Sukkha-vipassaka

sukkha-vipassaka 'one supported by bare insight', is the commentarial term for one who, without having attained any of the meditative absorptions (jhāna, q.v.), has realized only by the support of insight (vipassanā, q.v.) one or several of the supermundane paths (s. ariyapuggala).

In Vis.M. XVIII, he is called suddha-vipassanā-yānika, as distinguished from 'one who has tranquillity as vehicle' (samathayānika, q.v.). Though the primary meaning of sukkha as intended here is as stated above, subcommentaries (e.g. D. Tīkā) employ also the literal meaning of sukkha, i.e. 'dry': "His insight is dry, rough, unmoistened by the moisture of tranquillity meditation." This justifies a frequent rendering of this term by 'dry-visioned' or 'having dry insight', which, however, should not lead to misconceptions about the nature of insight meditation as being 'dry' or 'merely intellectual', while in fact the development of insight will produce rapture (pīti) and a sense of urgency (samvega) in the meditator. - (App.).