 1962, and went forth in 1995 in Sri Lanka. He is best known for his comparative studies of Early Buddhist Texts as preserved by the various ...

, the Chinese version of the ''Vimuttimagga'' states that ascetic practices (

dhutanga Dhutanga (Pali ''dhutaṅga,'' si, ධුතාඞ්ග) or dhūtaguṇa (Sanskrit) is a group of austerities or ascetic practices taught in Buddhism. The Theravada tradition teaches a set of thirteen dhutangas, while Mahayana Buddhist sources t ...

) can be unwholesome and wholesome while the ''Visuddhimagga'' denies that they can be unwholesome, although he notes that the Tibetan ''Vimuktimārga'' classifies ascetic practices as "wholesome". A similar difference can be seen with regards to concentration (

samādhi ''Samadhi'' ( Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yo ...

) which the ''Vimuttimagga'' states can be wholesome or unwholesome (micchā samādhi/邪定) while the ''Visuddhimagga'' disagrees that it can be unwholesome. Another major difference is in the scheme of the progress of insight, which the ''Vimuttimagga'' arranges based on the

Four Noble Truths In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: ; pi, cattāri ariyasaccāni; "The four Arya satyas") are "the truths of the Noble Ones", the truths or realities for the "spiritually worthy ones". seven purifications which stem from the Rathavinīta-sutta. Minor differences can also be seen in the particular schemes of practice. Upatissa gives four categories of Śīla while Buddhagosa gives five. Upatissa gives four ways of cultivating

, while Buddhagosa gives eight. In addition, the Visuddhimagga identifies forty subjects of meditation ( kammatthana) while the ''Vimuttimagga'' identifies thirty-eight.

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

English translations

*
The Path to Freedom, Vimuttimagga (Volume I & II)
' Translated by Bhikkhu N. Nyanatusita. Centre of Buddhist Studies, The University of Hong Kong, 2021. *
The Path Of Freedom (Vimuttimagga) of Arahant Upatissa
' Translated from the Chinese by Rev. N. R. M. Ehara, Soma Thera, Kheminda Thera.

Buddhist Publication Society The Buddhist Publication Society (BPS) is a publishing house with charitable status whose objective is to disseminate the teaching of Gautama Buddha. It was founded in Kandy, Sri Lanka in 1958 by two Sri Lankan lay Buddhists, A.S. Karunaratna and ...

. Kandy, Ceylon *
Vimuttimagga and Visuddhimagga
' by P. V. Bapat {{Buddhism topics Pali Buddhist texts

Contents

Relationship to the ''Visuddhimagga''

See also

Notes

References

External links

English translations