Visuddhimagga Summary?

Exploring the Dhamma, as understood from the perspective of the ancient Pali commentaries.
JohnK
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Visuddhimagga Summary?

Post by JohnK »

Question: Is there a respected summary in English of the Visuddhimagga? -- something like the "Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma" being such for the Abhidhamma Pitaka.
(I know the Vism. is much shorter than the Abhidhamma Pitaka, but for now a couple of hundred pages is preferable to even 800. I am still mostly reading through the Sutta Pitaka, which is the priority, but thought some introduction to both the Abhidhamma and the Vism. would be a good idea for now.)
Thank you.
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Re: Visuddhimagga Summary?

Post by mikenz66 »

Hi JohnK,
JohnK wrote:Question: Is there a respected summary in English of the Visuddhimagga? -- something like the "Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma" being such for the Abhidhamma Pitaka.
(I know the Vism. is much shorter than the Abhidhamma Pitaka, but for now a couple of hundred pages is preferable to even 800. I am still mostly reading through the Sutta Pitaka, which is the priority, but thought some introduction to both the Abhidhamma and the Vism. would be a good idea for now.)
Thank you.
The way I see it, the CMA is a concise summary of Theravada Commentarial analysis.

Chapters I-VIII summarise the Abhidhamma and the Commentary extensions: http://dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... 56#p411420

Chapter IX. Compendium of Meditation Subjects is a summary of the Visuddhimagga (apart from the Abhidhamma analysis in the middle chapters, which are covered in the earlier chapters).

:anjali:
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Re: Visuddhimagga Summary?

Post by JohnK »

Thank you. Very convenient that it is in the CMA.
(But now I can't pretend to be studying Dhamma by shopping for and tracking the shipment of another book!)
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Re: Visuddhimagga Summary?

Post by mikenz66 »

I'm sure there are more books to order...

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Re: Visuddhimagga Summary?

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings John,

U Dhammaratana’s 100 page “Guide Through the Visuddhimagga” might be what you're looking for.

Metta,
Paul. :)
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Re: Visuddhimagga Summary?

Post by cjmacie »

JohnK wrote:Question: Is there a respected summary in English of the Visuddhimagga? -- something like the "Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma" being such for the Abhidhamma Pitaka.
(I know the Vism. is much shorter than the Abhidhamma Pitaka, but for now a couple of hundred pages is preferable to even 800. I am still mostly reading through the Sutta Pitaka, which is the priority, but thought some introduction to both the Abhidhamma and the Vism. would be a good idea for now.)
Thank you.
There was a graphic sheet that PaAuk Sayadaw used in teaching, looking like a 7-level Burmese temple structure, which summarized the 7-stages of "purification", with (English) script information embedded in the graphic s/w outlining the details.

That kind of representation has the strength of concise symbolic form that, for some, can be well-remembered. (Copies were passed-out by Shaila Catherine once after she returned from a 3-month retreat with the Sayadaw at IMS, 4 or 5 years ago. I probably have it somewhere, in a large collection of books and notes... will take a look, and scan & post here if I can find it... Maybe it's in one of the Sayadaw's books?)

Similar graphic representations of various Theravadan lists of lists are on the walls of the dining room at the Tathagata Meditation Center (San Jose) -- such graphics seem a common feature in Burmese circles.
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Re: Visuddhimagga Summary?

Post by JohnK »

cjmacie wrote: There was a graphic sheet that PaAuk Sayadaw used in teaching, looking like a 7-level Burmese temple structure, which summarized the 7-stages of "purification", with (English) script information embedded in the graphic s/w outlining the details.

That kind of representation has the strength of concise symbolic form that, for some, can be well-remembered. (Copies were passed-out by Shaila Catherine once after she returned from a 3-month retreat with the Sayadaw at IMS, 4 or 5 years ago. I probably have it somewhere, in a large collection of books and notes... will take a look, and scan & post here if I can find it... Maybe it's in one of the Sayadaw's books?)

Similar graphic representations of various Theravadan lists of lists are on the walls of the dining room at the Tathagata Meditation Center (San Jose) -- such graphics seem a common feature in Burmese circles.
I was thinking the graphic you mentioned might be in Catherine's Wisdom Wide and Deep (I have only read parts of it while taking her Aggregates online course)-- lots and lots of tables in there, but I don't see that graphic -- too bad.
BTW, as Mike noted above, CMA p.330 [guide text] actually says "The explanation of calm and insight meditation in this chapter of the Abhidhammattha Sangaha is a summary of the entire Visuddhimagga."
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Re: Visuddhimagga Summary?

Post by Dhammanando »

JohnK wrote:Question: Is there a respected summary in English of the Visuddhimagga?
For the Sīla section there is Damien Keown's article Morality in the Visuddhimagga.

http://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/in ... /view/8593
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JohnK
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Re: Visuddhimagga Summary?

Post by JohnK »

Thanks, all.
I have done some printing, ordering, and reading (began last Chapter of CMA).
Mighty fine resource, this DW.
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atipattoh
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Re: Visuddhimagga Summary?

Post by atipattoh »

CJ may be refering to this Chart on Path of Purification

Sorry, first link image not clear, this pdf one is another Chart on Path of Purification from Visuddha Meditation Centre , should be better, may open with pdf on android.
Last edited by atipattoh on Fri Feb 10, 2017 4:57 am, edited 2 times in total.
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cjmacie
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Re: Visuddhimagga Summary?

Post by cjmacie »

atipattoh wrote:CJ may be refering to this Chart on Path of Purification
Exactly! Thanx. :twothumbsup:

(Did you find that there, or scan a copy and put it there yourself?)

That could be considered a summary, and the graphic structure can be helpful for memory...
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Re: Visuddhimagga Summary?

Post by atipattoh »

I have a copy that is black and white, so google a bit for a nicer one. I found those 2 already shared by nice people out there.

There is a table format, will update after scanning. Couldn't find that one by google.
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cjmacie
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Re: Visuddhimagga Summary?

Post by cjmacie »

atipattoh wrote:...Sorry, image not clear, this pdf of the Chart should be better...
Yes, a bit clearer... with some interesting differences to compare... and a chance to brush-up on my meager knowledge of Chinese...

My original copy (not yet found) was also black-and-white.

(Amazing the resources to be found among DW participants.)
atipattoh
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Re: Visuddhimagga Summary?

Post by atipattoh »

:namaste:

Attached is a table format for Path of Purification.
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Re: Visuddhimagga Summary?

Post by JeffR »

atipattoh wrote:
Sorry, first link image not clear, this pdf one is another Chart on Path of Purification from Visuddha Meditation Centre , should be better, may open with pdf on android.
Nice chart. It would be nice to have a laminated poster of this.
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