THE PATH
OF PURIFICATION
(VISUDDHIMAGGA)
BY
BHADANTACARIYA BUDDHAGHOSA
Translated from the Pali
by
BHIKKHU NANAMOLI
FIFTH EDITION
BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY
Kandy Sri Lanka
PART II
CONCENTRATION
(Samadhi)
CHAPTER III
TAKING A MEDITATION SUBJECT
(Kammatthana-gahana-niddesa)
1. [84] Now concentration is described under the heading of 'con-
sciousness' in the phrase 'develops consciousness and understanding'
(Ch. I, §1). It should be developed by one who has taken his stand on
virtue that has been purified by means of the special qualities of fewness
of wishes, etc., and perfected by observance of the ascetic practices. But
that concentration has been shown only very briefly and so it is not even
easy to understand, much less to develop. There is therefore the follow-
ing set of questions, the purpose of which is to show the method of its
development in detail:
(i) What is concentration?
(ii) In what sense is it concentration?
(iii) What are its characteristic, function, manifestation, and proxi-
mate cause?
(iv) How many kinds of concentration are there?
(v) What is its defilement?
(vi) What is its cleansing?
(vii) How should it be developed?
(viii) What are the benefits of the development of concentration?
1
2. Here are the answers :
(i) WHAT IS CONCENTRATION? Concentration is of many sorts
and has various aspects. An answer that attempted to cover it all would
accomplish neither its intention nor its purpose and would, besides, lead
to distraction; so we shall confine ourselves to the kind intended here,
calling concentration profitable unification of mind.
2
3. (ii) IN WHAT SENSE IS IT CONCENTRATION? It is concen-
tration (samddhi) in the sense of concentrating (samddhdna). What is
this concentrating? It is the centering (adhdna) of consciousness and
consciousness-concomitants evenly (samam) and rightly (samma) on a
single object; placing, is what is meant. [85] So it is the state in virtue of
which consciousness and its concomitants remain evenly and rightly on
a single object, undistracted and unscattered, that should be understood
as concentrating.
4. (iii) WHAT ARE ITS CHARACTERISTIC, FUNCTION, MANI-
FESTATION, AND PROXIMATE CAUSE? Concentration has non-
distraction as its characteristic.
3
Its function is to eliminate distraction. It
is manifested as non-wavering. Because of the words 'Being blissful, his
mind becomes concentrated' (D.i,73), its proximate cause is bliss.
5. (iv) HOW MANY KINDS OF CONCENTRATION ARE THERE?
(1) First of all it is of one kind with the characteristic of non-dis-
traction. (2) Then it is of two kinds as access and absorption;
4
(3) like-
wise as mundane and supramundane,
5
(4) as with happiness and without
happiness, and (5) as accompanied by bliss and accompanied by equa-
nimity.
6
It is of three kinds (6) as inferior, medium and superior; like-
wise (7) as with applied thought and sustained thought, etc., (8) as
accompanied by happiness, etc., and (9) as limited, exalted, and meas-
ureless. It is of four kinds (10) as of difficult progress and sluggish
direct-knowledge, etc.; likewise (11) as limited with limited object, etc.,
(12) according to the factors of the four jhanas, (13) as partaking of
diminution, etc., (14) as of the sense sphere, etc., and (15) as predomi-
nance, and so on. (16) It is of five kinds according to the factors of the
five jhanas reckoned by the fivefold method.
6. 1. Herein, the section dealing with that of one kind is evident in
meaning.
2. In the section dealing with that of two kinds, access concentra-
tion is the unification of mind obtained by the following, that is to say,
the six recollections, mindfulness of death, the recollection of peace, the
perception of repulsiveness in nutriment, and the defining of the four
elements, and it is the unification that precedes absorption concentration.
Absorption concentration is the unification that follows immediately upon
the preliminary-work (Ch. IV, §74) because of the words 'The first-
jhana preliminary-work is a condition, as proximity condition, for the
first, jhana' (Ptn. 2, 350, Siamese ed.). So it is of two kinds as access and
absorption.
7. 3. In the second dyad mundane concentration is profitable unifica-
tion of mind in the three planes. Supramundane concentration is the uni-
fication associated with the noble paths. So it is of two kinds as mundane
and supramundane.
8. 4. In the third dyad concentration with happiness is the unification
of mind in two jhanas in the fourfold reckoning and in three jhanas in the
fivefold reckoning. [86] Concentration without happiness is the unifica-
tion in the remaining two jhanas. But access concentration may be with
happiness or without happiness. So it is of two kinds as with happiness
and without happiness.
