Seven purities

In the Buddhism theravāda, seven purities , or seven stages of purification (pāli: sattavisuddhi), is commonly described: they describe the advance of the practice, since the catch of the precepts until the attack of the Nirvana.

Introduction

Parabola of the carriages

At the origin of this description in seven purities is the Rathavinitasutta, a speech of Gautama Bouddha teaching the parabola of seven relays. Just as a man must borrow several carriages, taking correspondences, in order to arrive so much so that it wishes, in the same way that which practices, if it wants to reach the Nibbana, must pass by seven points.
The purity of the discipline allows the purity of the concentration, which allows the purity of the sight, etc

Traditional comments

This parabola is worked by Upatissa, throughout the Vimutti-vagga , the way of the release. This work is a first traditional comment in the theravada.
Buddhaghosa takes again then this effort of comment and develops a bulky work exposing in detail the seven purities, like all the theoretical concepts of the doctrines theravadin.

In particular, " connaissances" associated with the practice of Vipassana bhavana are extremely detailed and provide an illustration sometimes surprising of the méditative practice.

Purity of the discipline

The purity of the discipline describes the application of the many Buddhist precepts, like not killing. The monk can also practice one of the exercises, Dhutanga.

But the discipline is respected strictly only when it allows the concentration. The goal of the discipline is to make it possible to the monk to reach the concentration, which is the following purity.

Purity of the concentration

See Samatha bhavana.

The purity of the concentration corresponds to the practice of Samatha bhavana, the development of peace. Samatha is the practice which leads the Bhikkhu to develop its capacity of attention and concentration. It is not then a question of developing its wisdom, but, according to the Dhammapada:

“ It does not have there concentration for that which misses wisdom. It there not of wisdom for that which misses concentration. It is really close to the Nirvana, that in which are the concentration and wisdom. ”

The practice of Samatha brings to carry out various levels of concentration:

preparatory concentration;
concentration of proximity;
concentration of insertion.

The purity of the concentration is defined as obtaining the one of the concentrations of insertion, or simply as obtaining the concentration of vicinity.

Purity of the sight

Purity of the sight, or purity of comprehension (pāli: diṭṭhivisuddhi), indicates comprehension that there are a spirit and a body (pāli: Nāmarūpa).

This intellection thus means first going beyond of the concept of Oneself, of Atman; the spirit and the body recut varied phenomena which could not be taken for a unit. (See also five components of the person.)

Moreover, the teaching of seven purities presents this knowledge like the comprehension of the first of the Four noble truths, i.e. the truth of Dukkha, the suffering.

Purity in the elimination of the doubts

Purification of escape from any doubt (pāli: kaṅkhā-vitaraṇā-visuddhi) means the comprehension extended to the conditions (pāli: Paccaya) of the body and the spirit. This knowledge applies to “three times”, that is to say Passé, Présent and Futur.

This knowledge would be comprehension of the second noble truth: the origin of the suffering.

Knowledge of the way and the not-way

“Knowledge of what is the way and of what is not the way” (pāli: maggāmagga-ñāṇadassana-visuddhi) indicates comprehension of what constitutes the way towards the awakening, which corresponds to the fourth noble truth, the driving way with the eradication of the suffering, or Noble eightfold path.

This stage describes initially the first happy achievements of the “yogi”, which develops “reasons for stain”, thus called because they could be confused with the awakening itself - they are the ten stains of the inspection, vipassananūpakkilesa, listed with their pāli equivalent:

effulgence, appearance of light, obhasa;
knowledge, chick;
joy, piti;
peace, passadhi;
wellbeing, Sukha;
determination, adhimokkha;
energy or enthusiasm, paggaha;
the warning or establishment, upatthana;
imperturbability - or equanimity -, Upekkha;
pleasure or enocre the subtle desire, nikanti.

These positive emotions, these new capacities are however correctly interpreted by meditating, which recognizes in them simple phenomena which do not constitute in themselves the true method towards the release. This recognition of energy, the joy, etc, as simple “symptoms” then constitutes the purity of the knowledge of the way and the not-way.

The knowledge and vision of the course

After contemplating it could include/understand its achievements like phenomena, rather than the release, these demonstrations of joy, of peace, yield to eight knowledge, to which of ajoutte “knowledge in the right wire”:

contemplation of the appearance and disappearance;
knowledge of dissolution;
conscience of terror;
contemplation of misery;
contemplation of the aversion;
contemplation of the desire of release;
considered contemplation;
the knowledge of the equanimity towards the formations;

According to the Visuddhimagga, the sixth, seventh and the eighth knowledge three aspects of only one and even knowledge constitute, at various stages of its development, which would be the inspection leading to the rise, vutthana gamini vipassana. It is informed there thus according to Visuddhimagga only six before knowledge in the right wire.

