Paññā

Wisdom, discernment, deep understanding. The Pāli equivalent of prajñā in Sanskrit and one of the most important factors of the Buddhist path.

In the Noble Eightfold Path, sammā paññā (right understanding) encompasses two factors:

• Sammā diṭṭhi — Right view: seeing things as they are (impermanent, unsatisfactory, selfless)
• Sammā saṅkappa — Right intention: renouncing desire, cultivating goodwill, abandoning cruelty

Paññā is not accumulated intellectual knowledge. It is direct understanding arising from contemplative experience. First one understands conceptually (pariyatti), then practices (paṭipatti), finally realizes directly (paṭivedha).

In the Dhammapada, the wise one (pandita) is who possesses paññā — not who accumulates information (bahussuta), but who sees the ultimate nature of phenomena: anicca (impermanence), dukkha (dissatisfaction), anattā (no-self).