Abhidharma - Knowledge

1104: 1734:(word of the Buddha), they held it was the work of different monks after his death, and that this was the reason different Abhidharma schools varied widely in their doctrines. However, this school still studied and debated on Abhidharma concepts and thus did not seek to question the method of the Abhidharma in its entirety. Indeed, there were numerous Abhidharma texts written from an Abhidharma perspective. According to K.L. Dhammajoti, the commentator Yaśomitra even states that "the Sautrantikas can be said to have an abhidharma collection, i.e., as texts that are declared to be varieties of sutra in which the characteristics of factors are described." 2547:(Pali: sabhāva) to explain the causal workings of dharmas. This term was used in different ways by the different Buddhist schools. This term does not appear in the sutras. The Abhidharmakośabhāṣya states: “dharma means ‘upholding,’ , upholding intrinsic nature (svabhāva)” while the Theravādin commentaries holds that: “dhammas are so called because they bear their intrinsic natures, or because they are borne by causal conditions.” Dharmas were also said to be distinct from each other by their intrinsic/unique characteristics (svalaksana). The examination of these characteristics was held to be extremely important, the Sarvastivada 3668: 1468: 1600:) in their own right. In these post-canonical texts, further doctrinal developments and innovations can be found. As Noa Ronkin writes, "post-canonical Abhidharma texts became complex philosophical treatises employing sophisticated methods of argumentation and independent investigations that resulted in doctrinal conclusions quite far removed from their canonical antecedents." As Frauwallner writes, these later works were attempts to build truly complete philosophical systems out of the various canonical Abhidharma texts. 2611:

exegetical texts, then, svabhāva is used as an atemporal, invariable criterion determining what a dharma is, not necessarily that a dharma exists. The concern here is primarily with what makes categorial types of dharma unique, rather than with the ontological status of dharmas." However, in the later Sarvastivada texts, like the Mahavibhasa, the term svabhava began to be defined more ontologically as the really existing “intrinsic nature” specifying individual dharmas.

2972: 9278: 9289: 2350: 2907:' which are words for the immortal soul in Hinduism and Jainism respectively. They seemed to have held that the 'self' was part of a fifth category of existence, the “inexpressible”. This was a radically different view than the not-self view held by the mainstream Buddhist schools and this theory was a major point of controversy and was thoroughly attacked by other Buddhist schools such as the Theravadins, Sarvastivadins and later Mahayanists. 6687: 6674: 383: 4187: 1452:. According to Analayo, the beginning of Abhidharma proper was inspired by the desire "to be as comprehensive as possible, to supplement the directives given in the early discourses for progress on the path with a full picture of all aspects of the path in an attempt to provide a complete map of everything in some way related to the path." As Frauwallner explains, due to this scholastic impulse, lists grew in size, different 6664: 2935:"An atom (paramänu) is the smallest rüpa. It cannot be cut, broken, penetrated; it cannot be taken up, abandoned, ridden on, stepped on, struck or dragged. It is neither long nor short, square nor round, regular nor irregular, convex nor concave. It has no smaller parts; it cannot be decomposed, cannot be seen, heard, smelled, touched. It is thus that the paramänu is said to be the finest (sarva-süksma) of all rüpas." 1747: 1772: 2406:, since their goal was to outline, systematize and analyze all of the teachings. Abhidharmic thought also extends beyond the sutras to cover new philosophical and psychological ground which is only implicit in sutras or not present at all. There are certain doctrines which were developed or even invented by the Abhidharmikas and these became grounds for the debates among the different 2361: 1549:. However, these differences did not mean the existence of totally independent sects, as noted by Rupert Gethin, "at least some of the schools mentioned by later Buddhist tradition are likely to have been informal schools of thought in the manner of ‘Cartesians,’ ‘British Empiricists,’ or ‘Kantians’ for the history of modern philosophy." By the 7th-century, Chinese pilgrim 2535:

By carefully watching the coming and going of dhammas, and being able to identify which ones are wholesome and to be cultivated, and which ones are unwholesome and to be abandoned, the Buddhist meditator makes use of the Abhidharma as a schema to liberate his mind and realize that all experiences are impermanent, not-self, unsatisfactory and therefore not to be clung to.

3866: 2602:. For the Sarvastivadins, a synonym for svabhava is avayaya (a 'part'), the smallest possible unit which cannot be analyzed into smaller parts and hence it is ultimately real as opposed to only conventionally real (such as a chariot or a person). However, the Sarvastivadins did not hold that dharmas were completely independent of each other, as the 2718:, for the Sarvastivada school, 'causal efficacy is the central criterion for the reality/existence (astitva) of a dharma' and hence they were also sometimes called the 'Hetuvada' school. A dharma is real because it is a cause and it has effects, if it had no causal efficacy, it would not exist. The six causes outlined by the Sarvastivada are: 4551:("Ornament of/for Realization") also includes numerous Abhidharma type listings, and according to Karl Brunnholzl, "may be considered as a kind of highly formalized mahāyāna abhidharma presentation of the path and realization (similar to chapters five to eight of the Abhidharmakosa, which are frequently quoted in the AA commentaries)." 2534:

and hence the Abhidharmikas systematized dhammas into those which are skillful (kusala), purify the mind and lead to liberation, and those which are unskillful and do not. The Abhidharma then has a soteriological purpose, first and foremost and its goal is to support Buddhist practice and meditation.

