Patipada

Patipadā: 1. 'Road', 'Path'; for instance in dukkhanirodha-gāminī-patipadā 'the road leading to the ceasing of suffering' = 4th Noble Truth; majjhima-patipadā 'the Middle Way'.
2. 'Progress' see also the foll. article. There are 4 modes of progress to deliverance: 1 painful progress with slow comprehension dukkhā patipadā dandhābhiññā 2 painful progress with quick comprehension, 3 pleasant progress with slow comprehension, 4 pleasant progress with quick comprehension. In A. IV, 162 it is said:
1: Some person possesses by nature excessive greed, excessive hate, excessive confusion, and thereby he often feels pain and sorrow; and also the 5 mental abilities, as faith, energy, awareness or mindfulness, concentration and understanding see: indriya 15-19 are dull in him; and by reason thereof he reaches only slowly the immediacy ānantariya q.v to the cessation of all fermentations.
2: Some person possesses by nature excessive greed, etc., but the 5 mental abilities are sharp in him and by reason thereof he reaches quickly the immediacy to the cessation of all fermentations.
3: Some person possesses by nature no excessive greed, etc., but the 5 mental abilities are dull in him, and by reason thereof he reaches slowly the immediacy to the cessation of all fermentations.
4: 'Some person possesses by nature no excessive greed, etc., and the mental abilities are sharp in him, and by reason thereof he reaches quickly the immediacy to the cessation of all fermentations. 
==References==
Maha Thera Nyanatiloka. Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines, Buddhist Publication Society, first edition 1952. 
Category:Pali terms