Paramartha
In Buddhist context, paramartha refers to the absolute, as opposed to merely conventional, truth or reality.
Knowledge is considered as split into three levels: The first being the illusory (called samvriti, parikalpita or pratibhasika according to different schools of thought), considered false compared to the empirical (samvriti, paratantra or vyavaharika), in turn trumped by the transcendental (paramartha or paramarthika).
Etymology:
- Sanskrit: paramÄrtha
Other meaning
Paramārtha (Sanskrit: परमार्थ Paramārtha; traditional Chinese: 真諦; simplified Chinese: 真谛; pinyin: Zhēndì) (499-569 CE) was an Indian monk from Ujjain in central India, who is best known for his prolific Chinese translations which include Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakośa.
Paramārtha is considered one of the greatest translators of sutras in Chinese Buddhism, along with Kumārajīva and Xuanzang.