The Eight Knowledges (Vijjā 8) in the Theravāda Pāli Canon

Abstract

This article aims to examine, analyze, and synthesize the concept of the Eight Knowledges (Vijjā 8) in Theravāda Buddhism, with particular emphasis on clarifying their meanings, structural framework, and roles in relation to ascetic practice (samaṇa-dhamma), the Noble Eightfold Path, and the cessation of suffering. The study adopts a documentary research methodology, drawing primarily on the Pāli Canon as preserved in the Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University edition, together with the commentarial tradition, especially the Visuddhimagga, as well as major works of Buddhist philosophical interpretation such as Buddhadhamma.

The findings indicate that the Eight Knowledges do not constitute a homogeneous doctrinal category with equal status. Rather, they display a clear hierarchy of value and function. Most of the knowledges are classified as mundane (lokiya), arising from tranquillity meditation and advanced states of concentration, and serve to demonstrate the potential and dexterity of the cultivated mind; however, they do not directly eradicate ignorance (avijjā) or the defilements (āsava). In contrast, insight knowledge (vipassanā-ñāṇa) and, most notably, the knowledge of the destruction of the defilements (āsavakkhaya-ñāṇa) play a direct and decisive role in the process of liberation, with the latter constituting the highest form of knowledge and the definitive criterion for the attainment of arahantship.

The classification of the Eight Knowledges in the commentarial literature is therefore not intended to promote the pursuit of supernormal powers or extraordinary cognitive abilities. Rather, it serves to elucidate the outcomes of fully developed ascetic practice within the framework of the Noble Eightfold Path. Understanding the Eight Knowledges in this manner helps to correct common misconceptions that overemphasize miraculous or supernormal aspects, and it reaffirms the distinctive identity of Theravāda Buddhism as a doctrinal system fundamentally oriented toward the eradication of the defilements and the realization of genuine liberation.