Glossary

Key terms in the Path of Purification

This glossary gathers the main Pali and meditation terms that readers meet across the book. Each entry keeps the definition brief and points you back into the relevant chapter for fuller context.

Jhana

Deep meditative absorption: a stable, unified concentration in which the mind becomes fully collected on its object.

Samadhi

Concentration or collectedness of mind. In this rendering it usually refers to the steady unification of attention developed in meditation.

Sila

Virtue or moral conduct. It is the ethical foundation that supports concentration and understanding.

Panna

Understanding, wisdom, or insight into the true nature of experience. It is the seeing that cuts through confusion.

Nibbana

Liberation, the unconditioned, and the final goal of the path. It is the cessation of greed, hatred, and delusion.

Kamma

Intentional action and its consequences. In practice it points to the moral force carried by what we do, say, and intend.

Dhamma

The Buddha's teaching, and in some contexts phenomena or things as they are experienced and understood.

Sangha

The community of noble disciples who have entered the path and realized its fruits.

Kasina

A totality meditation device, such as earth or fire, used to develop powerful concentration.

Bhikkhu

A fully ordained Buddhist monk. Many passages in the Visuddhimagga assume the discipline and training context of monastic life.