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just as the combination of the prātimokṣa with its commentary was central for the development of the Vinaya, so too the combination of mātṛkās with a commentary was instrumental in the development of the Abhidharma. Thus the use of a mātṛkā together with its exegesis is a characteristic common to the

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Vasubandhu initially wrote in favor of Sarvāstivāda, and later critiqued this position. The Sarvāstivāda-Vaibhāṣika also held an atomistic conception of time which divided time into discrete indivisible moments (kṣaṇa) and saw all events as lasting only for a minute instant (and yet also existing in

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According to Peter Harvey, the Theravadin view of dharmas was that "'They are dhammas because they uphold their own nature . They are dhammas because they are upheld by conditions or they are upheld according to their own nature' (Asl.39). Here 'own-nature' would mean characteristic nature, which is

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The conventional reality of substantial objects and persons is merely a conceptual construct imputed by the mind on a flux of dhammas. However, dhammas are never seen as individually separate entities, but are always dependently conditioned by other dhammas in a stream of momentary constellations of

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According to Analayo, these various lists were also not presented alone, but included some kind of commentary and explanation which was also part of the oral tradition. Sometimes this commentary included quotations from other sutras, and traces of this can be found in the canonical Abhidharma texts.

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Vinayas all provide different accounts which mention that there was some kind of Abhidharma to be learned aside from the sūtras and Vinaya. According to Analayo, "the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya does not explicitly mention the Abhidharma, although it reports that on this occasion Mahākāśyapa recited the

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cites this Bahuśrutīya abhidharma as containing a combination of Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna doctrines, and Joseph Walser agrees that this assessment is correct. Ian Charles Harris also characterizes the text as a synthesis of Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna, and notes that its doctrines are very close to those in

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The Abhidharma project was thus to provide a completely exhaustive account of every possible type of conscious experience in terms of its constituent factors and their relations. The Theravada tradition holds that there were 82 types of possible dhammas – 82 types of occurrences in the experiential

2843:"Those who hold 'all exists' — the past, the present and the future — belong to the Sarvāstivāda. Those, on the other hand, who hold that some exist, viz., the present and the past karma that has not given fruit but not those that have given fruit or the future, are followers of the Vibhajyaväda." 2453:

Human experience is thus explained by a series of dynamic processes and their patterns of relationships with each other. Buddhist Abhidhamma philosophers then sought to explain all experience by creating lists and matrices (matikas) of these dhammas, which varied by school. The four categories of

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and there are two ways of looking at reality. One way is the way of everyday experience and of normal worldly persons. This is the category of the nominal and the conceptual (paññatti), and is termed the conventional truth (saṃvṛti-satya). However, the way of the Abhidharma, and hence the way of

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after the death of their leader. The sutta depicts Śāriputra as reciting a list of doctrinal terms and stating that the community will remain "united, unanimous, and in unison we will not dispute" regarding the teaching and also states they will recite together the doctrine. The close connection

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Theravadins also held a theory of momentariness (Khāṇavāda), but it was less ontological than Sarvāstivāda and more focused on the psychological aspects of time. The Theravada divided every dhamma into three different instants of origination (uppādakkhaṇa), endurance (ṭhitikkhaṇa) and cessation

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texts. However, they did not reject the validity of theoretical Abhidharma. Rather they attempted to construct a critical understanding of the consciousness that underlies all meaning, both mystical and theoretical. Their focus was on doctrine, but as it flowed from the practice of meditative

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writes: "Anything the idea of which does not occur upon division or upon mental analysis, such as an object like a pot, that is a 'conceptual fiction'. The ultimately real is otherwise." For Vasubandhu then, something is not the ultimately real if it 'disappears under analysis', but is merely

1211:. What this means is that besides the small number of fundamental doctrinal statements, the Buddha's sermons also contain a quantity of doctrinal concepts. The most suitable form for collecting and preserving these concepts would have been comprehensive lists. Lists of this kind were called 2610:

Svabhava in the early Abhidhamma texts was then not a term which meant ontological independence, metaphysical essence or underlying substance, but simply referred to their characteristics, which are dependent on other conditions and qualities. According to Ronkin: "In the early Sarvāstivāda

2442:. In Abhidhamma literature, these lists of dhammas systematically arranged and they were seen as the ultimate entities or momentary events which make up the fabric of people's experience of reality. The idea was to create an exhaustive list of all possible phenomena that make up the world. 2931:

school, Abhidharmic atoms (paramannu) are not permanent, but momentary. The Vaibhasika held that an atom is the smallest analyzable unit of matter (rupa), hence it is a 'conceptual atom' (prajnapti-paramanu), though this also corresponds to a real existing thing. The Mahabhivasa states:

3652:, was orally transmitted until the 1st century BCE. Due to famines and constant wars, the monks responsible for recording the oral tradition felt that there was a risk of portions of the canon being lost so the Abhidhamma was written down for the first time along with the rest of the 882:

described the Abhidharma as "Doctrine pure and simple, without the intervention of literary development or the presentation of individuals" Compared to the colloquial Buddhist sūtras, Abhidharma texts are much more technical, analytic, and systematic in content and style. The

814:, the Abhidharma method seeks "to avoid the inexactitudes of colloquial conventional language, as is sometimes found in the Suttas, and state everything in psycho-philosophically exact language." In this sense, it is an attempt to best express the Buddhist view of " 1603:

Some of these texts surpassed the canonical Abhidharma in influence and popularity, becoming the orthodox summas of their particular schools' Abhidharma. Two exegetical texts, both from the 5th century, stand above the rest as the most influential. The works of

2785:) of all dhammas. The introduction begins with a detailed list of 24 specific types of conditioned relationships (paccaya) that may pertain between different factors. The majority of these conditions have counterparts in the Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma. The Pali 1530:). As such, the Abhidharma collections of the various Buddhist schools are much more unique to each sect. The various Abhidharmic traditions grew to have very fundamental philosophical disagreements with each other (such as on the status of the person, or 1722:

held that the Buddha and his disciples taught the Abhidharma, but that it was scattered throughout the canon. Only after his death was the Abhidharma compiled systematically by his elder disciples and was recited by Ananda at the first Buddhist council.

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and also by geographic distance. According to Frauwallner, the period of the development of the canonical Abhidharma texts is between 250 and 50 BCE. By the time, the different canons began to be written down, and as a result the Abhidharma texts of the

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and the Shannagarika. These schools posited the existence of a 'person' (pudgala) or self, which had a real existence that was not reducible to streams and collections of dharmas. They also often used other terms to refer to this real 'self', such as

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between death and the next rebirth. The Purvasaila, Sammitiya, Vatsiputriya, and later Mahisasaka schools accepted this view, while the Theravadins, Vibhajyavada, Mahasanghika, and the Sariputrabhidharmasastra of the Dharmaguptakas rejected it.

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to specific people, at specific times, depending on specific worldly circumstances. They held that Abhidharma was taught by the Buddha to his most eminent disciples, and that therefore this justified the inclusion of Abhidharma texts into their

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school held "that the mundane factors have arisen from perversion (viparyāsa) and are only nominal (prajñapti)." However, in contrast to the other schools, they also held that the supramundane dharmas (nirvana etc.) were not nominal but real.

2582:, refers to the fact that we often assume unity and compactness in phenomena and functions which are instead made up of various elements, but when one sees that these are merely empty dhammas, one can understand the not-self characteristic: 2667:). They therefore claimed that all factors have no real essence, and that hence the same name applies to all ." This helps to explain their name as “Ekavyavahārika” (those who propound the single meaning). Paramārtha also notes that the 2418:

The "base upon which the entire system rests" is the 'dhamma theory' and this theory 'penetrated all the early schools'. For the Abhidharmikas, the ultimate components of existence, the elementary constituents of experience were called

5731:" in "Birgit Kellner, Patrick McAllister, Horst Lasic, Sara McClintock (eds.) (2020) Reverberations of Dharmakīrti‘s Philosophy, Proceedings of the Fifth International Dharmakīrti Conference Heidelberg August 26 to 30, 2014" p. 21. 854:), or as smaller introductory manuals. They are more developed philosophical works which include many innovations and doctrines not found in the canonical Abhidharma. Abhidharma remains an important field of scholarship among the 1187:

that was expanded over time. Thomas and Frauwallner both argue that while the Abhidharma texts of the different schools were compiled separately and have major differences, they are based on an "ancient core" of common material.

2568:, the most influential classical Theravada treatise, states that not-self does not become apparent because it is concealed by "compactness" when one does not give attention to the various elements which make up the person. The 2446:

dhammas, constantly coming into being and vanishing, always in flux. Perception and thinking is then seen as a combination of various dhammas. Cittas (awareness events) are never experienced on their own, but are always

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While this Yogācārin Abhidharma is based on the Sarvāstivādin system, it also incorporates aspects of other Abhidharma systems and present a complete Abhidharma in accordance with a Mahāyāna Yogācāra view that thought

2875:, or 'life-continuum'. Bhavanga, literally, "the limb on which existence occurs" is 'that substratum which maintains the continuity of the individual throughout that life.' The Sarvastivadins had a similar term, 2614:

The Sautrantika school accepted the doctrine of svabhāva as referring to the distinctive or main characteristic of a dharma, but rejected the view that they exist in all three times . The Buddhist philosopher

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states: "conditioned dharmas are weak in their intrinsic nature, they can accomplish their activities only through mutual dependence" and "they have no sovereignty (aisvarya). They are dependent on others."

1373:. These lists were intended as a basic way of explaining the Buddhist doctrine, and are likely to have been accompanied by oral explanations, which continued to develop and expand and were later written down 4455:

sutras and associated literature are influenced by Abhidharma. These texts make use of Abhidharma categories (like the dharma theory), and adopt them or critique them in different ways. Thus, according to

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In addition to the core Vaibhāṣika Abhidharma literature, a variety of expository texts or treatises were written to serve as overviews and introductions to the Abhidharma. The oldest one of these was the

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According to Collett Cox, Abhidharma started as a systematic elaboration of the teachings of the Buddhist sūtras, but later developed independent doctrines. The prominent Western scholar of Abhidharma,

2382: 4031:, for example, records that the Mahāsāṃghikas had no abhidharma. However, other sources indicate that there were such collections of abhidharma. During the early 5th century, the Chinese pilgrim 3709:("Path of Purification") is a comprehensive manual of Buddhist practice that also contains an overview of the Abhidhamma. This text remains one of the most popular Abhidhamma influenced texts in 2623:“The arising of an effect that is inferred by way of a causal complex is characterized as a svabhāva of that causal complex, because the effect’s production does not depend on anything else.” 3823:. According to Frauwallner however, the two Abhidharma collections share an "ancient core", which is basically an early doctrinal list of dharmas. The core canonical work of this school, the 1270:(MĀ 222) contains a similar doctrinal summary listing, which combines three lists into one: a list of eight activities, a list of ten mental qualities and practices, and the twelve links of 3858:" (all exists), which says that all phenomena in the three times (past, present and future) can be said to exist. Another defining Vaibhāṣika doctrine was that of simultaneous causation ( 1992: 1681:'s enlightenment. The Theravada tradition is unique in regarding its Abhidharma as having been taught in its complete form by the Buddha as a single teaching, with the exception of the 2820:

tradition held the view (expressed in the Vijñanakaya) that dharmas exist in all three times – past, present, future; hence the name of their school means "theory of all exists". The

1365:. He also points out another such list that occurs in various texts "comprises several groups of elements of import for entanglement in the cycle of existence" and was modeled on the 2427:). This concept has been variously translated as "factors" (Collett Cox), "psychic characteristics" (Bronkhorst), "phenomena" (Nyanaponika) and "psycho-physical events" (Ronkin). 246: 4881:

Inada, Kenneth K; The metaphysics of Buddhist experience and the Whiteheadian encounter, Philosophy East and West Vol. 25/1975.10 P.465-487 (C) by the University of Hawaii Press

1534:). Thus, according to Frauwallner, the different Abhidharma canons contained collections of doctrines which were sometimes unrelated to each other and sometimes contradictory. 1429:) with each other. Over time, the need arose for an overarching way to classify all these terms and doctrinal elements, and the first such framework was to subsume or include ( 1647:

have survived as complete collections, each consisting of seven books with accompanying commentarial literature. A small number of other Abhidharma texts are preserved in the

3847:("Great Commentary"), an encyclopedic work which became the central text of the Vaibhāṣika tradition who became the Kasmiri Sarvāstivāda Orthodoxy under the patronage of the 2555:

not something inherent in a dhamma as a separate ultimate reality, but arise due to the supporting conditions both of other dhammas and previous occurrences of that dhamma."

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As time passed, these commentaries and their accompanying lists became inseparable from each other, and the commentaries gained canonical status. Thus, according to Analayo:

2586:"when they are seen after resolving them by means of knowledge into these elements, they disintegrate like froth subjected to compression by the hand. They are mere states ( 2836:(only the present moment exists). This argument was so central, that north Indian Buddhist schools were often named according to their philosophical position. According to 1033:, in around the 3rd century BCE. Therefore, the canonical Abhidharma works are generally claimed by scholars not to represent the words of the Buddha himself, but those of 4154:

School taught a progression of twenty-seven stations for cultivating realization, based upon the teachings of this text. They took Harivarman as its founder in India, and

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Buddhist Manual of Psychological Ethics, of the Fourth Century B.C., Being a Translation, now made for the First Time, from the Original Pāli, of the First Book of the

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These texts contain traditional Abhidharma type lists and doctrines, but they also attempt to expound and defend the unique Pudgalavada doctrine of the "person" (

3838: 1665:. These different traditions have some similarities, suggesting either interaction between groups or some common ground antedating the separation of the schools. 3854:

Despite numerous variations and doctrinal disagreements within the tradition, most Sarvāstivāda-Vaibhāṣikas were united in their acceptance of the doctrine of "

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Over time, the initial scholastic method of listing and categorizing terms was expanded in order to provide a complete and comprehensive systematization of the

2503:). The Sarvastivadas also included three dharmas in the fourth "unconditioned" category instead of just one, the dharma of space and two states of cessation. 2389: 7428: 2655:(provisional designation or fictitious construction). Another school called the Vainasikas also held that all dharmas were without svabhava. According to 1277:

According to Analayo, another important doctrinal list which appears in the early texts is the "thirty seven qualities that are conducive to awakening" (

8343: 6818: 4059:, Joseph Walser concludes that at least some Mahāsāṃghika sects probably had an abhidharma collection, and that it likely contained five or six books. 2619:

uses the concept of svabhāva, though he interprets it as being based on causal powers. For Dharmakirti, the essential nature (or ‘nature-svabhāva’) is:

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Willemen, Charles; Dessein, Bart; Cox, Collett. Sarvastivada Buddhist Scholasticism, Handbuch der Orientalistik. Zweite Abteilung. Indien. Brill, 1998

1383:("attribute"), and refers to lists of terms divided by a dyad or triad of attributes. For example, terms could be grouped into those things that are 939:

Two interpretations of the term "Abhi-dharma" are common. According to Analayo, the initial meaning of Abhidharma in the earliest texts (such as the

4047:, he wrote that the monks of this region were Mahāsāṃghikas, and mentions the Pūrvaśailas specifically. Near Dhānyakaṭaka, he met two Mahāsāṃghika 5406:"several schools rejected the authority of Abhidharma and claimed that Abhidharma treatises were composed by fallible, human teachers." Macmillan 2781:, sets out the main Theravada theory on conditioned relations and causality. The Patthana is an exhaustive examination of the conditioned nature ( 1251:. Similar lists of numerically arranged doctrinal terms can be found in AN 10.27 and AN 10.28. Tse fu Kuan also argues that certain sūtras of the 1054:

of Gautama Buddha (c. 5th century BCE) offer various and sometimes conflicting narratives regarding the canonical status of Abhidharma. While the

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Abhidhamma remains a living tradition in Theravāda nations today and modern Abhidhamma works continue to be written in modern languages such as

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sutras were meant to be a criticism of the view held by some of the Abhidharmikas which saw dharmas as real. Conze also notes that the later

1836: 6788: 3716:

Sri Lankan Theravādins also composed shorter introductory manuals to the Abhidhamma. The most popular and widely used of these remains the

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No.807) which survives in Chinese and Tibetan translation, and may have been a scripture of the Purvasailas, which was a sub-school of the

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Gone Beyond (Volume 1): The Prajnaparamita Sutras, The Ornament of Clear Realization, and Its Commentaries in the Tibetan Kagyu Tradition,

6429: 3703:(c. 5th century) a South Indian exegete and philosopher who moved to Sri Lanka and wrote various commentaries and treatises in Pali. His 2519:), sees reality as the constant stream of collections of dharmas, and this way of seeing the world is ultimate truth (paramārtha-satya). 1590: 6605: 4018:

have no parallel in existing Indic languages or Chinese or Tibetan translation, suggesting the former breadth of Abhidharma literature.

6896: 309: 6631: 6653: 4095:

1646). Its authorship is attributed to Harivarman, a third-century monk from central India. This work may belong to the Mahāsāṃghika

4376: 763: 6335:

Lamotte, Etienne (French trans.); Karma Migme Chodron (English trans.); The Treatise on the Great Virtue of Wisdom of Nagarjuna –

5475: 9163: 8615: 2800:) in the mental continuum to explain causal interaction between past and present dharmas, this theory was later developed by the 1329:

and Abhidharma can be seen in the fact that it became the basis for one of the seven canonical Abhidharma texts belonging to the

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were combined with each other to produce new ones, and new concepts and schemas were introduced, such as the differentiation of

1103: 784:

dating from the 3rd century BCE onwards, which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the

8818: 6798: 1316:. The fact that these lists were seen by the early Buddhists as a way to preserve and memorize the doctrine can be seen in the 302: 186: 4863:

Lusthaus, Dan; Buddhist Phenomenology – A philosophical investigation of Yogacara Buddhism and the cheng wei-shih lun, page 4.

6321: 5325: 5049: 5009:"XV. Un grand disciple du Buddha: Sâriputra. Son rôle dans l'histoire du bouddhisme et dans le développement de l'Abhidharma" 4970:"XV. Un grand disciple du Buddha: Sâriputra. Son rôle dans l'histoire du bouddhisme et dans le développement de l'Abhidharma" 3751:, where it has been the primary subject of study since around the 17th century. One of the most important figures in modern 3730:(circa 8th to 12th century). A further period of medieval Sri Lankan scholarship also produced a series of texts called the 6981: 6823: 6365:

Cox, Collett (2003). "Abidharma", in: Buswell, Robert E. ed. Encyclopedia of Buddhism, New York: Macmillan Reference Lib.

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Various Buddhist schools sprang to life, such as the school based on the three Mādhyamaka śāstras, the school based on the

2758:(sambandhika) causation, in which dependent origination is viewed in reference to the relationship between cause and effect 2375: 5903:

ANKUR BARUA, THE LITERATURE OF THERAVADA ABHIDHAMMA, The Centre of Buddhist Studies, The University of Hong Kong,Hong Kong

5681:Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu (trans), Buddhaghosa, The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga, Buddhist Publication Society, 1991, p 668. 9158: 6574: 6562: 5610:

Ronkin, Noa, "Abhidharma", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2014 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <

1582:, Abhidharma texts continued to be composed, but now they were either commentaries on the canonical texts (like the Pāli 1037:. Peter Skilling describes the Abhidharma literature as "the end-product of several centuries of intellectual endeavor". 17: 9055: 8605: 6700: 6535: 6483:

Takakusu, J. (1905). "On the Abhidhamma books of the Sarvastivadins", Journal of the Pali Text Society, pp. 67–146

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and studied Mahāsāṃghika abhidharma with them for several months, during which time they also studied various Mahāyāna

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and hence accompanied by various mental factors (cetasikas), in a constantly flowing stream of experience occurrences.

788:. It also refers to the scholastic method itself, as well as the field of knowledge that this method is said to study. 5992:

in Bart Dessein and Weijen Teng (ed) "Text, History, and Philosophy Abhidharma across Buddhist Scholastic Traditions."

