Observations on Some Technical Terms in the *Vimuttimagga and their English Translations: An Examination of Jia and Visayappavatti

Abstract

In the Chinese text of the *Vimuttimagga, namely the Jietuo dao lun, the word jia is used as a technical abhidhamma term. It is used to refer to an initial cognitive activity through the five material sense organs. In the published English translation, the term is not understood clearly. There are similarities and differences between the two terms, jia and visayappavatti. They are linked to similar doctrinal structures and technical terminology, especially the concept of bhavanga, which is a distinctive doctrine of Sri Lankan Theravada. On the other hand, visayappavatti implies an initial cognitive activity by any of the six sense organs, while the term jia refers to an initial cognitive activity only through the five material sense organs. A comparative study of the two terms proposes the following implications. Firstly, the text *Vimuttimagga is related to Sri Lankan Pali abhidhamma because the orientation of the two terms is more than similar. Secondly, the text represents an early phase of the extant Pali abhidhamma because the term jia is less mature terminology than the term visayappavatti.