9. 5. In the fourth dyad concentration accompanied by bliss is the
unification in three jhanas in the fourfold and four in the fivefold reckon-
ing. That accompanied by equanimity is that in the remaining jhana.
Access concentration may be accompanied by bliss or accompanied by
equanimity. So it is of two kinds as accompanied by bliss and accompa-
nied by equanimity.
10. 6. In the first of the triads what has only just been acquired is infe-
rior. What is not very well developed is medium. What is well developed
and has reached mastery is superior. So it is of three kinds as inferior,
medium, and superior.
11. 7. In the second triad that with applied thought and sustained
thought is the concentration of the first jhana together with access con-
centration. That without applied thought, with sustained thought only, is
the concentration of the second jhana in the fivefold reckoning. For
when a man sees danger only in applied thought and not in sustained
thought, he aspires only to abandon applied thought when he passes
beyond the first jhana, and so he obtains concentration without applied
thought and with sustained thought only. This is said with reference to
him. Concentration without applied thought and sustained thought is the
unification in the three jhanas beginning with the second in the fourfold
reckoning and with the third in the fivefold reckoning (see D.iii,219).
So it is of three kinds as with applied thought and sustained thought, and
so on.
12. 8. In the third triad concentration accompanied by happiness is the
unification in the two first jhanas in the fourfold reckoning and in the
three first jhanas in the fivefold reckoning. Concentration accompanied
by bliss is the unification in those same jhanas and in the third and the
fourth respectively in the two reckonings. That accompanied by equa-
nimity is that in the remaining jhana. Access concentration may be ac-
companied by bliss and happiness or accompanied by equanimity. So it
is of three kinds as accompanied by happiness, and so on.
13. 9. In the fourth triad limited concentration is unification on the
plane of access. Exalted concentration is unification in profitable [con-
sciousness, etc.,] of the fine-material sphere and immaterial sphere. Meas-
ureless concentration is unification associated with the noble paths. So it
is of three kinds as limited, exalted, and measureless.
14. 10. In the first of the tetrads there is concentration of difficult prog-
ress and sluggish direct-knowledge. There is that of difficult progress
and swift direct-knowledge. There is that of easy progress and sluggish
direct-knowledge. And there is that of easy progress and swift direct-
knowledge.
15. Herein, the development of concentration that occurs from the time
of the first conscious reaction up to the arising of the access of a given
jhana is called progress. And the understanding that occurs from the
time of access until absorption is called direct-knowledge. That progress
is difficult for some, being troublesome owing to the tenacious resis-
tance of the inimical states beginning with the hindrances. The meaning
is that it is cultivated without ease. [87] It is easy for others because of
the absence of those difficulties. Also the direct-knowledge is sluggish
in some and occurs slowly, not quickly. In others it is swift and occurs
rapidly, not slowly.
16. Herein, we shall comment below upon the suitable and unsuitable
(Ch. IV, §35f.), the preparatory tasks consisting in the severing of im-
pediments (Ch. IV, §20), etc., and skill in absorption (Ch. IV, §42).
When a man cultivates what is unsuitable, his progress is difficult and
his direct-knowledge sluggish. When he cultivates what is suitable, his
progress is easy and his direct-knowledge swift. But if he cultivates the
unsuitable in the earlier stage and the suitable in the later stage, or if he
cultivates the suitable in the earlier stage and the unsuitable in the later
stage, then it should be understood as mixed in his case. Likewise if he
devotes himself to development without carrying out the preparatory
tasks of severing impediments, etc., his progress is difficult. It is easy in
the opposite case. And if he is not accomplished in skill in absorption,
his direct-knowledge is sluggish. It is swift if he is so accomplished.
17. Besides, they should be understood as classed according to craving
and ignorance, and according to whether one has had practice in serenity
and insight.
7
For if a man is overwhelmed by craving, his progress is
difficult. If not, it is easy. And if he is overwhelmed by ignorance, his
direct-knowledge is sluggish. If not, it is swift. And if he has had no
practice in serenity, his progress is difficult. If he has, it is easy. And if
he has had no practice in insight, his direct-knowledge is sluggish. If he
has, it is swift.
18. Also they should be understood as classed according to defilements
and faculties. For if a man's defilements are sharp and his faculties dull,
then his progress is difficult and his direct-knowledge sluggish; but if his
faculties are keen, his direct-knowledge is swift. And if his defilements
are blunt and his faculties dull, then his progress is easy and his direct-
knowledge sluggish; but if his faculties are keen, his direct-knowledge is
swift.
