Pali Dictionary

1. a road (usually high road), way, foot-path Vism.708 (maggaṁ agata-pubba-purisa, simile of); Vb-a.256 (tiyojana˚, simile of a man travelling); Dhp-a.i.229- addhāna˚; high road Vin.iv.62; MN.iii.158; see under addhāna; antāra- magge on the road Mil.16; ujuka˚ a straight way SN.i.33; Dhp-a.i.18; ummagga (a) a conduit; (b) a devious way: see ummagga, to which add refs. Ja.v.260; Thig.94; kummagga a wrong path: see kum˚, to which add SN.iv.195; Thag.1174. passāva & vacca˚; defecation & urination Vin.iii.127 visama˚; a bad road SN.i.48.
2. the road of moral good living, the path of righteousness, with ref. to the moral standard (cp. the 10 commandments) & the way to salvation. The exegetic (edifying) etym. of magga in this meaning is “nibbān’ atthikehi maggīyati (traced by those who are looking for N.), nibbānaṁ vā maggeti kilese vā mārento gacchatī ti maggo” (Vb-a.114). Usually designated
   1. the “ariya aṭṭhaṅgika magga or the “Noble Eightfold Path” (see aṭṭhangika). It is mentioned at many places, & forms the corner-stone of the Buddha’s teaching as to the means of escaping “dukkha” or the ills of life. It consists of 8 constituents viz. sammā-diṭṭhi, sammā-sankappa, ˚vācā ˚kammanta, ˚ājīva, ˚vāyāma, ˚sati, ˚samādhi, or right views, right aspirations, right speech, right conduct right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right rapture. The 7 first constituents are at DN.ii.216; MN.iii.71 enumerated as requisites for sammā-samādhi. The name of this table of ethical injunctions is given as “maggam uttamaṁ” at Snp verse 1130, i.e. the Highest Path. See for ref. e.g. Vin.iii.93; Vin.iv.26; DN.ii.353 DN.iii.102, DN.iii.128, DN.iii.284, DN.iii.286; Iti.18; Mnd.292; Cnd.485; Vb.104 sq. Vb.235 sq., Vb-a.114 sq. (its constituents in detail), Vb-a.121, Vb-a.216; Vism.509 sq. (where the 8 constituents are discussed)
   2. as ariya magga: MN.iii.72; Pp.17; DN-a.i.176 sq., DN-a.i.225 sq., DN-a.i.233; Vb-a.373 sq.; Thag-a.205.
   3. as pañcaṅgika or the Path of 5 constituents (the above first 2 and last 3): Ds.89; Vb.110 sq., Vb.237 sq-
   4. other expressions of same import: dhamma˚ Mil.21; magga alone; SN.i.191 (Bhagavā maggassa uppādetā etc.) = MN.iii.9 = SN.iii.66; Snp verse 429, Snp verse 441, Snp verse 724 sq. Snp verse 1130; Dhp.57, Dhp.273 sq., Iti.106; Vb-a.53, Vb-a.73. As the first condition & initial stage to the attainment of Arahantship (Nibbāna) it is often found in sequence of either; magga-phala-nirodha (e.g. Vism.217, cp. Nd ii.under dukkha II. p. 168), or magga, phala, nibbāna (e.g. Tikp. 155 sq., 158; Vb-a.43, Vb-a.316, Vb-a.488)
      ■ magga as entrance to Arahantship is the final stage in the recognition (ñāṇa, pariññā, paññā) of the truth of the causal chain, which realises the origin of “ill,” the possibility of its removal & the “way” to the removal These stages are described as dukkhe ñāṇaṁ, samudaye ñāṇaṁ nirodhe ñāṇaṁ and magge ñāṇaṁ at DN.iii.227; Ps.i.118. At the latter passage the foll. chapter (i.49 gives dukkha-nirodha gāminī paṭipadā as identical with magga
      ■ Note. On the term see Cpd. 41 sq., 66 sq., 175 186; Dhs trsl.² 58, 299 sq., 362 sq.; Expos. 216, 354ⁿ. On passages with aṭṭhaṅgika magga & others where magga is used in similes see Mrs. Rh. D. in; J.P.T.S. 1907, pp. 119 120.
3. Stage of righteousness, with ref. to the var conditions of Arahantship divided into 4 stages, viz sotāpatti- magga, sakadāgāmi˚, anāgāmi˚, arahatta˚; or the stage of entering the stream (of salvation), that of returning once, that of the never-returner, that of Arahantship
   ■ At Dhp-a.i.110 magga-phala “the fruit of the Path” (i.e. the attainment of the foundation or first step of Arahantship) is identical with sotāpattiphala on p. 113
   1. in general: arahatta˚; SN.i.78; AN.iii.391; DN-a.i.224
   2. in particular as the 4 paths Cnd.612 A; Vb.322 sq., Vb.328, Vb.335; Vism.453, Vism.672 Vism.678; Dhp-a.iv.30; Vb-a.301.
4. In the Tikapaṭṭhāna (under magga-paccaya-niddesa p. 52), 12 constituents of magga are enumerated; viz. paññā, vitakka, sammāvācā s-kammanta, s-ājīva, viriya, sati, samādhi micchā-diṭṭhi, micchā-vācā, m-kammanta, m-ājīva.

• -aṅgāni the constituents of the Ariyan Path Vb-a.120.
• -āmagga which is the (right) road and which is not MN.i.147; Vism ch. xx (˚ssa kovida) = Snp verse 627; SN.iii.108 (id.); Dhp-a.iv.169 (id.); AN.v.47 (˚ssa ñāṇadassana); Dhp.403.
• -udaka water found on the road Vism.338 (simile).
• -kilanta wearied by the road Ja.i.129.
• -kusala one who is clever as regards the road one who knows the road well SN.iii.108; Mnd.171 Vb-a.332 (in simile); Kp-a.70, Kp-a.126.
• -kovida = ˚kusala Mnd.446.
• -kkhāyin (should be ˚akkhāyin) one who tells the (right) way MN.iii.5; Mnd.33.
• -jina Conqueror of the paths Snp verse 84 sq.
• -jīvin who lives in the right path Snp verse 88.
• -jjhāyin reflecting over the Path Snp verse 85
• -ñāṇa knowledge of the Path Vb-a.416.
• -ññū knows the Path Mnd.446.
• -ṭṭhāna one who stands in the Path, attains the P. see Cpd. 23, 50.
• -ttaya the triad of the paths (i.e. the first 3 of the 4 Paths as given above under 3) Dhp-a.iv.109.
• -dūsin highway robber Snp verse 84.
• -desaka one who points out the way, a guide Snp verse 84; Ja.iv.257; As -desika at Dhp-a.ii.246.
• -desin = ˚desaka Snp verse 87.
• -dhamma the rule of the Path, i.e. righteous living Snp verse 763.
• -dhīra wise as regards the Path Mnd.45
• -paṭipanna 1 one on the road, i.e. wandering, tramping Dhp-a.i.233. 2 one who has entered the Path Pv.38:49.
• -parissaya danger of the road Vv-a.200.
• -bhāvanā cultivation of the Path (i.e. righteousness) Mnd.323.
• -mūḷha one who has lost the way Vv-a.332
• -vaṇṇa praise of the Path Dhp-a.i.115.
• -vidū one who knows the Path Mnd.446.
• -sacca the truth concerning the Path Vb-a.114, Vb-a.124.
• -sira Name of a month DN-a.i.241.

cp. Epic Sk. mārga, fr. mṛg to track, trace