Detail of eight knowledge

The contempltion of the appearance disappearance, udayabbayanupassana chick , is now released from the “ten stains” which still characterized the knowledge of the way and the not-way: it is in fact the knowledge of the whole of the Three characteristics which becomes clearer.

The knowledge of dissolution, bhanga chick , mark however a turning. Indeed, contemplating it saw until there the phenomena appearing and disappearing, more and more quickly. Once the disappeared stains, contemplating it perceives nothing any more but disappearance: from where the term of dissolution.

The conscience of terror, bhayat' upatthana chick , is the sudden appearance of a terror vis-a-vis this disappearance of the phenomena. This terror, described for example by Robert Kientz, gets along however as the revelation of a suffering which existed before, but which belonged to the current subconscious, “bhavanga sota”: it is the terror of the “mirage”, of the “village where there is nobody”, etc

Conscience of misery, adinavanupassana chick , watch the passage of the fear to the dislike.

The knowledge of the aversion, nibbidanupassana chick , The contemplation of the desire of release, muccitu-kamyata chick , is desire to be released of all the formations of existence - the spirit does not test any pleasure with the formations and wishes to be released some.

Reflected contemplation, patisankhanupassana chick , is the consideration of the phenomena like bubbles, mirages, without Masters; these formations are neither man, neither personality, neither me neither mien nor pertaining to anyone.

Imperturbability vis-a-vis all the phenomena, sankharupekkha chick , mark a passage, since after terror, misery, the desire of release, occurs the equanimity. According to the Patisambhida magga, presents three “doors of release” characterizing various disciples; when the spirit considers the limited aspect of all the formations, it can be involved with the front of

the inconditionné element, animitta dhatu ;
the element deprived of desire, appanihita dhatu ;
the element of the vacuum, sunnata dhatu.

Knowledge of the right wire

Knowledge “in the right wire”, or knowledge of the adaptation, anuloma chick, “adapts” to the six or eight preceding knowledge, like with the supramundane ways. This definition returns in fact to the various functions of the conscience: it is given a rather precise description of the manifestations of the conscience at the time of this knowledge.

The knowledge of imperturbability considers the phenomena according to the characteristic toris, then is inserted in the current subconscious. Immediately after the attention appears. The knowledge of the adaptation appears then, having for object the same formation. Comes then a first “impulsive moment”, javana, called preparation, parikamma, then a second javana, called access, will upacara, and finally a third javana, called adaptation, anuloma.

Knowledge and vision

The knowledge of the ennoblement, or maturity, Gotrabhū chick, does not form part, according to Visuddhimagga, of knowledge and vision; it is located between the knowledge and vision of the course, preparing knowledge and vision.

Immediately after the knowledge of the adaptation, the knowledge of the ennoblement takes for inconditionné object, the stop of the existence, the nirvana. It is the first consideration of “supramundane”.
The first knowledge of the way appears then, the entry in the current (see low), which is knowledge of the Way like result; come then two or three state of consciousnesses produced by the Way, - it is the Fruit conscience. This conscience is inserted then in the current subconscious, bhavanga, then appears a retrospective knowledge, paccavekkhana chick, being for object the aware of the Way.

Four ways

Knowledge and vision (ñāṇadassana-visuddhi) are associated with the one of the four “supramundane” consciences. The supramundane consciences describe the states which are not any more this world, which is except Samsara.

See also Four noble beings.

Outline of other approaches

Gradualism and subitism

Presentation of the practice in seven points, the " yogi " passing from the one with the other, cannot be allotted to all the schools of Buddhism. Certain schools are subitists: they consider a sudden attack of the awakening; there is no progressive practice.
Within the Buddhism theravāda, Masters such as Walpola Rahula clearly showed their opinion according to which it does not have there progressive practice. According to this design, there is only knowledge coming to erase the blindness: wisdom spouts out then and the awakening is reached.

More particularly, this presentation proposes a way in which the Four noble truths are included/understood little by little: initially the suffering (Dukkha), then its origin, etc This presentation does not go without causing a debate, since the four noble truths are taught as included/understood instantaneously at the time of the awakening. But this progressive vision of the comprehension of the four noble truths can be probably included/understood like an image.

In the theravâda

the Satipatthana sutta presents the practice of the attention to the breath in sixteen stages.
the upatissa sutta enumerates 12 stages, since Dukkha until the attack of the awakening, on the model of the conditioned Coproduction (see this article).
Sayadaw U Pandita proposes the concept of four “vipassana jhanas”.

in the other schools

(...)

References

Satipatthana
For the ten eight kinds of inspection, to see Vipassana

External bonds

Ratha-vinita Sutta, 24th will sûtra Majjhima Nikaya

Random links: