THE PATH
OF PURIFICATION
(VISUDDHIMAGGA)
BY
BHADANTACARIYA BUDDHAGHOSA
Translated from the Pali
by
BHIKKHU NANAMOLI
FIFTH EDITION
BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY
Kandy Sri Lanka
[(10) RECOLLECTION OF PEACE]
245. One who wants to develop the recollection of peace mentioned next
to mindfulness of breathing (Ch. III, §105) should go into solitary retreat
and recollect the special qualities of nibbana, in other words, the stilling
of all suffering, as follows:
'Bhikkhus, in so far as there are dhammas, whether formed or un-
formed, fading away is pronounced the best of them, that is to say, the
disillusionment of vanity, the elimination of thirst, the abolition of reli-
ance, the termination of the round, the destruction of craving, fading
away, cessation, nibbana' (A.ii,34).
246. Herein in so far as means as many as. Dhammas [means] individual
essences.
68
Whether formed or unformed: whether made by conditions
going together, coming together, or not so made.
69
Fading away is pro-
nounced the best of them: of these formed and unformed dhammas, fad-
ing away is pronounced the best, is called the foremost, the highest.
247. Herein fading away is not mere absence of greed, but rather it is that
unformed dhamma which, while given the names 'disillusionment of
vanity', etc., in the clause 'that is to say, the disillusionment of vanity,
... nibbana', is treated basically as fading away.
10
It is called disillusion-
ment of vanity because on coming to it all kinds of vanity (intoxication),
such as the vanity of conceit, and vanity of manhood, are disillusioned,
undone, done away with.
71
And it is called elimination of thirst because
on coming to it all thirst for sense desires is eliminated and quenched.
But it is called abolition of reliance because on coming to it reliance on
the five cords of sense desire is abolished. It is called termination of the
round because on coming to it the round of the three planes [of exis-
tence] is terminated. It is called destruction of craving because on com-
ing to it craving is entirely destroyed, fades away and ceases. It is called
nibbana (extinction) because it has gone away from (nikkhanta), has es-
caped from (nissata\ is dissociated from craving, which has acquired in
common usage the name "fastening9
(vdna) because, by ensuring succes-
sive becoming, craving serves as a joining together, a binding together, a
lacing together, of the four kinds of generation, five destinies, seven
stations of consciousness and nine abodes of beings.
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[294]
248. This is how peace, in other words, nibbana, should be recollected
according to its special qualities beginning with disillusionment of van-
ity. But it should also be recollected according to the other special quali-
ties of peace stated by the Blessed One in the suttas beginning with:
'Bhikkhus, I shall teach you the unformed ... the truth ... the other shore
... the hard-to-see ... the undecaying ... the lasting ... the undiversified
... the deathless ... the auspicious ... the safe ... the marvellous ... the
intact ... the unafflicted ... the purity ... the island ... the shelter ... '
(S.iv,360-72).
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249. As he recollects peace in its special qualities of disillusionment of
vanity, etc., in this way, then: 'On that occasion his mind is not obsessed
by greed or obsessed by hate or obsessed by delusion; his mind has rec-
titude on that occasion, being inspired by peace' (see Ch. VII, §65, etc.).
So when he has suppressed the hindrances in the way already de-
scribed under the recollection of the Enlightened One, etc., the jhana
factors arise in a single moment. But owing to the profundity of the
special qualities of peace, or owing to his being occupied in recollecting
special qualities of various kinds, the jhana is only access and does not
reach absorption. And that jhana itself is known as Recollection of peace'
too because it arises by means of the special qualities of peace.
250. And as in the case of the six recollections, this also comes to success
only in a noble disciple. Still, though this is so, it can nevertheless also
be brought to mind by an ordinary person who values peace. For even by
hearsay the mind has confidence in peace.
251. A bhikkhu who is devoted to this recollection of peace sleeps in
bliss and wakes in bliss, his faculties are peaceful, his mind is peaceful,
he has conscience and shame, he is confident, he is resolved [to attain]
the superior [state], he is respected and honoured by his fellows in the
life of purity. And even if he penetrates no higher, he is at least headed
for a happy destiny.
So that is why a man of wit
Untiringly devotes his days
To mind the noble peace, which can
Reward him in so many ways.
This is the section dealing with the recollection of peace in the
detailed explanation.
The eighth chapter called 'The Description of
Recollections as Meditation Subjects' in the Trea-
tise on the Development of Concentration in the
Path of Purification composed for the purpose of
gladdening good people.
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