Path of Freedom [Vimuttimagga]

PREFACEAs stated elsewhere (In Memoriam (p. xv) the draft translation ofthe Gedatsu Do Ron (being the Chinese name for the Vimuttimagga) wascompleted in four months. Therefore it was thought that it needed somerevision. This the Venerable Soma Thera intended to do on his return toCeylon in 1937. But he fell ill and by the end of 1939 the Second World Warwas already three months old. All hope of publishing the revised editionof the Original Draft Translation during the war had to be given up. Withthe end of the war, however, conditions were even less favourable. Meanwhile,though the Venerable Soma Thera wished to complete the revisionand await a favourable occasion to publish it, other work he had undertakenprevented him from doing so. Further, asthma robbed him of much ofhis time. Thus the work he intended to do on the Vimuttimagga translationhad to be postponed each time he took it up.When he passed away many venerable theras and ddyakas were muchinterested in publishing, at least, the Original Draft Translation as it was,and they requested me to prepare it for publication. Knowing my ownlimitations, I was at first rather disinclined to undertake this work, but lateracceded to their earnest request for the following reasons.The Venerable Soma Thera had originally wished to have the Englishtranslation of the Vimuttimagga (The Path of Freedom) revised and publishedsome day. But later, seeing difficulties, he modified the idea and waseven content with merely revising the Draft Translation, leaving the publicationitself to some future time. He said that the important thing, the DraftTranslation, had been done, and that if people felt that they needed it theywould see to its publication.It was a work that had inspired both the Venerable Soma Thera and me,and there were many who welcomed its publication.Dr. D. Roland D. Weerasuria of Balcombe House, Balcombe Place,Colombo, invited the Venerable Soma Thera sometime in 1959 to write anabridged version of the Visuddhimagga as he felt that such an edition wouldsupply a long felt want. But shortly after he began writing it death intervened.Dr. Weerasuria then requested the Venerable Nanamoli Thera totake up the work which, after some hesitation, he agreed to finish withina year. But he, too, passed away within a week. Sometime after thisDr. Weerasuria, having seen the Original Draft Translation of the Vimuttimagga,was keen on its publication.This was a fitting occasion to pay a tribute to the memory of the twosenior co-translators of the Vimuttimagga, the Reverend N. R. M. Eharaand the Venerable Soma Maha Thera.XXXI