The
Abhidhamma Pitaka (abhidhammapiṭaka) is the last of the three
pitakas, that is, baskets, constituting the
Pali Canon, the
scriptures of
Theravāda Buddhism. It presents a more formal, abstract, systematic form of teaching than the others.
Nature of abhidhamma
Abhidhamma has been variously described as philosophy, psychology, metaphysics etc. Most scholars regard it as an attempted systematization of the teachings of the
Sutta Pitaka, but L. S. Cousins, former Lecturer in the Department of
Comparative Religion at
Manchester University and former President of the
Pali Text Society, says
[1] that the abhidhamma methodology looks at things in terms of occasions or events instead of sequences or processes. Tradition says that the abhidhamma is the absolute teaching whereas the suttas are adapted to particular hearers.
Origins
According to the scriptures themselves, the
abhidhamma was taught by the
Buddha himself. Tradition says that he thought it out immediately after his
enlightenment, but only taught it some years later, to the gods. He then repeated it to
Sariputta, who handed it on to his disciples. Scholars do not take this literally, dating these works generally around the third century B.C.E. However, some consider important aspects do or may go back earlier. Thus Cousins says
[2] that the abhidhamma methodology goes back earlier, perhaps to the Buddha himself. Dr
Rupert Gethin, Lecturer in Indian religions in the Department of
Theology and
Religious studies, and co-director of the Centre for Buddhist Studies, at the
University of Bristol, and current (2006) President of the Pali Text Society, also says important elements of abhidhamma methodology probably go back to the Buddha's lifetime.
[3] A. K. Warder,
Professor Emeritus of
Sanskrit at the
University of Toronto,
[4] and Dr Peter Harvey of the
University of Sunderland[5] both suggest much earlier dates for the matikas on which most of the abidhamma books are based.
Contents
The Abhidhamma Pitaka consists of seven books.
Dhammasangani
This book begins with a matika (mātikā, literally, matrix), listing classifications of dhammas, variously translated as
phenomena,
ideas,
states, etc. It starts with 22 threefold classifications, beginning with good/bad/unclassified, and follows this with 100 twofold ones according to the
abhidhamma method. Many of these classifications are not exhaustive, and some are not even exclusive. The matika ends with 42 twofold classifications according to the
sutta method, which are used only in this book, whereas the other 122 are used also in some of the other books.
The main body of the book is in four parts. The first of these goes through numerous states of mind, listing and defining, by lists of synonyms, factors present in them. The second deals with material form, beginning with its own matika, classifying by ones, twos and so on, explained after. The third explains the book's matika in terms of the first two parts, as does the fourth, by a different
method, and omitting the sutta method.
Vibhanga
This book is in 18 chapters, each dealing with a different topic; for example the first deals with the five aggregates. A typical chapter (there are a number of divergences from this pattern) is in three parts. The first explains the topic according to the sutta method, often word-for-word the same as in actual suttas. The second is abhidhamma explanation, mainly by lists of synonyms as in the Dhammasangani. The third uses questions and answers, based on the matika: "How many aggregates are good etc?"
Dhatukatha
This book covers both the matika and various topics, mostly from the Vibhanga, relating them to the 5 aggregates, 12 bases and 18 elements. The first chapter is fairly simple: "In how many aggregates etc. are good dhammas etc. included?" The book progressively works up to more complicated questions: "From how many aggregates etc. are the dhammas dissociated from attention etc. dissociated?"
Puggalapannatti
This book starts with its own matika, which begins with some standard lists but then continues with lists of persons grouped numerically from ones to tens. This latter portion of the matika is then explained in the main body of the work. Most of the lists of persons and many of the explanations are also found in the
Anguttara Nikaya.
Kathavatthu
This book consists of more than two hundred debates on questions of doctrine. It does not identify the participants. The commentary says the debates are between the Theravada and other schools, which it identifies in each case. These identifications are mostly consistent with what is known from other sources about the doctrines of different schools.
[6]
Yamaka
This book consists of ten chapters, each dealing with a different topic; for example, the first deals with roots. A typical chapter (there are a number of divergences from this pattern) is in three parts. The first part deals with questions of identity: "Is good root root?" "But is root good root?" The entire Yamaka consists of such pairs of converse questions, with their answers. Hence its name, which means pairs. The second part deals with arising: "For someone for whom the form aggregate arises, does the feeling aggregate arise?" The third part deals with understanding: "Does someone who understands the eye base understand the ear base?"
Patthana
This book deals with 24 conditions in relation to the matika: "Good dhamma is related to good dhamma by root condition", with details and numbers of answers.
Place in the tradition
The importance of the Abhidhamma Pitaka in classical Sinhalese Buddhism is suggested by the fact that it came to be furnished, not only, like much of the canon, with a commentary and a subcommentary on that commentary, but even with a subsubcommentary on that subcommentary.
[7] In more recent centuries, however, Burma has become the main centre of abhidhamma studies.
Translations
The first five books and part of the seventh have been translated by the
Pali Text Society[1]. For these and other translations see separate articles.
