The Vipassanā-ñāṇas (

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

: Vipaśyanā-jñāna) or insight knowledges are various stages that a practitioner of Buddhist

Vipassanā ''Samatha'' ( Pāli; sa, शमथ ''śamatha''; ), "calm," "serenity," "tranquillity of awareness," and ''vipassanā'' ( Pāli; Sanskrit ''vipaśyanā''), literally "special, super (''vi-''), seeing (''-passanā'')", are two qualities of t ...

("insight", "clear-seeing") meditation is said to pass through on the way to

nibbana Nirvana (Sanskrit: निर्वाण, '; Pali: ') is "blowing out" or "quenching" of the activities of the worldly mind and its related suffering. Nirvana is the goal of the Hinayana and Theravada Buddhist paths, and marks the soteriologica ...

. This "progress of insight" (''Visuddhiñana-katha'') is outlined in various traditional

Theravada Buddhist ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

commentary texts such as the Patisambhidamagga, the

Vimuttimagga __NOTOC__ The ''Vimuttimagga'' ("Path of Freedom") is a Buddhist practice manual, traditionally attributed to the Arahant Upatissa (c. 1st or 2nd century). It was translated into Chinese in the sixth century as the ''Jietuo dao lun'' 解脫道論 ...

and the

Visuddhimagga The ''Visuddhimagga'' (Pali; English: ''The Path of Purification''), is the 'great treatise' on Buddhist practice and Theravāda Abhidhamma written by Buddhaghosa approximately in the 5th century in Sri Lanka. It is a manual condensing and sys ...

. In Sarvastivadin

abhidharma The Abhidharma are ancient (third century BCE and later) Buddhist texts which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the Buddhist ''sutras''. It also refers to the scholastic method itself as well as the f ...

texts, the "path of insight" (darśana-mārga) one of the

five paths 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awar ...

of progress in the dharma and is made up of several ''jñānas'' also called "thought moments".

Vimuttimagga

The

(Path to liberation, 解脫道論) is an early meditation manual by the

arahant In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...

Upatissa preserved only in a sixth-century Chinese translation. The stages of insight outlined by the Vimuttimagga are: #Comprehension (廣觀) #Rise and fall (起滅) #Dissolution (滅) #Fear & disadvantage & disenchantment (畏 & 過患 & 厭離) #Delight in deliverance & equanimity (樂解脫 & 捨) #Conformity (相似) A similar presentation of these stages can be found in the Patisambhidamagga (dated between the 3rd century BCE to the 2nd century CE), an Abhidhamma work included in the fifth Nikāya of the

Pāli Canon The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During ...

. In the Patisambhidamagga, there are only 5 stages presented. The first three stages are the same and the last two are "fear & disadvantage" (bhaya & ādīnava) and "wish for deliverance & equanimity towards formations" (muñcitukamyatā & saṅkhārupekkhā).

Visuddhimagga

Buddhagosa's

(Path of purification) (ca. 430 CE), while seemingly influenced by the

, divides the insight knowledges further into sixteen stages: #''Namarupa pariccheda ñana'' - Knowledge of mental and physical states, analytical knowledge of body and mind. #''Paccaya pariggaha ñana'' - Discerning Conditionality, knowledge of cause and effect between mental and physical states. #''Sammasana ñana'' - Knowledge of the three characteristics of mental and physical processes. #''Udayabbaya ñana'' - Knowledge of arising and passing away. Accompanied by possible mental images/lights, rapture,

happiness Happiness, in the context of mental or emotional states, is positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishing and eudaimonia. ...

, tranquility and strong mindfulness so that "there is no body-and-mind process in which mindfulness fails to engage." #''Bhanga ñana'' - Knowledge of the dissolution of formations, only the "vanishing," or "passing away" is discernible. #''Bhaya ñana'' - Knowledge of the fearful nature of mental and physical states. The meditator's mind "is gripped by fear and seems helpless." #''Adinava ñana'' - Knowledge of mental and physical states as dukkha. "So he sees, at that time, only suffering, only unsatisfactoriness, only misery." #''Nibbida ñana'' - Knowledge of disenchantment/disgust with conditioned states. #''Muncitukamayata ñana'' - Knowledge of Desire for Deliverance, the desire to abandon the worldly state (for nibbana) arises. #''Patisankha ñana'' - Knowledge of re-investigation of the path. This instills a decision to practice further. #''Sankharupekha ñana'' - Knowledge which regards mental and physical states with equanimity. #''Anuloma ñana'' - Knowledge in conformity with the Four Noble Truths. #''Gotrabhu ñana''- Knowledge which is void of conditioned formations, "maturity Knowledge". #''Magga ñana'' - Knowledge by which defilements are abandoned and are overcome by destruction. #''Phala ñana'' - Knowledge which realizes the fruit of the path (

). #''Paccavekkhana ñana'' - Knowledge which reviews the defilements still remaining.

Abhidhammattha-sangaha

In the

Abhidhammattha-sangaha The ''Abhidhammattha-saṅgaha'' (The Compendium of Things contained in the Abhidhamma) is a Pali Buddhist instructional manual or compendium of the Abhidhamma of the Theravāda tradition. It was written by the Sri Lankan monk Ācariya Anuruddha s ...

