A compendium of the Theravada Buddhist philosophy and meditation, the Visuddhimagga, meaning "Path of Purification", was written in Sri Lanka in the early 5th century AD by the great Indian scholar monk Buddhaghosa. An elaboration of the seven purifications taught by the Buddha in the Rathavinita Sutta of the Pali Tipitaka and divided under the headings of virtue, concentration and wisdom, the work is a detailed description of the way to Nirvana. It has long been and remains today the most authoritative text in Theravada apart from the Tipitaka itself.

Nyanamoli Bhikkhu, The Path of Purification. Kandy, 1991;
B.C. Law, Life and Works of Buddhaghosa, Calcutta, 1923.