See also
References
1.
^ "Pali oral literature", in
Buddhist Studies, ed Denwood and Piatigorski, Curzon, London, 1982/3
2.
^ op. cit.
3.
^ Foundations of Buddhism,
Oxford University Press, 1998, page 48
4.
^ Indian Buddhism, 3rd edn, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 2000
5.
^ Introduction to Buddhism,
Cambridge University Press, 1990
6.
^ Bareau,
Les Sectes bouddhiques du Petit Véhicule, Ecole Française d'Extrême Orient, Saigon, 1955
7.
^ Hinüber,
Handbook of Pali Literature, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, 1996
The Tripiṭaka (Sanskrit त्रिपिटक, lit.
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The Pali Canon is the standard scripture collection of the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pali language.[1] The Canon was written down from oral tradition at the occasion of the Fourth Buddhist Council(in the usual Theravada numbering), 1st century
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religious texts they view as rules to live a proper way of life, or laws given to humans by a god. Some may also include the history of the religion in question. Many religions and spiritual movements believe that their sacred texts
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Theravada (Pāli: theravāda; Sanskrit: स्थविरवाद sthaviravāda; literally, "the Way of the Elders") is the oldest surviving Buddhist school, and for many centuries has been the predominant
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Buddhism is often described as a religion[1] and a collection of various philosophies, based initially on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, known as Gautama Buddha.
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The Sutta Pitaka (suttapiṭaka; or Suttanta Pitaka; Sanskrit सूत्र पिटक Sutra Pitaka) is the second of the three divisions of the Tipitaka or Pali Canon, the great Pali collection of Buddhist writings, the scriptures of
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Comparative religion is a field of religious study that analyzes the similarities and differences of themes, myths, rituals and concepts among the world's religions. Religion can be defined as "Human beings' relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, spiritual, or divine".
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The University of Manchester is a university located in Manchester, England. With over 40,000 students studying 500 academic programmes, more than 10,000 staff and an annual income of nearly £600 million it is the largest single-site University in the United Kingdom and receives
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The Pali Text Society was founded in 1881 by T.W. Rhys Davids "to foster and promote the study of Pali texts".
Pali is the language in which the texts of the Theravada school of Buddhism is preserved.
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Abhidharma (Sanskrit) or Abhidhamma (Pāli) is a category of Buddhist scriptures that attempts to use Buddhist teachings to create a systematic, abstract description of all worldly phenomena.
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buddha (help info ) (Sanskrit: Awakened) is any being who has become fully awakened (enlightened), and has experienced Nirvana.
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Bodhi (बोधि) is the Pāli and Sanskrit word for the "awakened" or "knowing" consciousness of a fully liberated yogi, generally translated into English as "enlightenment".
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Sariputra (Sanskrit) or Sariputta (Pāli) was one of two principal disciples of the Buddha. He became an Arhat renowned for his wisdom and is depicted in the Theravada tradition as one of the most important disciples of the Buddha.
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Dr. Rupert Gethin (b. 1957 Edinburgh) is a Lecturer in Indian Religions in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, and co-director of the Centre for Buddhist Studies, at the University of Bristol, and (since 2003) President of the Pali Text Society.
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God
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University of Bristol is a university in Bristol, England. It received its Royal Charter in 1909,[10] although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol,had been in existence since 1876.
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Emeritus (IPA pronunciation:
[əˈmɛrɪtəs] or
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University of Toronto (U of T) is a public research university in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The institution comprises sixteen academic faculties and a collegiate framework of eleven colleges within its principal campus, which surrounds Queen's Park in the
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University of Sunderland is located in the City of Sunderland in North East England. The University has more than 16,000 students, including 1,000-plus international students from some 70 countries.
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The Pali Canon is the standard scripture collection of the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pali language.[1] The Canon was written down from oral tradition at the occasion of the Fourth Buddhist Council(in the usual Theravada numbering), 1st century
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The Vinaya Piṭaka is a Buddhist scripture, one of the three parts that make up the Tripitaka. Its primary subject matter is the monastic rules for monks and nuns.
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Pali Canon
Vinaya Pitaka
Sutta-
vibhanga Khandhaka Pari-
vara
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Pali Canon
Vinaya Pitaka
Sutta-
vibhanga Khandhaka Pari-
vara
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Pali Canon
Vinaya Pitaka
Sutta-
vibhanga Khandhaka Pari-
vara
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The Sutta Pitaka (suttapiṭaka; or Suttanta Pitaka; Sanskrit सूत्र पिटक Sutra Pitaka) is the second of the three divisions of the Tipitaka or Pali Canon, the great Pali collection of Buddhist writings, the scriptures of
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Pali Canon
Vinaya Pitaka
Sutta-
vibhanga Khandhaka Pari-
vara
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Pali Canon
Vinaya Pitaka
Sutta-
vibhanga Khandhaka Pari-
vara
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Pali Canon
Vinaya Pitaka
Sutta-
vibhanga Khandhaka Pari-
vara
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