section_path: Practice (paṭipatti)/Textual basis
section_name: Textual basis
paragraph_text: Textual basis
  
  In the Pāli Canon, the path (magga) or way (patipada) of Buddhist practice is described in various ways, one of the most widely used frameworks in Theravāda is the Noble Eightfold Path:
  
  The Blessed One said, "Now what, monks, is the Noble Eightfold Path? Right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration."
  
  The Noble Eightfold Path can also be summarized as the Three Noble Disciplines of sīla (moral conduct or discipline), Samādhi (meditation or concentration) and Paññā (understanding or wisdom).
  
  Theravāda orthodoxy takes the seven stages of purification as outlined in the Visuddhimagga as the basic outline of the path to be followed. The Visuddhimagga, a Sinhala Theravāda doctrinal summa written in the fifth century by Buddhaghosa, became the orthodox account of the Theravāda path to liberation in Sri Lanka after the 12th century and this influence spread to other Theravāda nations. It gives the sequence of seven purifications, in three sections:
  
  This basic outline is based on the threefold discipline. The emphasis is on understanding the three marks of existence, which removes ignorance. Understanding destroys the ten fetters and leads to Nibbana.
  
  Theravādins believe that every individual is personally responsible for achieving their own self-awakening and liberation, each being responsible for their own karma (actions and consequences). Applying knowledge acquired through direct experience and personal realization is more heavily emphasized than beliefs about the nature of reality as revealed by the Buddha.