Grammatical Analysis
Maggañāṇa: [nt.] Path knowledge. Formed by magga (path, way) + ñāṇa (knowledge).
Orthodox Definition
Maggañāṇa is the actual moment of Awakening. It is a strictly supramundane (lokuttara) active consciousness (kusalacitta) that arises for exactly one single mind-moment in the cognitive series.
Taking Nibbāna as its direct object, the Path consciousness simultaneously performs four functions in a single flash:
- It fully comprehends Suffering (pariññā).
- It abandons Craving/Origin (pahāna).
- It realizes Cessation (sacchikiriya).
- It develops the Noble Eightfold Path (bhāvanā).
Crucially, it acts like a thunderbolt that permanently destroys specific fetters (saṃyojana) relative to the stage of awakening (Stream-entry, Once-Return, Non-Return, or Arahatship). Those defilements can never arise again in the mind stream.
Textual References
- Abhidhamma: Dhammasaṅgaṇī – The precise classification of the supramundane path states and their associated mental factors.
- Canonical: Paṭisambhidāmagga – The structural proof of the simultaneous realization of the Four Noble Truths.
- Commentary: Visuddhimagga (Chapter XXII) – Detailing the “Purification by Knowledge and Vision,” the ultimate goal of the meditation system.