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Bhadantācariya Buddhaghosa was a 5th century Indian Theravadin Buddhist commentator and scholar. Buddhaghosa means "Voice of the Buddha" in the Pāli language.

Contents 1 Writings and translations 2 References 2.1 Notes 2.2 Bibliography 2.3 External links

He translated extensive Sinhala commentaries on the Pāli Buddhist texts in Pāli. Certain commentaries are also attributed to him, including one on the Vinaya and one on the Dhammapada that includes 305 stories for context. [1]

His Visuddhimagga (Pāli: Path of Purification) is a comprehensive manual of Theravada Buddhism that is still read and studied today. The book is divided into sections on Sīla (ethics), Samādhi (meditation), and Pañña (wisdom). This is a traditional division in Buddhist teachings, which suggest that ethics are essential to meditation, and that meditation is essential to developing wisdom. From the Buddhist point of view this is the "path of purification" because it purifies the mind of the defilements of greed, hatred, and delusion.

Below is a listing of Buddhaghosa's fourteen commentaries (Pāli: atthakatha) on the Pāli Tipitaka:^[1]

Pali Tipitaka			Buddhaghosa's Commentary
from the Vinaya Pitaka	Vinaya (general)		Samantapasadika
	Patimokkha		Kankhavitarani
from the Sutta Pitaka	Digha Nikaya		Sumangalavilasini
	Majjhima Nikaya		Papañcasudani
	Samyutta Nikaya		Saratthappakasini
	Anguttara Nikaya		Manorathapurani
	from the Khuddaka Nikaya	Khuddakapatha	Paramatthajotika (I)
		Dhammapada	Dhammapada-atthakatha
		Sutta Nipata	Paramatthajotika (II), Suttanipata-atthakatha
		Jataka	Jatakatthavannana, Jataka-atthakatha
from the Abhidhamma Pitaka	Dhammasangani		Atthasalini
	Vibhanga		Sammohavinodani
	Katthavatthu		Pañcappakaranatthakatha
	Puggalapaññatti
	Dhatukatha
	Yamaka
	Patthana

1. ^ Table based on Bullitt (2002). Bullitt further notes that only six of Buddhaghosa's commentaries have complete English translations: the Dhammapada-atthakatha, the Jatakatthavannana, the Jataka-atthakatha, the Atthasalini, the Sammohavinodani and the Pañcappakaranatthakatha. These English translations are available through the Pali Text Society. (See Bullitt, 2002, for more information about these translations.) Soma (2003) contains a translation of Buddhaghosa's Papañcasudani pertinent to the Satipatthana Sutta.

• Bullitt,John T. (2002). Beyond the Tipitaka: A Field Guide to Post-canonical Pali Literature. Available on-line at: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bullitt/fieldguide.html.

• Soma Thera (trans.) (2003). The Way of Mindfulness. Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society. ISBN 955-24-0256-5. Also available on-line in a 1998 version at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/soma/wayof.html.

• Entry on Buddhaghosa in the Buddhist Dictionary of Pali Proper Names