(11th to 12th century), another widely used Buddhist commentarial text, there are only ten insight knowledges. #Comprehension - ''sammasana'' #Rise and fall - ''udayabbaya'' #Dissolution - ''bhaṅga'' #Fear - ''bhaya'' #Disadvantage - ''ādīnava'' #Disenchantment - ''nibbidā'' #Wish for deliverance - ''muñcitukamyatā'' #Reflection - ''paṭisaṅkhā'' #Equanimity towards formations - ''saṅkhārupekkhā'' #Conformity - ''anuloma

Sarvastivadin Abhidharma texts

The

Abhidharma Mahāvibhāṣa Śāstra The ''Abhidharma Śāstra'' ( sa, अभिधर्म महाविभाष शास्त्र) is an ancient Buddhist text. It is thought to have been authored around 150 CE. It is an encyclopedic work on Abhidharma, scholastic Buddhist ...

presents 'the process of the direct insight into the four truths' as follows: Darśana mārga (15 moments)(見道十五心) #duḥkhe dharmajñānakṣānti(苦法智忍) - Receptivity to the dharma-knowledge with regard to unsatisfactoriness #duḥkhe dharmajñāna(苦法智)- Dharma-knowledge with regard to unsatisfactoriness #duḥkhe anvayajñānakṣānti(苦類智忍)- Receptivity to the dharma-knowledge with regard to unsatisfactoriness pertaining to the two upper spheres of existence #duḥkhe anvayajñāna(苦類智)- Dharma-knowledge with regard to unsatisfactoriness pertaining to the two upper spheres of existence #samudaye dharmajñānakṣānti(集法智忍)- Receptivity to the dharma-knowledge of the origin of unsatisfactoriness #samudaye dharmajñāna(集法智)- Dharma-knowledge of the origin of unsatisfactoriness #samudaye anvayajñānakṣānti(集類智忍)- Receptivity to the dharma-knowledge of the origin of unsatisfactoriness pertaining to the two upper spheres of existence #samudaye anvayajñāna(集類智)- Dharma-knowledge of the origin of unsatisfactoriness pertaining to the two upper spheres of existence #duḥkhanirodhe dharmajñānakṣānti(滅法智忍)Receptivity to the dharma-knowledge of the cessation of unsatisfactoriness #duḥkhanirodhe dharmajñāna(滅法智) Dharma-knowledge of the cessation of unsatisfactoriness #duḥkhanirodhe anvayajñānakṣānti(滅類智忍)Receptivity to the dharma-knowledge of the cessation of pertaining to the two upper spheres of existence unsatisfactoriness #duḥkhanirodhe anvayajñāna(滅類智)dharma-knowledge of the cessation of unsatisfactoriness pertaining to the two upper spheres of existence #duḥkhapratipakṣamārge dharmajñānakṣānti(道法智忍)- Receptivity dharma-knowledge of the path for the ending of unsatisfactoriness #duḥkhapratipakṣamārge dharmajñāna(道法智)- Dharma-knowledge of the path for the ending of unsatisfactoriness #duḥkhapratipakṣamārge anvayajñānakṣānti(道類智忍)- Receptivity dharma-knowledge of the path for the ending of unsatisfactoriness pertaining to the two upper spheres of existence Bhāvanā-mārga (The 16th moment)(修道第十六心) #

duḥkhapratipakṣamārge anvayajñāna(道類智) - Dharma-knowledge of the path for the ending of unsatisfactoriness pertaining to the two upper spheres of existence

Abhidharma-kosa

The Abhidharma-kosa of

Vasubandhu Vasubandhu (; Tibetan: དབྱིག་གཉེན་ ; fl. 4th to 5th century CE) was an influential Buddhist monk and scholar from ''Puruṣapura'' in ancient India, modern day Peshawar, Pakistan. He was a philosopher who wrote commentary ...

(4th or 5th century CE) lists the knowledges attained on the path of liberation according to the Sarvastivadin

:https://abhidharmakosa.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/akb-ch-7-web.pdf #Saṃvṛti-jñāna (世俗智): worldly, conventional knowledge ('bears on all') #Dharma-jñāna (法智): a knowledge of dharmas ("has for its object, the suffering etc. of Kamadhatu") #Anvaya-jñāna (類智): inferential knowledge ("bears on suffering, etc. of the higher spheres") #Duḥkha-jñāna (苦智): the knowledge of Suffering (1st Noble Truth) #samudaya-jñāna (集智): the knowledge of Origin (2nd Noble Truth) #nirodha-jñāna (滅智): the knowledge of Cessation or Extinction (3rd Noble Truth) #mārga-jñāna (道智): the knowledge of the Path (4th Noble Truth) #para-mano-jñāna (or para-citta- jñāna) (他心智): the knowledge of the mind of another (has for its sphere an independent object" one mental factor of another‘s mind) #kṣaya-jñāna (盡智): the Knowledge of Destruction ("with regard to the truths, the certitude that they are known, abandoned, etc.") #anutpāda-jñāna (無生智): the Knowledge of Non-Arising ("is the certitude that they he truthsare no longer to be known, to be abandoned, etc.")

References

{{Reflist, 2 Theravada Buddhist philosophical concepts