19. So as regards this progress and this direct-knowledge, when a per-
son reaches concentration with difficult progress and sluggish direct-
knowledge, his concentration is called concentration of difficult progress
and sluggish direct-knowledge. Similarly in the cases of the remaining
three.
So it is of four kinds as of difficult progress and sluggish direct-
knowledge, and so on.
20. 11. In the second tetrad there is limited concentration with a
limited object, there is limited with a measureless object, there is meas-
ureless with a limited object, and there is measureless with a measureless
object. Herein, concentration that is unfamiliar and incapable of being a
condition for a higher jhana [88] is limited. When it occurs with an unex-
tended object (Ch. IV, §126), it is with a limited object. When it is
familiar, well developed, and capable of being a condition for a higher
jhana, it is measureless. And when it occurs with an extended object, it
is with a measureless object. The mixed method can be understood as
the mixture of the characteristics already stated. So it is of four kinds as
limited with limited object, and so on.
21. 12. In the third tetrad the first jhana has five factors, that is to say,
applied thought, sustained thought, happiness, bliss, and concentration,
following suppression of the hindrances. The second has the three fac-
tors remaining after the elimination of applied and sustained thought.
The third has two factors with the fading away of happiness. The fourth,
where bliss is abandoned, has two factors with concentration and the
equanimous feeling that accompanies it. Thus there are four kinds of
concentration according to the factors of these four jhanas. So it is of
four kinds according to the factors of the four jhanas.
22. 13. In the fourth tetrad there is concentration partaking of diminu-
tion, there is concentration partaking of stagnation, there is concentration
partaking of distinction, and there is concentration partaking of penetra-
tion. Herein, it should be understood that the state of partaking of dimi-
nution is accessibility to opposition, the state of partaking of stagnation
(thiti) is stationariness (santhdna) of the mindfulness that is in confor-
mity with that [concentration], the state of partaking of distinction is the
attaining of higher distinction, and the state of partaking of penetration
is accessibility to perception and attention accompanied by dispassion,
according as it is said: * When a man has attained the first jhana and he is
accessible to perception and attention accompanied by sense desire, then
his understanding partakes of diminution. When his mindfulness that is
in conformity with that stagnates, then his understanding partakes of
stagnation. When he is accessible to perception and attention unaccom-
panied by applied thought, then his understanding partakes of distinc-
tion. When he is accessible to perception and attention accompanied by
dispassion and directed to fading away, then his understanding partakes
of penetration' (Vbh. 330). The kinds of concentration associated with
that [fourfold] understanding are also four in number. So it is of four
kinds as partaking of diminution, and so on.
23. 14. In the fifth tetrad there are the following four kinds of concen-
tration, that is to say, sense-sphere concentration, fine-material-sphere
concentration, immaterial-sphere concentration, and unincluded [that is,
path] concentration. Herein, sense-sphere concentration is all kinds of
access unification. Likewise the other three are respectively profitable
unification of mind associated with fine-material, [immaterial, and path,
jhana]. So it is of four kinds as of the sense-sphere, and so on.
24. 15. In the sixth tetrad: 'If a bhikkhu obtains concentration, obtains
unification of mind, by making zeal (desire) predominant, [89] this is
called concentration due to zeal. If ... by making energy predominant...
If ... by making [natural purity of] consciousness predominant ... If ...
by making inquiry predominant, this is called concentration due to in-
quiry' (Vbh. 216-19). So it is of four kinds as predominance.
25. 16. In the pentad there are five jhanas by dividing in two what is
called the second jhana in the fourfold reckoning (see §21), taking the
second jhana to be due to the surmounting of only applied thought and
the third jhana to be due to the surmounting of both applied and sus-
tained thought. There are five kinds of concentration according to the
factors of these five jhanas. So its fivefoldness should be understood
according to the five sets of jhana factors.
26. (v) WHAT IS ITS DEFILEMENT? (vi) WHAT IS ITS CLEANS-
ING? Here the answer is given in the Vibhanga: 'Defilement is the state
partaking of diminution, cleansing is the state partaking of distinction'
(Vbh. 343). Herein, the state partaking of diminution should be under-
stood in this way: *When a man has attained the first jhana and he is
accessible to perception and attention accompanied by sense desire, then
his understanding partakes of diminution' (Vbh. 330). And the state par-
taking of distinction should be understood in this way: 'When he is
accessible to perception and attention unaccompanied by applied thought,
then his understanding partakes of distinction' (Vbh. 330).
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