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sect. The only complete edition of this text is that in Chinese. Sanskrit fragments from this text have been found in

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Co-existent cause (sahabhu-hetu) – a cause which arises from the mutuality of all dharmas, a 'simultaneous causality.'

2651:" because of their denial of the ultimate reality of all dharmas and their view that all dharmas are characterized by 6901: 6498: 6467: 6422: 6400: 5105: 4652: 2142: 9148: 6297:

pp. 119–140 dans Harrison Paul (eds.) Setting Out on the Great Way. Essays on Early Mahāyāna Buddhism, Equinox Publ.

4146:. These all vied with each other, producing many wondrous offshoots, each giving rise to its own theoretical system. 3980:(MS 2375/08). The manuscripts at this find are thought to have been part of a monastery library of the Mahāsāṃghika 3930:(ca fifth century CE), "undoubtedly one of the most brilliant Abhidharma masters in India". His two main works, the 8833: 8578: 5311:"Differences and similarities in Gandhāran art production: the case of the modelling school of Haḍḍa (Afghanistan)" 4416:

Yogācārins developed an Abhidharma literature set within a Mahāyāna framework. John Keenan, who has translated the

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A key problem which the Abhidharmikas wished to tackle was the question of how rebirth and karma works if there is

1016:, the Buddhist sūtras deal with sequences and processes, while the Abhidharma texts describe occasions and events. 3619:

school. It consists of seven sections or books. There are also three Abhidhamma type texts which are found in the

3109: 2212: 9225: 9215: 7044: 2829: 1531: 1091:(and its Sanskrit parallel) which says that a learned monk is one who knows the Dharma, Vinaya, and the mātṛkās. 6014:"Abhidhamma Pitaka." Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008. 3732: 3071: 2851:(bhaṅgakkhaṇa). They also held that only mental events were momentary, material events could endure for longer. 1677:

tradition it was held that the Abhidhamma was not a later addition, but rather was taught in the fourth week of

1262:("Discourse on Explaining the Spheres", MĀ 86) which includes a list of thirty one topics to be taught to newly 9170: 8823: 8625: 8516: 8461: 7034: 6370: 5553:

Potter, Buswell, Jaini; Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies Volume VII Abhidharma Buddhism to 150 AD, page 121.

4006:

Many Abhidharma texts have been lost—likely more than have survived. This includes texts brought from India by

3696:. These post-canonical texts attempted to expand and further clarify the analysis presented in the Abhidhamma. 1704:. The tradition holds that the Buddha gave daily summaries of the teachings given in the heavenly realm to the 1297: 1083:

mātṛkā(s)." Analayo thinks that this reflects an early stage, when what later became Abhidharma was called the

225: 5849:

Potter, Buswell, Jaini; Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies Volume VII Abhidharma Buddhism to 150 AD, page 115

5807:

Potter, Buswell, Jaini; Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies Volume VII Abhidharma Buddhism to 150 AD, page 114

2499:

The Sarvastivada Abhidharma also used these, along with a fifth category: "factors dissociated from thought" (

9140: 8838: 8521: 6813: 6646: 5825:

Potter, Buswell, Jaini; Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies Volume VII Abhidharma Buddhism to 150 AD, page 97

5816:

Potter, Buswell, Jaini; Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies Volume VII Abhidharma Buddhism to 150 AD, page 96

5761:

The Mahāsāṃghikas and the Origin of Mahayana Buddhism: Evidence Provided in the *Abhidharmamahāvibhāṣāśāstra.

5506:

Potter, Buswell, Jaini; Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies Volume VII Abhidharma Buddhism to 150 AD, page 82

4799:

Potter, Buswell, Jaini; Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies Volume VII Abhidharma Buddhism to 150 AD, page 74

4239:

Abhidharmikas discussed many concepts not widely found in non-Mahāyāna Abhidharma, such as the theory of the

3383: 2764:(avasthika) causation, in which dependent origination involves twelve distinct periods of the five aggregates 1685:, which contains material relating to later disputes and was held to only have been presented as an outline. 5623:

Ven. Rewata Dhamma, Process of Consciousness and Matter: The Philosophical Psychology of Buddhism, chapter 1

4461: 3692:

includes a variety of Abhidhamma commentaries and introductory manuals written after the compilation of the

1565:

school seems not to have accepted them as part of their Buddhist canon. Another school included most of the

1497:

in different ways. Since this happened in different monastic communities located in different regions, they

9319: 8723: 8595: 8566: 8268: 4644: 4302:

A compendium of doctrine and Buddhist meditation, with a strong influence from the Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma.

