Buddhaghoṣa | |
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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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Buddhaghoṣa 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 Buddhaghoṣa have generally constituted the orthodox understanding of Theravādin scriptures since at least the 12th century CE.[5][6]
Buddhaghoṣa is generally recognized by both Western scholars and Theravādin Buddhists as the most important philosopher and commentator of the Theravāda school.[2][7]
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