06. The Path of Purification as elucidated in Visuddhimagga

The first sermon begins with the avoiding of the two extremes and following the noble eight fold path. With this revelation, the Buddha wanted to discuss the four noble truths. The path is given as the last truth.

The noble eight fold gives this combination of morality and wisdom. As we know, the noble eight fold path begins with sammaditthi and ends with sammasamadhi. This is the position that the Buddha has taken in all the discourses.

In fact, the right view and right though are the foundation on which other path factors operate. Sammaditthi is nothing but an introduction of new culture to the man. If he wants to practice the Buddhist path, a new ideology is instill the man by the right view. Therefore, it is wrong to say a person of any religious denomination can practice the Buddhist path. When his vision is so corrected, he will inherit new concepts which are called the concepts avyapadasankappa, avihinsasankappa and nekkhammsankappa.

The seven path factor that is sammasamadhi . This is amply proved by the Mahasatipatthana sutta of the Dighanikaya, sammasati is given in this discourse as the only path to the realization of nibbana (ekayano maggo nibbana sicchijiriyaya). Nibbana cannot be realized through the contents of sammasamadhi. Therefore, the path comes to its fusion in sammasati has to be carefully examined. This is one of the reasons adieus to conclude that the noble eight fold path is in fact borrowed from the pre-Buddhist Yoga philosophy. As we have seen the eight fold path in yoga philosophy also ends with concentration, Samadhi.

There are two pali texts where the path of purification is discussed. They are path of freedom (visuddhimagga) and path of purification (visuddhimagga) which discussed the path of purification. It is suggested that the Visuddhimagga was written by Buddhaghosa on the basis of the Vimuttimagga. The Visuddhimagga of the Ven.Buddhaghosa is taken as the path of purification by the whole world. It presents the path in the context of several purifications. Those are sila visuddhi, citta visuddhi, ditthi visuddhi, kankhavitarani visuddhi, maggamaggananadassana viddhi, patipadananadassana visuddhi and nanadassana visuddhi. There are seven. First one is purification of sila, virtue, second one is purification of the mind, third one is purification of the view, fourth one is purification of the doubt, over coming of doubt, fifth one is purification of the what is path and what is not path, sixth one is purification of the progress of the path, seventh one is purification of the knowledge or wisdom. These seven purifications are mentioned only in one of the discourses in the entire pāli canon. That is the Rathavinita Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaya.

The other thing is that nibbana is achieved, according to the description of the visuddhimagga, as soon as one becomes a sotapanna. Even though, he has to go towards the other paths and fruits. A sotapanna experiences nibbana. Ven. Buddhaghosa says that all level of magga and phala what is experienced is nibbana. Nivarna has become ontological entity as far as the Ven. Buddhaghosa is concerned. The visuddhimagga is the text that teaches that nivarna is an entity to Theravada tradition before that fit was considered as an experience of an arahant.