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Abhidhammattha Sangaha, Translation & Explanation

This volume contains the Pali text, an English translation, and a detailed exposition of Acariya Anuruddha's Abhidhammattha Sangaha, the main primer for the study of Abhidhamma used throughout the Theravada Buddhist world.

This is a recent update of Ven. Mahathera Narada's classic annotated translation of the Sangaha. In addition to Bhikkhu Bodhi's lucid, revised translation, the book contains a long introduction by Bhikkhu Bodhi and Ven. U Rewata Dhamma explaining the basic principles of the Abhidhamma. It also features 48 charts and tables representing the subject in a visual format, provided by Ven. U Silananada.


Published by: BPS Pariyatti Editions
Publication Date: 1999

"Visuddhimagga"

The Visuddhimagga is the "great treatise" of Theravada Buddhism, an encyclopedic manual of doctrine and meditation written in the fifth century by the great Buddhist commentator, Buddhaghosa.

The most esteemed commentary in all of Pali literature, The Path of Purification, or Visuddhimagga is a systematic examination and condensation of Buddhist doctrine and meditation technique. The various teachings of the Buddha, found throughout the Pali Canon, are organized in a clear, comprehensive path leading to the final goal, nibbana, the state of complete purification. In the course of his treatise Buddhaghosa gives full and detailed instructions on the forty subjects of meditation aimed at concentration, an elaborate account of the Buddhist Abhidhamma philosophy, and explicit descriptions of the stages of insight culminating in final liberation.

The author, Bhadantacaryia Buddhaghosa, composed the Visuddhimagga in the early part of the 5th century A.D. The India-born monk-scholar travelled to Sri Lanka to translate into Pali the extensive Sinhalese commentaries preserved there. His crystallization of the entire Pali Canon reinvigorated Theravada Buddhism in India and Sri Lanka. It still shines as clearly today, in this brilliant 1956 translation by the British-born monk, Bhikkhu Ñanamoli that in itself is considered an outstanding achievement of Pali scholarship of the 20th century.

This book is from BPS Pariyatti Editions of Seattle, which co-publishes classic and contemporary titles from the Buddhist Publication Society of Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Published by: BPS Pariyatti Editions
Publication Date: January 2003

Original version by Abhidhammattha Sangaha

By Ven. Narada Thera
From the preface from the author:

"Abhidhamma, as the term implies, is the Higher Teaching of the Buddha. It expounds the quintessence of His profound doctrine.

In the Abhidhamma both mind and matter, which constitute this complex machinery of man, are microsopically analysed. Chief events connected with the process of birth and death are explained in detail. Intricate points of the Dhamma are clarified. The Path of Emancipation is set forth in clear terms....

To the wise truth-seekers, Abhidhamma is an indeispensable guide and an intellectual treat. Here there is food for thought to original thinkers and to earnest students who wish to increase their wisdom and lead an ideal Buddhist life."

The text is given in Pali and followed by a translation on each paragraph. This is a thorough and detailed work for more advanced study.

Unlike other popular books on the subject, he is not out to establish the exclusive validity of one particular system of meditation as against other's. Rather, his aim is to explore the sutta as a wide-ranging and multi-faceted source of guidance which allows for alternative interpretations and approaches to practice. His analysis combines the detached objectivity of the academic scholar with the engaged concern of the practitioner for whom meditation is a way of life rather than just a subject of study.

The book should prove to be of value both to scholars of Early Buddhism and to serious meditators alike. Ideally, it will encourage in both types of readers the same wholesome synthesis of scholarship and practice that underlies the author's own treatment of his subject.
Bhikkhu Bodhi