Secret Teachings of Theravada Buddhism

The Secret Doctrine

If there were a book that had all of the secret teachings of Theravāda Buddhism, the Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga) would be it.

This compendium explains all of the good stuff, like:

• how to attain samādhi (super consciousness, coherent stillness, purified concentration);
• how to attain psychic powers, including knowing and seeing past lives.
• it includes the stages of insight and wisdom that one needs to reach nirvana.

Knowing and Seeing

Books do not get more complete than this. One can read a FREE and condensed version of this path in a book called Knowing and Seeing by Ven. Pa-Auk Sayadaw (amazon.com), who teaches the exact method based on the Path of Purification. Find the free PDF link here.

If one wishes to know more about mindfulness-of-breathing (ana-pana-sati), Ven. Nyanamoli wrote a small book that contains information from both the Path of Purification and what some say is its predecessor the Path to Freedom (Vimuttimagga). It can be found free at urbandharma.org or in book form at this amazon.com link.

Basically, there are no secrets in Early Theravāda Buddhism because the historical Buddha proclaimed that he was not teaching a "secret" doctrine but one who offered his Dharma (his Doctrine and Discipline) openly to those wise enough to hear it.

There are, however, texts that are not well known (until now). We should never have to pay for such teachings because they are priceless and if people paid the price of it, no one would be able to afford it. Be wary if anyone asks for payment for these sacred Teachings.

All of the content inside Knowing and Seeing can be learned at Pa-Auk Meditation Centers. There is no charge at these centers, not for food, teachings, or lodging.

Best of luck, and please let me know how things go!

Bhikkhu Subhuti

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  Buddhaghosa compiling the texts in Sri Lanka

  Wikipedia (edited by WQ): Visuddhimagga (The Path of Purification), is the "great treatise" on Theravada Buddhist doctrine compiled by Ven. Buddhaghosa in approximately the 5th century in Sri Lanka. It is a comprehensive manual condensing and systematizing the theoretical and practical teachings (vada) of Gautama Buddha as they were understood by the "elders" (theras) of the Great Monastery in Anuradhapura, in ancient Sri Lanka. It is described as “the hub of a complete and coherent method of exegesis (explanation) of the Three Baskets (Tipitaka), using the Abhidhamma method as it is called. It sets out detailed practical instructions for the purification of mind. It is considered the most important [commentarial] Theravada text outside of the threefold canon of the scriptures. Its structure is based on the Rathavinita Sutta (the “Relay Chariots Discourse,” MN 24), which describes the progression from the purity of discipline to the final destination of nirvana in seven steps. Its contents strongly resemble the material found in brief in an earlier treatise called the Path to Freedom (Vimuttimagga). [This is because both are thought to be written by the same author, one as a draft or outline and the other with all of the details added.]

• Ven. Subhuti, americanmonk.org, The Secret Teachings of Theravada, 9/22/18 edited by Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly