2024

Royce Wiles

  • Research Fellow
  • University of Canterbury
Picture of Royce Wiles

Project

The Paramatthamañjusa of Dhammapala—Commentary on the Visuddhimagga of Buddhaghosa: Translation of the Chapter 14 on the Five Aggregates

Program

The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Translation Grants in Buddhist Studies

Abstract

Buddhaghosa’s Visuddhimagga, dated before 489 CE, is the encyclopaedic keystone of the voluminous Theravada commentary tradition. The sub-commentary explicating the Visuddhimagga is entitled either Paramatthamanjusa—Treasure chest of ultimate truth—or simply Mahatika—Great sub-commentary. While there are complete translations of the Visuddhimagga into English and other languages, the Paramatthamanjusa has only been completely translated once into Burmese—Mahasi 1966-1969. This project creates a critical and annotated scholarly translation of Paramatthamañnusa’s Chapter 14 into English.