1 Commentary of the Description of Virtue in the Path of Purification (Sīlaniddesa, Mahāṭīka) Introduction Buddhaghosa wrote the Visuddhimagga, or "Path of Purification," in the fifth century CE, and it is one of Theravada Buddhism's most important and influential books. It's a complete guide to Buddhist teaching and meditation practice. Then, Dhammapāla composed the Mahāṭīkā, also known as the Paramatthamañjūsā, most likely in the 6th century CE. It serves as a comprehensive subcommentary to the Visuddhimagga, offering further explanations, clarifications, and, on occasion, alternative interpretations of Buddhaghosa's works. Paramatthamañjūsā means "Jewel Box of the True Meaning" or "Container of the Ultimate Truth".It's also called the "Great Subcommentary" (Mahāṭīkā). These sub-commentaries are important in the Theravada tradition because they help to clarify complicated aspects of teaching and practice. They frequently supply etymology. The translation started on December 17, 2024. Since there isn't presently a translation for this area, the effort is being made to produce this one. After NORBU AI completed the initial translation, we made revisions to make it more accurate and closer to the Pāḷi terminology, which will make it easier for readers to understand. This translation and editing work presents several challenges: 1. The extensive scope of subject matter 2. The depth and complexity of information 3. The presence of specialized Pali terminology 4. The frequent use of complex compound words The footnote section contains more details. The corresponding paragraph in the version printed in 2010 by Buddhist Publication Society is put in square bracket in the English translation side. Our translation approach: 1. We refer to Visuddhimagga and its English translation by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli. 2. For better readability, we have broken down long Pali sentences into shorter English sentences. This approach makes the translation more accessible and easier to understand. 3. The Pāḷi word to be explained is underlined. 3. Additional relevant information and explanatory details can be found in the footnotes for further reference and clarification, or add on to the translated text in the square bracket. We have made every effort to provide accurate translations with the help of Norbu AI. If you notice any errors, please inform us by email. We offer this work as a gift of Dhamma. Thank you for your understanding. Aggācāra Dhamma Project (Aggacara2013@gmail.com ). Aggācāra International Theravāda Education and Meditation Centre Feb 2025