Seven stages of purification

Seven stages of purification are a series of purifications that serve as a "succinct outline of the entire path a meditator passes through in his inner journey from bondage to liberation."

These purifications are presented in the Rathavinīta Sutta of the Pali Canon, and they are elaborated upon in the Visuddhimagga, the great commentary by Buddhagosa.

The seven stages are:

1. Purification of conduct (sīla-visuddhi)
2. Purification of mind (citta-visuddhi)
3. Purification of view (ditthi-visuddhi)
4. Purification by overcoming doubt (kankha-vitarana-visuddhi)
5. Purification by knowledge and vision of what is path and not-path (maggamagga-nanadassana-visuddhi)
6. Purification by knowledge and vision of the course of practice (patipada–nanadassana-visuddhi)
7. Purification by knowledge and vision (nanadassana-visuddhi)

A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma states:

These seven stages of purification are to be attained in sequence, each being the support for the one that follows. The first purification corresponds to the morality aspect of the path, the second to the concentration aspect, the last five to the wisdom aspect. The first six stages are mundane, the last is the supramundane paths.

The roots and the trunk of knowledge

Further information: Five purifications

The first two of the seven purifications pertain to conduct (śīla) and concentration (samādhi). The last five of the seven, known as the five purifications, pertain to wisdom (prajñā).

Venerable Uttamo Thera states:

In the Path of Purification, Buddhaghosa explained the soil of understanding and its development in brief. The soil of understanding was classed as—khandhas (aggregates), āyatanas (bases), dhatus (elements), indriyas (faculties), saccas (truths), paṭicca-samuppāda (dependent origination), etc.

The first two purifications of virtue (sīla) and consciousness (citta) are the roots of soil of knowledge. The other five - purification of view, by overcoming doubt, by knowledge and vision of what is the path and what is not the path, by knowledge and vision of the way and by knowledge and vision - are the trunk.

Therefore, a yogi who wants to perfect these should first fortify his knowledge by learning and questioning about these things that are the soil. After he has perfected sīla and samādhi that are the roots. Then he can develop the last five purifications that are the trunk.

Here we can take the development of the last five purifications as bhāvanā contemplation. The three kinds of full understanding (tisso pariññā); i.e., the full understanding of the known (ñāta pariññā), full understating by scrutinization (tīraṇa pariññā) and full understanding by abandoning (pahāna pariññā) are its development.

Mundande and supramundane aspects

Ari Ubeysekara states:

Out of the seven stages of purification, the first six belong to the mundane world while the last stage of "Purification by knowledge and vision" is a supramundane stage. This last stage includes the supramundane states of the path of Stream Entry (sotapanna magga), Once Returner (sakadagami magga), Non-Returner (anagami magga) and Arahanthood (arahat magga).

Sources

• Bhikkhu Bodhi, ed. (2000), A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma, Pariyatti Publishing 
• Matara Sri Nanarama (1993), The Seven Stages of Purification and The Insight Knowledge (PDF), Buddhist Publication Society 
• Ubeysekara, Ari (2018), Seven Stages of Purification (satta visuddhi) in Theravada Buddhism, Dharisworld 

Further reading

• Bhikkhu Bodhi, ed. (2000), A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma, Pariyatti Publishing , "Chapter 9, Section: The Seven Stages of Purification"
• Dalai Lama; Thubten Chodron (2014), Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions, Wisdom Publications , "Chapter 10, Section: Pali Tradition: Purification and Knowledge"
• Gethin, Rupert (1998), Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford University Press , "Chapter 7, Section: The scheme of the seven purifications"
• Goldstein, Joseph (2002), One Dharma: The Emerging Western Buddhism, HarperCollins , "Chapter 11, Section: Stages of Purification"
• Harvey, Peter (2013), An Introduction to Buddhism (Second ed.), Cambridge University Press , "Chapter 2, Section: Buddhist meditation - the theoretical framework"
• Mahasi Sayadaw, The Progress of Insight (Visuddhiñana-katha), Access to Insight
• Matara Sri Nanarama (1993), The Seven Stages of Purification and The Insight Knowledge (PDF), Buddhist Publication Society 
• Ubeysekara, Ari (2018), Seven Stages of Purification (satta visuddhi) in Theravada Buddhism, Dharisworld