Vimuttimagga

^*Vimuttimagga (T. rnam grol gyi bstan bcos; C. jietuodao lun 解脫道論), aka "Path of Liberation," is a treatise on the Abhidharma traditionally attributed to the Indian scholar Upatissa. It was composed in India sometime prior to the 5th century and translated into Chinesee 505 C.E. Portions of the text were also translated into Tibetan. The original Indian recension is no longer extant.

Scholars believe that the ^*Vimuttimagga might have been an influence on Buddhagosa when he composed his famous treatise, the Visuddhimagga.

Both the ^*Vimuttimagga and the Visuddhimagga set the path in terms of the three trainings.

Outline

The ^*Vimuttimagga contains the following chapters:

1. Introductory Discourse (referencing the three trainings and ultimate freedom)
2. On Distinguishing Virtue
3. On Austerities
4. On Distinguishing Concentration
5. On Approaching a Good Friend
6. The Distinguishing of Behavior
7. The Distinguishing of the Subjects of Meditation
8. Entrance into the Subject of Meditation
9. The Five Forms of Higher Knowledge
10. On Distinguishing Wisdom
11. The Five Methods (aggregates, sense organs, elements, conditioned arising, truth)
12. On Discerning Truth

Comparison to the Visuddhimagga

Contemporary scholars have noted similarities between the ^*Vimuttimagga and the Visuddhimagga, the classic Pali text by Buddhagosa. Scholars posit that Buddhagosa was likely influenced by the ^*Vimuttimagga in his composition of the Visuddhimagga.

Bhikkhu Analayo states:

Though at the present state of our knowledge the question of the school affiliation of the Treatise on the Path to Liberation does not seem to find a definite answer, it remains beyond doubt that, in spite of the basic structure and mode of presentation in the Visuddhimagga being closely similar to the Path to Liberation, a number of points can be found where Buddhaghosa's presentation differs. Such instances clearly show that, however much Buddhaghosa may have been aware of and even relied on the Path to Liberation, he also made it a point to present a different perspective on a number of issues. Out of these differences, in what follows two particular themes [can be identified]: the way in which the quality of wholesomeness is handled in the two versions, and the scheme used in the Path to Liberation and in the Visuddhimagga to describe the progress of insight.

With regard to the quality of wholesomeness, Analayo states:

The Path to Liberation distinguishes between three types of "conduct", sīla: wholesome, unwholesome and undetermined. The Visuddhimagga does not include this threefold presentation in its analysis of sīla, but refers to it only in a by-the-way manner as a threefold distinction found in the Paṭisambhidāmagga, which Buddhaghosa considers to be not relevant to his discussion of sīla.

With regard to the progress of insight, Analayo states:

The Path to Liberation treats the progress of insight under the heading of the four noble truths. Thus it considers the distinguishing of name and form as an implementation of the first truth, which thereby fulfils purification of view. Insight into dependent arising then fulfils the second truth and accomplishes purification by overcoming doubt. The Path to Liberation proceeds by turning to the insight knowledges in its description of how the fourth noble truth is fulfilled. In this way, the Path to Liberation covers the progress of insight based on the scheme of the four noble truths.

[...]

Instead of adopting the scheme of the four noble truths, the Visuddhimagga takes the seven purifications as its point of reference. These seven purifications stem from the Rathavinīta-sutta, found similarly in its parallels, the Discourse on the Seven Chariots in the Madhyama-āgama (七車經) and the tenth discourse in the thirty-ninth chapter of the Ekottarika-āgama. Yet, whereas the four noble truths are a central aspect of the early Buddhist teachings, in the Pāli canon the seven purifications occur, besides the Rathavinīta-sutta, only in one other discourse, the Dasuttara-sutta of the Dīgha-nikāya. In this other occurrence, the seven purifications are part of a set of altogether nine purifications. The same is also the case for the parallel to the Dasuttara-sutta, the Discourse on Tens Upward (十上經) in the Dīrgha-āgama.

Translations

• The Path to Freedom, Vimuttimagga (Volume I & II) Translated by Bhikkhu N. Nyanatusita. Centre of Buddhist Studies, The University of Hong Kong, 2021.
• The Path Of Freedom (Vimuttimagga) of Arahant Upatissa Translated from the Chinese by Rev. N. R. M. Ehara, Soma Thera, Kheminda Thera. Buddhist Publication Society. Kandy, Ceylon
• Vimuttimagga and Visuddhimagga by P. V. Bapat

Sources

• Bapat, P.V. (1937), Vimuttimagga and Visuddhimagga - A Comparative Study 
• Bhikkhu Analayo (2009), "The Treatise on the Path to Liberation (解脫道論) and the Visuddhimagga" (PDF), Fuyan Buddhist Studies (4), ISSN 2070-0512 
• Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University 
• Crosby, Kate (1999), "History versus Modern Myth: The Abhayagirivihāra, the Vimuttimagga and Yogāvacara Meditation", Journal of Indian Philosophy, 27 – via https://www.scribd.com/document/94761137/The-Abhayagirivihara-The-Vimuttimagga-and-Yogavacara-Meditation-Kate-Crosby