A Study of the Vimuttimagga

It is felt, now, that a brief account of the Vimuttimagga should be given in this section. As
its title suggests, the Vimuttimagga shows the path to liberation (vimutti = liberation +
magga = path). The author of this treatise is a Thera nown as !patissa. "ost scholars
assume the date of the Vimuttimagga to be before the Visuddhimagga for there are found
some allusions to it in the discussions of the Visuddhimagga, beginning with #eci$ or
#eacce$ both of which mean #according to some$ and have a pe%orative sense.
As the Visuddhimagga is a commentar& to a verse from the 'ali (anon, so is the
Vimuttimagga. The latter e)pounds on the meaning of the following verse which can be
found in the "ahavagga, *igha +ia&a, ,uttanta 'itaa-
,ilam ,amadhi panna ca,
Vimutti ca anuttara.
Anubuddha ime dhamma,
/otamena &asasssina.
"orals, (oncentration, 0isdom,
And the noblest Total 1reedom.
These Things are nown with thoroughness 2
3& /otama, who is famous.
The Vimuttimagga e)pounds "oralit&, (oncentration and 0isdom in 45 chapters called
kaccha. To mae it clear, the themes of the chapters are given below-
4. The 1irst (hapter 2 Introduction
6. The ,econd (hapter 7 "oralit&
5. The Third (hapter 2 Thirteen Ascetic 'ractices
8. The 1ourth (hapter 2 Various 9inds of (oncentration
:. The 1ifth (hapter 2 (hoosing and Approaching a "editation Teacher
;. The ,i)th (hapter 2 ,i) 9inds of (haracters
<. The ,eventh (hapter 2 Thirt&7=ight "editation ,ub%ects
>. The =ighth (hapter 2 "editation *evelopments from the =arth *isc "editation to
the Immaterialit& "editation
?. The +inth (hapter 2 *eveloping Transcendental 9nowledge
4@. The Tenth (hapter 2 9inds of 0isdom
44. The =leventh (hapter 2 1ive Upayas , namel&, Aggregates, 3ases, *hatus, the
*ependent Arigination and the Truths
46. B 45. The Twelfth and Thirteenth (hapters 2 Insight "editation including three
natural phenomena, ten