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Buddhaghosa
Buddhaghosa | |
|---|---|
 Buddhaghosa with three copies of Visuddhimagga, Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | c. 370 CE |
| Died | c. 450 CE |
| Education | |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Buddhism |
| School | Theravāda |
| Part of a series on |
| Buddhism |
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Buddhaghosa was a 5th-century Sinhalese Theravādin Buddhist commentator, translator, and philosopher.[1][2] He worked in the great monastery (mahāvihāra) at Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka and saw himself as being part of the Vibhajyavāda school and in the lineage of the Sinhalese mahāvihāra.[3]
His best-known work is the Visuddhimagga ("Path of Purification"), a comprehensive summary of older Sinhala commentaries on the scriptural canon of the Theravāda school. According to Sarah Shaw, in Theravāda Buddhism this systematic work is "the principal text on the subject of meditation."[4] The interpretations provided by Buddhaghosa have generally constituted the orthodox understanding of Theravādin scriptures since at least the 12th century CE.[5][6]
Buddhaghosa is generally recognized by both Western scholars and Theravādin Buddhists as the most important philosopher and commentator of the Theravāda school.[2][7]
- ^ (Hinüber 1996, p. 103) is more specific, estimating dates for Buddhaghosa of 370–450 CE based on the Mahāvamsa and other sources. Following the Mahāvamsa, (Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli 1999, p. xxvi) places Buddhaghosa's arrival as coming during the reign of King Mahanama, between 412 and 434 CE.
- ^ a b Strong 2004, p. 75.
- ^ Gethin, Rupert, Was Buddhaghosa a Theravādin? Buddhist Identity in the Pali Commentariesand Chronicles, 2012.
- ^ Shaw 2006, p. 5.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
crosby837was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Gombrich 2012, p. 51.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
v.Hinüber102was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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