Visuddhimagga (the pah of purification)
by Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu | 1956 | 388,207 words | ISBN-10: 9552400236 | ISBN-13: 9789552400236
This page describes Conclusion of the section Purification by Knowledge and Vision (ñāṇadassana-visuddhi-niddesa) of Part 3 Understanding (Paññā) of the English translation of the Visuddhimagga (‘the path of purification’) which represents a detailled Buddhist meditation manual, covering all the essential teachings of Buddha as taught in the Pali Tipitaka. It was compiled Buddhaghosa around the 5th Century.
Conclusion
129. Now, with reference to the stanza:
“When a wise man, established well in virtue,
Develops consciousness and understanding” (I.1),
it was said above “After he has perfected the two purifications that are the ‘roots,’ then he can develop the five purifications that are the ‘trunk’”(XIV.32). And at this point the detailed exposition of the system for developing understanding in the proper way as it has been handed down is completed. So the question, “How should it be developed?” (XIV.32) is now answered.
The twenty-second chapter called “The Description of Purification by Knowledge and Vision” in the Treatise on the Development of Understanding in the Path of Purification composed for the purpose of gladdening good people.