3295: 2295: 1879: 1755: 1425:

The explanations of the various elements in these lists also dealt with how these elements were connected (

1009: 807: 756: 3895: 1616: 392: 8414: 8323: 7793: 7438: 6951: 6846: 3572: 3189: 2590:) occurring due to conditions and void. In this way the characteristic of not-self becomes more evident." 1143:

have argued that the Abhidharma was based on early and ancient lists of doctrinal terms which are called

7958: 2996: 1510:

were substantially different, as can be seen in how different the canonical Abhidharma texts are in the

421: 9263: 8743: 8219: 7705: 6828: 6661: 3270: 3194: 3141: 979: 794:

calls it "an abstract and highly technical systemization of the doctrine," which is "simultaneously a

8153: 5366:"Buddhism." Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008. 3956: 2752:(ksanika) causation, as when all twelve moments of the chain are realized in a single moment of action 2435: 2325: 2310: 1652: 825:

There are different types of Abhidharma literature. The early canonical Abhidharma works, such as the

9153: 8966: 8956: 8828: 7811: 7391: 7152: 7127: 6530:. The Treasury of Knowledge (book six, parts 1 and 2). Ithaca: Snow Lion. pp. 441–613, 849–874. 5138:

Abhidhamma Interpretations of “Persons” (puggala): with Particular Reference to the Aṅguttara Nikāya.

4337: 2468: 1321: 835:

with their accompanying explanations. These texts developed out of early Buddhist lists or matrices (

7177: 3890:

Dharmasresthin, (c. 1st. century B.C.). This text became the model for most of the later treatises.

3096: 2598:

saw dharmas as the ultimately 'real entities' (sad-dravya), though they also held that dharmas were

1489:

Abhidharma and the Vinaya, whose expositions often take the form of a commentary on a summary list.

932:, has said that these Buddhist systems are "among the major achievements of the classical period of 193: 9258: 8610: 8424: 8402: 8395: 8298: 7831: 7451: 7267: 7212: 6833: 6639: 6579: 4431: 4407: 4015: 3453: 3260: 3031: 2833: 1279: 108: 6586:

www.abhidhamma.org – Numerous books and articles on Abhidhamma by Sujin Boriharnwanaket and others

5611: 4732: 4341:. This is a true compendium of Mahāyāna (Yogācāra) Abhidharma by Asanga. Its main sources are the 4010:

belonging to a variety of Indian schools that were never translated into Chinese. Many Abhidharma

3625: 2177: 9195: 9175: 8506: 8486: 8243: 7973: 7217: 6071: 5083: 4055:

together under Xuanzang's direction. On the basis of textual evidence as well as inscriptions at

3923:

views. This text remains the main source for Abhidharma in Indo-Tibetan and East Asian Buddhism.

3667: 3533: 3458: 3333: 2315: 2187: 1889: 1701: 967: 811: 749: 363: 338: 334: 330: 218: 214: 158: 129: 5882:

Kalupahana, David; A history of Buddhist philosophy, continuities and discontinuities, page 206.

5388:

Gethin, Rupert, 1998: The Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.

4503: 2944: 2680: 1791: 1518:

schools. These differences are much more pronounced than among the other canonical collections (

1029:

Modern scholars generally believe that the canonical Abhidharma texts emerged after the time of

9205: 9045: 8713: 8683: 8456: 8407: 8248: 8196: 8191: 7953: 7774: 7671: 7423: 7418: 7167: 6234:

The Buddhist Yogācārabhūmi Treatise and Its Adaptation in India, East Asia, and Tibet, Volume 1

6202:

A Compendium of the Mahayana: Asanga's Mahayanasamgraha and Its Indian and Tibetan Commentaries

5775:

The Lokānuvartana-sūtra Taisho No.807 (T17,751b12-753c23) Translated into Chinese by Lokaksema.

5008: 4969: 4088: 3121: 3116: 3091: 2986: 2782: 2628: 2407: 2182: 1914: 1894: 1648: 1546: 1507: 1305: 1271: 1174: 1034: 966:

Some Western scholars have considered the Abhidharma to be the core of what is referred to as "

900: 832: 582: 573: 536: 7535: 3237: 2434:

give various lists of the constituents of the person such as the five skandhas, the six or 18

2162: 1841: 9210: 9180: 8761: 8693: 8526: 8441: 8436: 8360: 8355: 8273: 6803: 4418: 4240: 4222: 4022: 3759:(1846–1923), was well known for his writings on Abhidhamma (especially his commentary on the 3718: 3601: 3538: 3184: 3021: 2883:

doctrine of the storehouse consciousness (alayavijnana), which was later associated with the

2786: 2644: 2599: 2137: 2067: 1697: 1562: 992: 827: 587: 197: 7826: 6610: 3926:

The most mature and refined form of Vaibhāṣika philosophy can be seen in the work of master

3232: 2894:

or "Personalists" which included the Vātsīputrīya, the Dharmottarīya, the Bhadrayānīya, the

9233: 9200: 9185: 8703: 8600: 8546: 8431: 8370: 8338: 8333: 8318: 8303: 8293: 8258: 8171: 7863: 7786: 7089: 7029: 6778: 6745: 6695: 4306: 4297: 3478: 3388: 3280: 3036: 3026: 2991: 2728:

Universal cause (sarvatraga-hetu) – a homogeneous cause, pertaining only to defiled dharmas

2431: 2230: 1362: 1263: 1224: 512: 400: 349: 9073: 7688: 7557: 7483: 7359: 7097: 6245:

Frauwallner, Erich. Kidd, Sophie Francis (translator). Steinkellner, Ernst (editor) 1996.

5837:

Priestley, Leonard; Pudgalavada Buddhist Philosophy; Internet Encyclopedia of philosophy,

5432:

Frauwallner, Erich. Kidd, Sophie Francis (translator). Steinkellner, Ernst (editor) 1996.

5375:

Frauwallner, Erich. Kidd, Sophie Francis (translator). Steinkellner, Ernst (editor) 1996.

5353:

Frauwallner, Erich. Kidd, Sophie Francis (translator). Steinkellner, Ernst (editor) 1996.

5295:

Frauwallner, Erich. Kidd, Sophie Francis (translator). Steinkellner, Ernst (editor) 1996.

5269:

Frauwallner, Erich. Kidd, Sophie Francis (translator). Steinkellner, Ernst (editor) 1996.

5256:

Frauwallner, Erich. Kidd, Sophie Francis (translator). Steinkellner, Ernst (editor) 1996.

5243:

Frauwallner, Erich. Kidd, Sophie Francis (translator). Steinkellner, Ernst (editor) 1996.

5120:

Frauwallner, Erich. Kidd, Sophie Francis (translator). Steinkellner, Ernst (editor) 1996.

5064:

Frauwallner, Erich. Kidd, Sophie Francis (translator). Steinkellner, Ernst (editor) 1996.

3815:

also consists of seven texts, but they are quite different works, unlike the Sarvāstivāda

2699:, especially of how momentary dharmas relate to each other through causes and conditions. 8: 9314: 9040: 8919: 8753: 8728: 8718: 8678: 8655: 8538: 8511: 8471: 8390: 8380: 8308: 8235: 7666: 7523: 7304: 7282: 7234: 7054: 6854: 6710: 6690: 6407: 4764:"Scriptural Authenticity and the Śrāvaka Schools: An Essay towards an Indian Perspective" 4539: 4457: 4314:. It mainly discusses traditional Abhidharma concepts, with a few Mahāyāna elements added 3801: 3752: 3011: 2971: 2660: 2330: 1934: 1763: 1633: 1494: 1140: 815: 592: 492: 487: 323: 7014: 6941: 6271:

Peter Harvey, "An Introduction to Buddhism." Cambridge University Press, 1993, page 106.

5039: 4281: 4174:(成實宗). This school is known as one of the six great schools of Japanese Buddhism in the 3816: 2900: 2871:

includes the earliest Pali canonical reference to an important answer to this question:

2860: 2495:). This dhamma is unconditioned it neither arises nor ceases due to causal interaction. 1523: 1170: 416: 9103: 9008: 8850: 8813: 8808: 8738: 8688: 8635: 8630: 8501: 8496: 8491: 8481: 8466: 8451: 8446: 8385: 8365: 8328: 8253: 8058: 7759: 7683: 7561: 7503: 7344: 7244: 7172: 7147: 6793: 6723: 6478:

Buddhist Psychology: An Inquiry into the Analysis and Theory of Mind in Pali Literature

6183: 4775: 4597: 3977: 3710: 3463: 3398: 3328: 3251: 3242: 3179: 3174: 2953: 2817: 2813: 2770:(prakarsika) causation, in which that sequence of causation occurs over three lifetimes 2648: 2551:

states "Abhidharma is the analysis of the svalaksana and samanya-laksana of dharmas".

2507:

world, while the general Sarvastivada tradition eventually enumerated 75 dharma types.

2488: 1987: 1969: 1964: 1904: 1811: 1730:

school ('those who rely on the sutras') rejected the status of the Abhidharma as being

1696:, where he meditated and delivered the Abhidharma teachings to gathered deities in the 1554: 1498: 1467: 983: 614: 8902: 4527: 4523: 4319: 4036: 3620: 3368: 1567: 1067: 951:

has the meaning of "about" or "concerning," and can also be seen in the parallel term

879: 717: 667: 631: 9281: 9243: 8939: 8924: 8887: 8872: 8645: 8561: 8476: 8313: 8278: 8263: 7990: 7980: 7661: 7508: 7493: 7364: 7287: 7207: 7142: 7074: 6961: 6718: 6620: 6531: 6494: 6463: 6418: 6396: 6366: 5950:

Frauwallner, Erich. Kidd, Sophie Francis (translator). Steinkellner, Ernst (editor).

5927:

The Birth of Insight: Meditation, Modern Buddhism, and the Burmese Monk Ledi Sayadaw,

5914:

The Birth of Insight: Meditation, Modern Buddhism, and the Burmese Monk Ledi Sayadaw,

5321: 5101: 5045: 4989: 4689: 4648: 4571: 4547: 4531: 3916: 3782: 3661: 3629: 3508: 3483: 3343: 3300: 3290: 3156: 3131: 3016: 3001: 2365: 2285: 1924: 1542: 1502: 1248: 1236: 1132: 971: 933: 929: 559: 554: 151: 8225: 7019: 6919: 5528:

Poussin, Louis de La Vallee (fr. trans.); Sangpo, Gelong Lodro (eng. trans.) (2012)

4198:

Another complete system of Abhidharma thought is elaborated in certain works of the

3785: 3776: 1796: 1719: 710: 692: 660: 426: 8929: 8882: 8877: 8733: 8698: 8673: 8668: 8419: 8375: 8288: 7963: 7619: 7612: 7396: 7386: 7272: 6936: 6808: 6247: