Abhidharma
As most traditional biographies of the Buddha have
it, kyamuni spent the last 45 years of his ultimate
existence preaching the law (dharma) he had dis
covered in his awakening. Buddhist accounts of
the Buddhas dispensation agree in regarding it as
a therapeutic and pragmatic approach to salvation
adapted to the language, the religious needs, the
social and psychological profiles as well as the intel
lectual capacities of the audience. However, while
such skill in means (upyakaualya) perfectly
suited the needs of early Buddhism as a missionary
religion, it made a consistent and unitary account
of the Buddhist doctrine difficult to provide, due to
the apparent contradictions and competing levels
of truth involved by the rhetorical plasticity of the
discourses (stra). In other words, the (as tradition
would have it, only apparent) doctrinal diversity of
the Buddhist stras made a s ituation-independent
description of the Buddhist doctrine, not condi
tioned by any particular audience, a desideratum.
The Abhidharma may have been developed in part
in a quest to meet this need, well before the sec
tarian fragmentation of the Buddhist community.
Since the Buddhas words were uttered in specific
situations, but the truth is context-independent,
Abhidharma texts were considered to be explicit
in meaning (ntrtha) and the interpretations pre
sented in them were accepted as the authoritative
standard by which the stras, which were only
of implicit meaning (neyrtha), were to be inter
preted (Cox, 1995, 14).
Origins and Early Development
of the Abhidharma
From an early date, the Abhidharma likely served as
a vehicle for factional identity, and gradually devel
oped into the privileged expression of Buddhist sec
tarian self-assertion and intersectarian polemics.
Many among the extant Abhidharma works, both
canonical and commentarial, reflect a clear sense
of sectarian identity and contentiousness. However,
there are reasons to believe that these texts, while
born in a common project, underwent a complex
development both before and after the emergence
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of sects (Cox, 1998, 145; Anlayo, 2014, 13). According
to C. Cox (1998, 142), early Abhidharma likely con
sisted not in a set of individual texts such as those
we now possess, but rather [in] a type of exegesis
that gradually developed in tandem with distinctive
content, and eventually resulted in an independent
branch of inquiry and a concomitant and separate
genre of texts. Originally, teachings could have
been
presented orally in an abbreviated form appropri
ate for oral transmission, together with an atten
dant elaborating commentary. At the extreme,
the texts could be contracted to a skeleton or
outline format for purposes of preservation in
memory and expanded in oral recitation through
the insertion of stock descriptive phrases and
formulaic patterns. (Cox, 1998, 141; Anlayo, 2014,
3637)
This interpretation comes very close to the hypoth
esis proposed recently by Anlayo (2014, 5589),
according to whom the early Abhidharma works
seem to have grown out of a common nucleus,
which appears to have been mainly discourse quo
tations on central themes...combined with a com
mentarial exegesis.
According to most Western scholars, Abhi
dharma evolved from the practice of formulating
matrices, or categorizing lists (mtk), of all topics
of the teaching arranged according to both numeric
and qualitative criteria (Cox, 1995, 1819n29;
Anlayo, 2014, 22n26). As pointed out by Anlayo,
the term mtk derives from mt, mother, and
conveys the sense of a succinct list or summary
which can be expanded and serve as the skeleton
for a detailed exposition. A textual mtk is thus
comparable to a mother in the sense that it can
give birth to a full exposition of a particular topic.
(Anlayo, 2014, 2021)
This includes, on the one hand, lists containing fun
damental concepts under which it was attempted
to subsume all the various elements, and on the
other hand, attribute-mtks reflecting a method
consisting of composing a list of attributes and
discussing the nature of the relevant elements
with the aid of this list (Frauwallner, 1995, 45).
 Abhidharma 89
Examples of the first type of matrix include the five This drive towards giving a comprehensive inven
constituents or aggregates (skandha, i.e., corporeal tory of all that there is may have been meant as a
ity [rpa], feeling [vedan], conception [saj], symbolic counterpart of the Buddhas omniscience
conditioning factors [saskra], bare cognition (Anlayo, 2014, 94, 109).
[vijna]), whereas examples of the second type This pre- or proto-Abhidharmic taxonomic
are supplied by dyads (but also triads, tetrads, etc.) organization through lists or matrices (Cox, 1995,
such as corporeal/incorporeal (rpin/arpin), vis 9) is visible in stras using lists to summarize the
ible/invisible (sanidarana/anidarana), and con Buddhas teaching, such as the Sagtistra and
ditioned/unconditioned (saskta/asaskta). An the Daottarastra, both of which arrange their
important taxonomic list or meta-list (Ronkin, items numerically (from ones/monads to tens/
2005, 27) consists of the 37 limbs of awakening decads and ten-times-ten, respectively) and the
(bodhipkikadharma). As Anlayo points out, Arthavistarastra, which organizes its elements
thematically (Anlayo, 2014, 2939; note that the
[t]his basic list [covers] the mental qualities
three stras are ascribed to the Buddhas great dis
that tradition considers crucial for progress to
ciple and Abhidharma specialist riputra; Migot,
awakening; and it is this mtk which accord
ing to the Mahparinirva-stra was taught by 1954, 519532). In addition, numerical and topi
the Buddha just before his passing away, and the cal arrangement was not only meant to organize
mtk that the Psdika-sutta and the Smagma- individual stras, but also to dictate the structure
sutta...recommend for ensuring communal har of entire collections of stras (Cox, 1995, 9), the
mony. (Anlayo, 2014, 50) most famous examples being the Aguttaranikya
or Ekottarikgama grouping, in which the stras
The limbs of awakening include: are classified according to the increasing num
1. four applications of mindfulness (smty ber of the doctrinal items they deal with, and the
upasthna); Sayuttanikya or Sayuktgama, in which the
2. four right exertions (samyak-praha/pradhna); stras are organized according to their respective
3. four bases of supernatural ability (ddhipda); topics. Recent scholarship on the origins of Abhi
4. five faculties (indriya); dharma insists, however, that the use of lists, which
5. five powers (bala); may have characterized the Vinaya (monastic dis
6. seven members of awakening (bodhyaga); cipline) and especially the Prtimoka (disciplin
and ary precepts) at least as much as the Abhidharma,
7. the eightfold noble path (rygamrga). cannot be considered specific to Abhidharma, and
These 37 items are variously described as a pre should rather be interpreted as a common feature
condition for liberation from the fluxes (srava, of oral transmission (Cox, 1995, 8; Anlayo, 2014,
negative pollutants of ones mental stream), as the 2228, 83). In another reference to the wider cultural
cultivation of the path (mrgabhvan), as the jew context, for E. Frauwallner (1995, 40), the Buddhist
els (ratna) of the dharma, and as the quintessence mtks likely were an answer to the Brahmanical
of the Buddhas teaching about which no disagree stras, concisely formulated rules such as those that
ment exists (Gethin, 1992). can be found in the works of various philosophical
According to Anlayo, of decisive influence on schools or in grammatical works, and which, like the
the evolving Abhidharma must have been attempts mtks, require an explanation to be understood.
made According to another hypothesis, the origin of
to be as comprehensive as possible, to supple Abhidharma is not simply to be found in this taxo
ment the directives given in the early discourses nomic approach, but in dialogues concerning the
for progress on the path with a full picture of all doctrine (abhidharmakath), or monastic discus
aspects of the path in an attempt to provide a sion in catechetic style characterized by an exchange
complete map of everything in some way related of questions and interpretative answers intended to
to the path...Equipped with a complete map clarify complex or obscure points of doctrine (Cox,
of the doctrine, the disciples are fortified in 1995, 8; Kimura, 1968, 2743; Sakurabe, 1969, 1329).
their struggle for survival in competition with This hypothesis of the origins of Abhidharma in a
non-Buddhist teachers and in their attempts
certain question and answer format is certainly not
to maintain harmony within the Buddhist fold. incompatible with the idea that it arose from matri
(Anlayo, 2014, 168) ces used to organize concepts, since
90 Abhidharma
[t]he tendency toward organization represented
by mtk and that toward discursive explana
tion represented by abhidharmakath together
constitute the exegetical method characteristic of
mature Abhidharma analysis, and both tenden
cies are found in incipient form in Abhidharma
treatises from the earliest period onward. (Cox,
1995, 9)
We must remember, however, that whatever we
understand to be the origin of Abhidharma, these
origins are not the Abhidharma per se:
the two main approaches that have been con
sidered as explaining the coming into being of
the Abhidharma the use of mtks and the
question-and-answer format are features that
are not in themselves necessarily characteristic
of Abhidharma thought, however much they may
have contributed to its formulation. (Anlayo,
2014, 28)
Meaning and Function of the
Abhidharma
The meaning of the word abhidharma and its two
components, the prefix abhi and the substantive
dharma, seems to have changed according to schol
arly milieu, time and place. The northern Indian
scholiasts understand abhi in the sense of with
regard to and dharma in the sense of teaching,
the compound expression thus meaning with
regard to the teaching, that is, the study of the Bud
dhas teaching. This usage seems to be well docu
mented in early Pali literature as well as in most
early discourses understanding of the expression
abhidharma (Anlayo, 2014, 7079 and 70n49). The
later Pali commentators seem to favor an interpre
tation of abhi as highest, further, and of dharma
as teaching, that is already listed in the important
commentary *Abhidharma Mahvibh (T. 1545
[XXVII] 4b13; Anlayo, 2014, 151n65). According to
this second interpretation, abhidharma consists in
the highest or supreme teaching, that which goes
beyond what is given in the Buddhas discourses, in
a sense somewhat reminiscent of the term meta
physics (Ronkin, 2005, 26). Both interpretations
are represented in the Chinese translations of the
word: whereas early renderings such as wubifa
() reflect an interpretation of abhi as high
est or beyond compare, translations such as
duifa () and xiangfa () rely on an under
standing of abhi in the sense of directed toward
(Cox, 1995, 16n1, 16n7). The great commentator and
Abhidharma master Vasubandhu (350430 CE[?])
understands abhi in the sense of directed toward,
facing (abhimukha), but dharma in the sense of
either nirva (the supreme dharma) or the numer
ous individual factors of existence making up the
world of ordinary experience (AKBh. 2,1011; AKVy.
9,18ff.). The Vibh compendia, a series of funda
mental Abhidharma commentaries, list 24 interpre
tations of the word (Watanabe, 1983, 2324). These
fall under three major categories: (1) the Abhi
dharma enables one to discriminate and analyze
the factors according to their generic and particu
lar inherent characteristics; (2) it enables one to
suppress non-Buddhist or false Buddhist doctrines
and establish the true teaching (see Anlayo, 2014,
124125); (3) it enables one to remove defilements
and progress along the path (T. 1545 [XXVII] 4a12ff.;
T. 1546 [XXVIII] 3c4ff.; T. 1547 [XXVIII] 418a1ff.;
Cox, 1995, 4).
These exegetical, expository(/apologetic) and sote
riological meanings of abhidharma are well in tune
with the six functions ascribed to the Abhidharma
by the early *ryavasumitrabodhisattvasagti (T. 1549
[XXVIII] 733a16ff.; Cox, 1995, 4). Considered in an
exegetical perspective, the Abhidharma enables
one to discriminate the meaning or nature of dharmas
as presented in the stras. In its expository func
tion, the Abhidharma enables one to cultivate the
four noble truths, enables one to realize the twelve
members of dependent origination and depend
ently originated factors, and expounds the mean
ing of the eightfold noble path. These three aspects
have strong soteriological overtones and obviously
impinge upon the properly gnostic and cathartic,
hence salvational, dimensions of the Abhidharma.
Considered in this perspective, the Abhidharma can
be defined as that which analyzes and describes the
causes of the various factors instrumental in the com
plete cessation of defilements and that through
the cultivation of which one attains nirva. The
factor the cultivation of which brings about nirva
is none other than insight or discernment (praj).
This sixth function of the Abhidharma thus comes
very close to a definition provided by the Vibh
compendia and accepted by most later authorities,
that is, Abhidharma as the controling faculty of
pure (ansrava) insight together with that which
furthers, is associated with, or contains this pure
insight, hence the Abhidharma treatises them
selves (T. 1545 [XXVII] 2c23; T. 1546 [XXVIII] 2c27ff.;
T. 1547 [XXVIII] 417b3ff.; also AKBh. 2,3ff.; AKVy.
 Abhidharma 91
8,10ff.; T. 1562 [XXIX] 329a29ff.). These various func
tions must be considered as a whole, however, for
through [the] exercise of completely describing
the character of each factor in every instance of
its occurrence, the factors of which experience
is composed can be seen as they actually are,
the misconceptions obscuring our perception of
experience can be discarded, the factors obstruct
ing and ensnaring us can be abandoned, and the
factors contributing toward liberation can be iso
lated and cultivated. (Cox, 1995, 12)
The numerous functions of the Abhidharma are per
haps best described in a w
ell-known passage from
the canonical Sarvstivda Vijnakya (see below): full in Paliputra (As I.36; Lamotte, 1976, 201).
Abhidharma is the light of the true doctrine; with
out Abhidharma treatises, one would not be able
to destroy the darkness surrounding what is to
be known by knowledge. Abhidharma functions
as the pure eye within the mind, as the basis of
all knowledge; it is the sun illuminating the for
est of things to be known, the sword that destroys
heretical texts; it constitutes the authority for
those who open the eyes of sentient beings and is
the womb of the Tathgatas; it is the illumination
in the three realms, the path of the eye of insight;
it is the light of all factors and the ocean of
the Buddhas words; it is able to issue forth high
est insight and to remove all doubts. (T. 1539
[XXVI] 531a1317; trans. Willemen, Dessein &
Cox, 1998, v)
Authenticating the Abhidharma
We do not know whether all groups once pos
sessed their own Abhidharma corpus, but once the
exegetical inquiry that was typical of the earliest,
pre-sectarian Abhidharma had crystallized into
sect-specific textual corpora, the authentication
of these scriptures became an important task for
those Buddhist denominations that did possess them
(Lamotte, 1976, 197210; Davidson, 1990, 303305).
The most radical attitude in this regard is the
Theravda view, according to which the newly awak
ened and omniscient Buddha grasped (adhigata)
and collated (vicita) the seven Abhidhamma books
under the Bodhi tree and subsequently taught
them to his mother My in the Tryastria icant role at the First Council at Rjagha (Ktyyana
(Pal. Tvatisa, Thirty-three) heaven during a was also famous for having picked out the quintes
three-month rain retreat. Every evening, the Buddha
descended to Lake Anavatapta (Pal. Anotattha) and
repeated the days lesson to his disciple Sriputta
who, having laid down the numerical series in
order to make it easy to learn, remember, study and
teach the Law, taught it in turn to 500 disciples (As
I.16; Buswell & Jaini, 1996, 80, 1821). This Theravda
position was challenged by those who claimed that
the Kathvatthu, one of the seven treatises alleg
edly preached by the Buddha in the Tryastria
heaven, had been composed by the elder Moggali
puttatissa on the occasion of the Second Council at
Paliputra (3rd cent. bce). As an answer, the ortho
dox Theravdins claimed that while preaching to
his mother, the Buddha had contented himself with
expounding a mtk of the Kathvatthu, foreseeing
that Moggaliputtatissa would develop the treatise in
While admitting that their seven Abhidharma
treatises ultimately went back to the Buddha, the
Sarvstivdins and especially the Vaibhikas rec
ognized that the treatises in question had been
collected and organized by great disciples of the Bud
dha, or, alternatively, that they had been ascertained
by later scholiasts such as Ktyyanputra thanks
to their praidhijna, a transtemporal intuition
resulting from the power of their vows...by which
they [were] able to perceive past and future events
(Cox, 1995, 17n19). Yaomitra (AKVy. 12,27) offers
an analogy to the authenticity of the canonicity of
the Abhidharma, referring to the Vaibhika claim
that the case is comparable to that of Dharmatrta
collecting the udnas (aphorisms) uttered by the
blessed one to create the Udnavarga. Likewise,
[persons] such as the elder Ktyyanputra gath
ered and fixed the Abhidharma that had been
uttered here and there by the Blessed One in
works such as the Jnaprasthna for the sake of
the trainees, the Abhidharma which consists in an
instruction on the characteristics of the factors.
These disciples of the Buddha contented them
selves, in this scenario, with adding summariz
ing stanzas (uddna), dividing the teaching into
chapters (skandhaka), and so forth. This strategy
of authentication likely was facilitated by the fact
that the name of the scholiast Ktyyanputra
(variously dated to the late 1st, to the 3rd, or to the
5th cent. after nirva by Buddhist authorities) was
very similar to that of Ktyyana, a prominent disci
ple of the Buddha considered to have played a signif
sence of the dharma and submitted this work to the
Buddha, who approved it and labelled it the supreme
law, abhidharma; Lamotte, 1976, 208; Przyluski,
92 Abhidharma
1926, 201, 303). In this picture, the Sarvstivdin [L] 152a5). However, most sources agree that nanda
six-membered Abhidharma (apdbhidharma, himself recited an Abhidharmapiaka of various
i.e., the Jnaprasthna the body [arra] length (including mtks alone) in Rjagha. This
and its six ancillary treatises) was conceived of is true of, among many others, the Vinaya of the
as the (editorial) work of great disciples of the Dharmaguptakas (T. 1428 [XXII] 968b2526), the
Buddha or later authors: Mahmaudgalyyana, Vinayamtk of the Haimavatas (T. 1463 [XXIV]
riputra, Mahkauhila, Vasumitra, Devaarman 818a2829), and late Pali commentaries (Sv I.17;
and Ktyyana/Ktyyanputra (see below). As I.3; Smp I.18). According to the Sarvstivda
Moving yet a step further, the Sautrntikas are Vinaya (T. 1435 [XXIII] 449a19), upon being asked
said to have denied the Abhidharma any indepen by Mahkyapa, nanda revealed that the Buddha
dent authority and regarded the stras alone as had taught the Abhidharma in rvast, and that
authoritative, whence their name (AKVy. 11,2930). [t]he teaching given at that time was that breaches
According to them, the Abhidharma treatises of the five precepts are conducive to rebirth in hell,
were nothing but human compositions. The early whereas keeping the five precepts leads to a heav
5th-century Vaibhika scholiast Saghabhadra
enly rebirth (Anlayo, 2014, 19).
records at least three reasons why his Sautrntika
opponent Vasubandhu (350430 CE?) rejected
the Buddhas authority of the Abhidharma works Extant Abhidharma Texts
(T. 1562 [XXIX] 329c6ff.; Honj, 2010, 181187):
(1) these treatises are traditionally ascribed to dis Only the Theravda has preserved a complete
ciples/authors such as Ktyyana/Ktyyanputra, Abhidhammapiaka in an Indian language (Pali),
(2) the Buddha has advised nanda to rely while the seven canonical abhidharma treatises of
(pratisaraa) on the stras and not on the abhidharma the Sarvstivdins have come down to us almost
(T. 1562 [XXIX] 329c2021), and (3) the Abhidharmas completely in Chinese translation. A very small
of the different Buddhist denominations exhibit portion of them is available in Tibetan, while a few
contradictory positions on one and the same ques scattered Sanskrit fragments have been preserved
tion (for Saghabhadras refutation of the views of (Dietz, 2004). Only minute fragments of canonical
Vasubandhu, see Cox, 1995, 67). The Dpavasas Abhidharma texts of sects other than Theravda
(V.37) Mahsagtikas also regarded the Abhid and Sarvstivda have been preserved: some mate
harma as not the word of the Buddha. rials presumably belonging to the Kyapya tradi
Needless to say, one of the most decisive crite tion are attested (Cox, 2014), and fragments from
ria for scriptural authorization was the recitation- the *riputrbhidharma have been identified in
cum-compilation of a given text or group of texts the Schyen collection (see below).
by a great disciple of the Buddha during the First
Council, held in Rjagha immediately after the
death of the master. According to the Vinayas Theravda canonical Abhidhamma
of the Theravdins, the Mahsakas, and the
Mahsghikas (resp. Vin. ii.287; T. 1421 [XXII] In style and language, the Theravda Abhidhamma
191ac; T. 1425 [XXII] 491c16), the monks assembled in texts markedly differ from the Vinayapiaka and
Rjagha contented themselves with reciting, after Suttapiaka (von Hinber, 1996, 137). Short ques
nanda and Upli, the dharma and the Vinaya, the tions and answers as well as many formulas often
law and the discipline, no mention being made of similar to those found in the Niddesa characterize the
the Abhidharma as an independent third basket Abhidhamma literature. The Abhidhammapiaka
(Kimura, 1968, 2728). According to Anlayo (2014, and its parts are mentioned under this name for
18), the accounts of the first sagti [communal rec the first time in the Milindapaha (12,2113,7). As
itation] in these Vinayas seem to have been finalized there is no corresponding paragraph in the Chinese
at a time when the Abhidharma had not yet become Ngasenabhikustra, the Chinese version of the
a collection in its own right. Other sources such as Milindapaha, the reference to this text may have
the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya and the Aokvadna been inserted only in Ceylon (von Hinber, 1996,
ascribe the compilation of a mtk to the conve 179). The Theravda Abhidhammapiaka con
ner of the first council, Mahkyapa (resp. T. 1451 sists of the seven texts listed and briefly described
[XXIV] 408b211; T. 2042 [L] 113c34; T. 2043 below.
 Abhidharma 93
Dhammasagai vedankhandha, sakhandha, sakhrakhandha,
The Theravda Abhidhammapiaka begins with the viakhandha, the aggregates matter (body),
Dhammasagai (alternative title Dhammasagaha; feeling, perception, conditioning factors, conscious
Collection of Dhammas; the form Abhidhamma ness) or the twelve yatanas spheres (of percep
sagai found in some early manuscripts is a mis tion), that is, eye/visible object, ear/sound, and so
nomer). The structure of the text is discussed at forth, up to mind/mental object and so forth. Thus
length by E. Frauwallner (1995, 5386). The absence the Vibhaga systematizes older material drawn
of the traditional introduction (nidna) Thus have from the Suttapiaka.
I heard... in a text considered the word of the The text is divided into 18 chapters with chapters
Buddha (buddhavacana) created a problem for 16 and 715 forming two units expanding on two
Buddhist exegetes. The issue is discussed in the com mtiks. The last three chapters were originally sep
mentary, where various attempts to add a nidna arate Abhidhamma treatises which were subsequently
are mentioned (As 30,1631,16). Usually, the Bud included into the Vibhaga. The arrangement of
dha is reported to have recited the Abhidhamma in chapter 16 (avibhaga; Explanation of Knowl
heaven to his deceased mother and to the gods (see edge) and chapter 17 (Khuddakavatthuvibhaga;
above), and later to have handed it down to Sriputta Explanation on the Small Items) follows the same
(a list of the sequence of teachers and pupils from numerical principle as the Aguttaranikya with
Sriputta up to Mahinda is found in As 32,1220). groups of 110, 18, 36, 72, of which only the first refers
Certain manuscripts of the Dhammasagai even to Abhidhamma matters. Chapter 18 (Dhamma
insert At one time the Lord was residing among hadayavibhaga; Explanation of the Heart of the
the Tvatisa gods... in front of the mtik with Teaching) also begins with a mtik of its own
which the text begins. This abhidhammamtik comprising, again, the five khandhas, the twelve
or abhidhamma list, which also occurs in other yatanas, and so forth. This chapter could be identi
Theravda Abhidhamma texts, comprises the con cal with the Mahdhammahadaya, which, accord
cepts kusala salutary, (morally) good, akusala ing to the Atthaslin, was considered as a possible
(morally) bad, and abykata undetermined, candidate to replace the allegedly noncanonical
immediately followed by the suttantamtik or sut- Kathvatthu (see above).
tanta (stra) list, which is largely based on concepts The Vibhaga shows many similarities with the
taken over from the Sagtisuttanta (i.e. suttanta no. Dharmaskandha, thus connecting early Theravda
33 of the Dghanikya; Anlayo, 2014, 2937). The text and Sarvstivda Abhidharma (Anlayo, 2014, 88;
that follows (Dhammasagai 11599) expands see also below). It is generally considered the oldest
and explains the mtiks. It is divided into four sec text in the Abhidhammapiaka.
tions (kaa): (1) Cittuppdakaa ( 1582; Sec
tion on the Arising of Thoughts), (2) Rpakaa Dhtukath
( 584980, with another mtik, 584594; Sec The Dhtukath (Discussion of the Elements;
tion on Matter), (3) Nikkhepakaa ( 9811367; Frauwallner, 1995, 48f.; von Hinber, 1996, 140)
Summary Section), and (4) Atthuddhrakaa is a brief text which starts from mtiks of con
( 13681599; Commentary Section). The titles of cepts similar to those found in the Vibhaga.
the sections are slightly different in the commentary The Dhtukath bears some similarities with the
(As 6,137,9). As the mtiks located at the begin Sarvstivda Dhtukya and both may ultimately
ning of the text are discussed in sections 3 and 4 go back to the same origin (see below). The trea
only, it is clear that sections 1 and 2 are later addi tise owes its title to the fact that it investigates the
tions. The Dhammasagai is considered the young ways in which different concepts are related to the
est of the texts assembled in the Abhidhammapiaka dhtus or elements. These elements are systemati
(Frauwallner, 1995, 53). cally analyzed as to whether they are included or not
(sagahta/asagahta), associated or dissociated
Vibhaga (sampayutta/vipayutta), in a fourfold way: included
Although the Vibhaga (Explanation; Frauwall with non-included, non-included with included,
ner, 1995, 4348; von Hinber 1996, 138139) included with included, and non-included with
does not begin with a mtik, it presupposes such non-included. This in a way anticipates methods
a list, which can indeed be reconstructed from the of analysis fully developed only in later Buddhist
text itself. Usually the starting point is old canoni scholasticism.
cal lists such as the five khandhas (rpakhandha,
94 Abhidharma
Puggalapaatti
The Puggalapaatti (Concept of Person; Frauwall
ner, 1995, 49ff.; von Hinber, 1996, 141143; Anlayo,
2014, 52ff.) begins with a mtik partly based on the
abhidhammamtik (see above). Various types of
puggalas or individuals, persons are listed in groups
from 1 to 10. This makes the text formally close to the
Aguttaranikya and particularly to the Dasuttara
suttanta (DN no. 34). When the compiler of the
Puggalapaatti drew material from the Suttapiaka,
particularly from the Aguttaranikya, he effaced
the original remembered orality (von Hinber,
1996, 55) by removing the address bhikkhave,
o monks, and so on, thus assimilating the text to the
Abhidhamma style. Because he limited his effort to
reassembling the materials, it is impossible to assign
to the text a place in the history of Abhidhamma.
In spite of a similarity in title, the Puggalapaatti,
which has no parallels outside Theravda, is entirely
different from the Sarvstivda Prajaptistra (see
below).
Kathvatthu
The Kathvatthu (Text Dealing with Disputes; Frau
wallner, 1995, 86ff.; von Hinber, 1996, 144151; for
a Japanese translation, see Sat, 1991) is the only
part of the Abhidhammapiaka traditionally dated
(to the time of Aoka, 218 years after the nirva)
and ascribed to an author, Moggaliputtatissa, who is
reported to have explained and expanded a mtik
of the Kathvatthu originally uttered by the Buddha
in heaven (see above). This assumption was made
to save the canonicity of the text, which was not
beyond doubt (As 3,2529; 6,112). In structure and
content, the Kathvatthu, which consists of strictly
formalized questions and answers, is quite different
from the other Abhidhamma texts, because about
200 (according to tradition 500) controversial points
of the Buddhas teaching are discussed (McDermott,
1975; Ganeri, 2001). The different views are ascribed
to specific Buddhist schools by the commentary,
which may be separated from the oldest parts of the
Kathvatthu by more than half a millennium.
Although some parts of the Kathvatthu seem
very old, in particular the discussion on the puggala
or person, which exhibits ancient linguistic fea
tures (Norman, 1979) and is close in content to the
Sarvstivda Vijnakya (Bronkhorst, 1993), the
specific structure of the text easily allows for addi
tions, which are difficult to discern, as remarked
long ago by La Valle Poussin (1922, 520).
Yamaka
The Yamaka (Pairs; Frauwallner, 1995, 5153; von
Hinber, 1996, 152ff.) is a huge text which would
cover about 2500 pages if it were printed in full.
According to tradition, it is 25 times longer than
the Majjhimanikya. As suggested by E. Frauwall
ner, the title was chosen because two things form a
pair when the second thing originates from the first.
The fairly complicated structure of the Yamaka is
explained in detail at the beginning of the commen
tary. All pairs are discussed at great length with all
imaginable combinations being enumerated, which
inspired the following remark to Frauwallner (1995,
53): This is a particularly glaring example of how
an intrinsically interesting problem can be inflated
to the point of inanity using the Abhidharma
method. Still, a later Theravda Abhidhamma
text contends: The text is succinct to the extreme
(Mohavicchedan 279,14).
Pahna
The Pahna (Basis [of All Other Abhidhamma
Texts]; Frauwallner, 1995, 50ff.; von Hinber, 1996,
154 ff.), also known as Mahpakaraa (Large Trea
tise), is by far the longest text in the Tipiaka. While
explaining the title, the commentary even states
that the actual length of the text is incalculable. All
editions therefore abbreviate, that of the Pali Text
Society into two volumes; to gain a better picture,
it is imperative to use the f ive-volume Burmese edi
tion (still abbreviated considerably!). The Pahna
begins with the section on Tika or triads followed by
the section on Duka or dyads (arranged in the wrong
order in the Pali Text Society edition). The Pahna,
which tries to comprehensively explain causal
ity and thus, in the traditional understanding, to
facilitate the use of the suttantas for Abhidhamma
specialists, does not provide any new insights but
endlessly invents new possible combinations of
concepts: method has replaced genuine thought
(Frauwallner, 1995, 51).
One canonical Theravda Abhidhamma text is
found in the Tipiaka, but outside the Abhidhamma
piaka: the Paisambhidmagga (also called simply
Paisambhid; Path of Discrimination; Frauwallner,
1995, 8789; von Hinber, 1996, 119120). It is
the only canonical Theravda Abhidhamma text
included in the Khuddakanikya of the Suttapiaka,
which seems to have been the only part of the
Tipiaka still open for additions at the time when the
Paisambhidmagga was created. The commentary
 Abhidharma 95
ascribes this work to Sriputta. According to the
Dpavasa (Chronicle of the Island [Ceylon]; V.37),
the Paisambhidmagga was rejected during the
Second Council by the Mahsghikas, who would
certainly never accept this typical Theravda text;
the Dpavasas assertion, moreover, is a glaring
anachronism. The Paisambhidmagga consists
of various texts apparently put together more or
less at random. Only the first part, the akath
(Discussion on Knowledge), which originally might
have been a separate work, begins with a mtik;
the other parts quote and comment on canonical
suttantas. This text, which may have been put
together in the 2nd century ce, is perhaps the
first attempt to create a systematic handbook of
Abhidhamma and is as such a forerunner of Upa
tissas Vimuttimagga (Path to Liberation) and
Buddhaghosas Visuddhimagga (Path to Purity;
Frauwallner, 1995, 8995; von Hinber, 1996, 245
250). While the Visuddhimagga became the basic
handbook for Theravda (Mahvihra) orthodoxy,
the Vimuttimagga enjoyed a wide international rec
ognition, being still in use in 12th-century Bengal
(Skilling, 1987, 7, 15).
Sarvstivda Canonical Abhidharma
Only a tiny percentage of the canonical Abhidharma
texts of the Sarvstivda survive in an Indic language.
With one exception (the Prajapti), all are extant
in Xuanzangs () Chinese translations; two
(the Prakaraapda and the Jnaprasthna) have
been translated twice into Chinese. Three sections
of the Prajapti are available in Tibetan translation,
and one section survives in an 11th-century Chi
nese translation by Dharmapla (Fahu []) and
Wejing (). The titles of the seven Sarvstivda
canonical treatises, together with their Tibetan and
Chinese equivalents, are as follows:
1. Sagtiparyya; Gro bai rnam grangs; Jiyimen
zulun (; T. 1536; trans. Xuanzang);
2. Dharmaskandha; Chos kyi phung po; Fayun
zulun (; T. 1537; trans. Xuanzang);
3. Prajaptistra; Btags pa; Shishe zulun (
; T. 1538; trans. Dharmapla);
4. Vijnakya; Rnam par shes pai tshogs;
Shishen zulun (; T. 1539; trans. Xuan
zang);
5. Dhtukya; *Khams kyi tshogs; Jieshen zulun
(; T. 1540; trans. Xuanzang);
6. Prakaraa(pda); Rab tu byed pa; Pinlei zulun
(; T. 1542; trans. Xuanzang)/Zhong
shifen apitan lun (; T. 1541; trans.
Guaprabha and Bodhiyaas); and
7. Jnaprasthna/*Aaskandhaka; Ye shes la
jug pa; Fazhi lun (; T. 1544; trans. Xuan
zang)/Ba jiandu lun (; T. 1543; trans.
Saghadeva, Zhu Fonian, and Dharmapriya)
Since the Jnaprasthna was recognized as the
most important Abhidharma text, it came to be
known as the body-treatise (kyastra), whereas
the other canonical texts were referred to as its six
feet (apda), the seven canonical Sarvstivda
treatises being referred to collectively as the
Abhidharma with six feet (apdbhidharma). This
usage, which is not attested in the Vibh compen
dia, finds its first known occurrence in a postscript to
the Chinese translation of the *Aaskandhastra
(T. 1543 [XXVI] 887a1924) written in 379 or
390 ce, very close in time to Kumrajva, whose
translations of the Mahprajpramitopadea
(T. 1509) and the *Tattvasiddhi (T. 1646) men
tion the apdbhidharma without stating which
individual texts are meant (Watanabe, 1954, 36ff.;
Willemen, Dessein & Cox, 1998, 160162). Sthira
matis commentary on the Abhidharmakoa, the
Tattvrth, however, does not regard the Dhtukya
as a canonical Abhidharma text, and thus enumer
ates a total of only six treatises (D 4421, tho 324a2/
P 5875, tho 91a1). Pravardhanas Lakanusri
(D 4092, cu 324a2/P 5594, ju 380b4) does like
wise. This may explain the absence of citations
of the Dhtukya in important texts such as the
Mahvibh (Cox, 1998, 160n60; see below) and the
Abhidharmakoa (Hirakawa, 1973). When cited in
the Abhidharmakoa, the six treatises are called stras
(benlun []). The chronology of the seven treatises
is difficult to assess. According to Puguang (,
T. 1821 [XLI] 8b24f.), the chronological sequence
of the seven treatises is as follows: Sagtiparyya,
Dharmaskandha and Prajaptistra (written/edited
by direct disciples of the Buddha), Vijnakya
(1st cent. after nirva), Prakaraapda and Dhtukya
(early 3rd cent. after nirva), and Jnaprasthna
(late 3rd cent. after nirva; Cox, 1995, 47n55).
E. Frauwallner (1995, 1314) was inclined to accept
this relative chronology.
Sagtiparyya or
*Abhidharmasagtiparyyapdastra
The Sagtiparyya, ascribed to Mahkauhila and
riputra in the Indian and Tibetan (Yaomitra, Bu
ston) and the Chinese traditions respectively (Cox,
1998, 177n114), is a commentary on the Sagtistra, a
96 Abhidharma
discourse that, in increasing numerical order (from
one to ten), lists 205 major concepts, for example,
the three kinds of training (ik), the four noble
truths (ryasatya), and the five aggregates (skandha;
Cox, 1998, 179; for another, Gandhari commentary
on the Sagtistra, see Cox, 2014, 3639; on a San
skrit folio of the Sagtiparyya in the Schyen col
lection, see Matsuda, 2002, 239n1). The frame story
of the treatise
relates how disputes and schisms arose in the
Jaina community after the Jinas death due to
differing interpretations of the doctrine, and
how riputra, in order to prevent similar dis
putes within the Buddhist community, recited a
systematic collection of the Buddhist doctrinal
concepts and how the Buddha approved of and
endorsed riputras recital. (Waldschmidt, 1955,
299, 309314)
This treatise is generally regarded as the earliest
Sarvstivda Abhidharma text; its historical impor
tance lies in the fact that it marks the onset of a com
mentarial genre that was to form the Abhidharma
(Cox, 1998, 178). Although the Sagtiparyya shows
nonsectarian features common to ancient Bud
dhism, one can find the concept of cessation
through n on-intelligence (apratisakhynirodha).
This notion (in Abhidharma technical vocabulary,
this dharma) is characteristic of the Sarvstivda
(a denomination that is mentioned at the end of
each of the 20 chapters) in that it presupposes the
theory that the past, the future, and the present
exist. (Xuanzangs Chinese translation is translated
into Japanese by Watanabe, 1929, and into Ger
man by Stache-Rosen, 1968 together with the texts
extant Sanskrit fragments; newly found fragments
of this text are included in Matsuda, 2006; English
summaries of the work are available in Frauwallner,
1995, 1415; Potter, 1996, 203216; Willemen, Dessein
& Cox, 1998, 6768; Cox, 1998, 177181.)
Dharmaskandha or
*Abhidharmadharmaskandhapdastra
The Dharmaskandha, which, together with the
Sagtiparyya, belongs to the earliest stage of the
Sarvstivda Abhidharma treatises, is considered in
the Indian tradition to have been compiled by the
Buddhas direct disciple riputra, while the Chinese
tradition ascribes it to Maudgalyyana (Cox, 1998,
181n126). The full text is extant only in Xuanzangs
Chinese translation. The treatise is also known
through 22 Sanskrit folios from a Mlasarvstivda
recension found in Gilgit (Dietz, 1985), which cover
about 20 percent of the text. This Sanskrit recension,
which seems to differ in structure from the Chinese
version, has been edited by S. Dietz (1984) and
supplemented by K. Matsuda (1986). The treatise
consists of 21 chapters (Frauwallner, 1995, 1617),
at the beginning of each of which is quoted a stra,
followed by explanations of the stras important
concepts. E. Frauwallner (1995, 1521) divides the
treatise into three sections. The first section com
prises 15 chapters providing detailed expositions
on the path to liberation and various issues of reli
gious praxis. The second section consists wholly of
chapter 16, which deals with 78 defilements and is
entitled kudravastuka (miscellany; zashi []).
The third section includes the remaining five chap
ters dealing with basic doctrinal concepts such as
the 22 faculties (indriya), 12 bases (yatana), 5 aggre
gates (skandha), 62 elements (dhtu), and depen
dent origination (prattyasamutpda). Similarities
between the Dharmaskandha, the Pali Vibhaga,
and the *riputrbhidharmastra (T. 1548) have
been pointed out by various scholars (Fukuhara,
1965, 110112, Frauwallner, 1995, 1720). According
to E. Frauwallner, the Sarvstivda Dharmaskandha
and the Theravda Vibhaga, two versions of the
same work, go back to a common ancestor pre
dating Aokas missions; both of them represent a
step toward the composition of truly analytical and
scholastic treatises independent of the stras (Cox,
1998, 187). Let it be noted that the Dharmaskandha
is to be credited with the a ll-important distinction
between the path of vision (daranamrga) and the
path of cultivation (bhvanmrga), which would
structure all subsequent Sarvstivda, Sautrntika,
and Mahynist accounts of the path to liberation.
(We owe an annotated Japanese translation to
Watanabe, 1930a; English summaries and discus
sions include Frauwallner, 1995, 1521; Potter, 1996,
179187; Willemen, Dessein & Cox, 1998, 6870;
Cox, 1998, 181189.)
Prajaptistra or
*Abhidharmaprajaptipdastra
The Prajaptistra, ascribed to Maudgalyyana
in India and to Mahktyyana in China (Cox,
1998, 189n143), is considered the latest of the three
Sarvastivda treatises belonging to this early stage
of the overall development of Abhidharma litera
ture (Sakurabe, 1969, 46). This treatise presents a
stra quotation at the beginning of each of the
chapters, followed by an account of various topics
in question-and-answer form. Given the high num
 Abhidharma 97
ber of its quotations in the Mahvibh (145), the
Prajaptistra likely served as a handy sourcebook
of succinct identifications, definitions, and canoni
cal references on a variety of topics (Cox, 1998, 197).
The Prajaptistra surviving in Tibetan transla
tion possesses three sections: (1) Lokaprajapti
(Instruction on the World; Jig rten gdags/btags
pa; D 4086/P 5587) dealing with Buddhist cosmol
ogy, (2) Kraaprajapti (Instruction about Causes;
Rgyu gdags/btags pa; D 4087/P 5588) containing an
account of the Bodhisattva and the wheel-turning
king (cakravartin), and (3) Karmaprajapti (Instruc
tion on Karman; Las gdags/btags pa; D 4088/P 5589).
More than 20 percent of the Lokaprajapti
has been preserved in its original (Cox, 1998, 191)
through Sanskrit fragments of Mlasarvstivda
provenance (Dietz, 1989). A great majority of the
text of the Kraaprajapti has its counterpart in a
seven-fascicle Chinese version (Shishe lun [];
T. 1538). Louis de La Valle Poussin (1918, 295350)
has provided an analysis and selected translations
of the Tibetan Lokaprajapti and Kraaprajapti.
In 1922 Taiken Kimura conjectured, on the basis of
a close analysis of the citations of the treatise in the
Mahvibh, that the Prajaptistra may origi and present. The second chapter deals with the
nally have had more subdivisions than the three
extant sections. These chapters would have dealt
with defilements (anuaya), knowledge (jna),
and meditation (sampatti/samdhi). In the mean
time, references to the titles *Anuayaprajapti
(Phra rgyas btags) and *Nmarpaprajapti (Ming
dang gzugs kyi btags) in amathadevas Abhidharma
koopyik k have come to light (Honj, 1998). wallner, 1995, 3031) is indicated by the fact that it is
These references support Taiken Kimuras sugges
tion even though, as C. Cox rightly points out (1998,
192), the extent to which these eighth-century mate
rials reflect the original structure of the treatise is
difficult to assess. (In 1995 Takumi Fukuda discov
ered, in the library of Dh University, Nagoya,
a draft of a full Japanese translation of the three
Prajaptis, completed in 1934 by Sei Kat, a graduate
of tani University, and began to publish it [Fukuda,
19982012]; Aohara has begun to publish a Japanese
translation of the Karmaprajapti [Aohara, 2012a,
2012b, 2013, 2014] in the light of Kats materials; for
a Japanese translation of the Chinese version, see
Watanabe, 1930b; Willemen, Dessein & Cox, 1998,
7071, and Cox, 1998, 189197, provide useful sum
maries of the text.)
Vijnakya or
*Abhidharmavijnakyapdastra
The Vijnakya is extant only in Xuanzangs
Chinese translation. Unlike the Sagtiparyya, the
Dharmaskandha, and the Prajaptistra, this trea
tise is not ascribed to a direct disciple of the Bud
dha, but to Devaarman (reported to have lived 100
years after the parinirva and to have been active
in Vioka), and it is not a commentary on stra
passages. These features suggest that it is much
later than these three treatises. The Vijnakya is
divided into 6 parts: (1) Maudgalyyana (an oppo
nent of unclear affiliation claiming that only the
present exists), (2) person (pudgala), (3) causes
and conditions (hetupratyaya), (4) condition as
object-support (lambanapratyaya), (5) miscellany
(sakra), (6) accompaniment (samanvgama)
or possession (prpti). The first two chapters are
polemical, while the other four are systematic,
a feature that, together with differences in top
ics, suggests that the Vijnakya is a composite
text, perhaps compiled, rather than composed, by
Devaarman (Cox, 1998, 198). The first chapter con
tains a controversy on the existence of past, future,
existence of the person (pudgala) and exhibits close
similarities with Kathvatthu I.1 (i.e. 169). Chap
ters three through six deal with the nature, arising,
operation, and transformation of states of thought
or consciousness (vijna) (Cox, 1998, 201), a range
of topics that accounts for the title of the work. The
importance of this highly innovative treatise (Frau
cited 39 times in the Mahvibh. The Vijnakya
indeed represents a major change, most conspicu
ously in the direction of a systematic theory of cau
sality. (The first two chapters have been rendered
into French by La Valle Poussin, 1925; several parts
of the second chapter have been translated into
English by Fumimaro Watanabe [Watanabe, 1983,
154ff.]; here as elsewhere, we owe an annotated
Japanese translation to Watanabe Baiy, 1931;
English summaries and discussions include Frau
wallner, 1995, 2831; Potter, 1998, 367374; Wille
men, Dessein & Cox, 1998, 7273; Cox, 1998, 197205.)
Dhtukya or
*Abhidharmadhtukyapdastra
The Dhtukya is extant only in Xuanzangs Chinese
translation. This treatise is ascribed to Pra in India
and to Vasumitra in China (Cox, 1998, 206n193), an
attribution that may be due to the close connection
98 Abhidharma
between the Dhtukya and the Prakaraapda,
which was authored by Vasumitra perhaps in the
4th century after nirva. The Dhtukya, a work
of the mtk-type accompanied by an explanatory
text (Frauwallner, 1995, 21), discusses mind (citta)
and mental factors (caitta) in question-and-answer
form. This treatise is divided into two parts. In the
first part (*mlavastuvarga, fundamental groups),
14 groups comprising 91 mental factors are enumer
ated and defined, thus creating, and for the first
time, a system of psychology (Frauwallner, 1995,
22). The names of these groups with Coxs English
equivalents are as follows (Cox, 1998, 208209):
1. ten factors of great extension (mahbhmika
dharma);
2. en defiled factors of great extension (klea
mahbhmikadharma);
3. ten factors whose extension is that of limited
defilements (parttakleabhmikadharma);
4. five defilements (klea);
5. five views (di);
6. five factors (dharma);
7. five types of contact (saspara);
8. five controlling faculties (indriya);
9.  six varieties of perceptual consciousness
(vijnakya);
10. six varieties of contact (sparakya);
11. six varieties of feelings (vedankya);
12. six varieties of ideas (sajkya);
13. six varieties of volition (sacetankya); and
14. six varieties of craving (tkya).
In the second part (*vibhajyavarga, analysis,
in 16 sections), these mental factors are analyzed
according to two kinds of relations, that is, simulta
neous mental association (saprayoga) and includ
edness (sagraha). The Dhtukya was largely
incorporated into the Prakaraapda (Frauwallner,
1995, 2527). This may explain why this treatise was
not cited in the Mahvibh or Abhidharmakoa
and was not considered canonical by some Indian
masters (see above, and Cox, 1998, 207). Whatever
the case may be, [t]he importance of the Dhtukya
lies in its exclusive focus on mental operations and
in its efforts to develop a more abstract classification
of, at least, the soteriologically significant mental
phenomena (Cox, 1998, 211). (There is an anno
tated English translation by Ganguly, 1994, with an
introduction and a reproduction of the Taish edi
tion; Watanabe, 1932a, has provided an annotated
Japanese translation of the Dhtukya; English sum
maries and discussions of the work are available
in Frauwallner, 1995, 2128; Potter, 1996, 344358;
Willemen, Dessein & Cox, 1998, 7172; Cox, 1998,
206212.)
Prakaraapda or
*Abhidharmaprakaraapdastra
The Prakaraapda has survived only in two Chi
nese translations: Zhong shifen apitan lun (
; T. 1541), translated by Guabhadra
and Bodhiyaas in 435443 ce, and Apidamo pin-
lei zu lun (; T. 1542), translated
by Xuanzang in 660 ce. Sanskrit fragments from a
commentary on the Prakaraapda have been dis
covered in Turfan, which, besides testifying to the
fact that the Vibhs were not the only available
commentaries on canonical Abhidharma works,
seem to reflect a divergent textual structure (Imani
shi, 1975). The first chapter, entitled Pacavastuka,
may largely borrow from an independent text, the
*Pacavastuka, translated into Chinese twice: the
Apitan wufaxing jing (; T. 1557) by
An Shigao (), and the Sapoduo zung wushi
lun (; T. 1556) by Facheng ().
This indicates that some chapters of this trea
tise may at first have been composed separately
(Cox, 1998, 218). The Prakaraapda is attributed
to Vasumitra in both India and China, but the
Mahprajpramitopadea (T. 1509 [XXV] 70a16f.)
attributes only four chapters to Vasumitra (chs.
47 according to Frauwallners hypothesis), the
other four being ascribed to arhats from Kashmir
(Cox, 1998, 212). It is considered to be the latest and
in many ways the most significant of the six feet
treatises (see above). The work is quoted no less
than 106 times in the Mahvibh, which at times
and quite surprisingly rejects the interpretations
of the Jnaprasthna and chooses those of the
Prakaraapda instead (Cox, 1998, 214). The wide
reception of the Prakaraapda may be due to its
function as a sourcebook or p roto-compendium
uniting significant textual materials in a single text
(Cox, 1998, 215).
The treatise consists of 8 largely independent
chapters:
1. Pacavastuka (Five Groups; very close to the
Pacavastuka);
2. Jna (Knowledge; very close to the
Vijnakya);
3. yatana (Sense Spheres; very close to the
Pacaskandhaka);
4. Saptavastuka (Seven Groups; very close to the
Dhtukya);
5. Anuaya (Contaminants);
 Abhidharma 99
6. Sagrahdi (Includedness Etc.);
7. Sahasraparipcch (Thousand Question); and
8. Nirvedha (Penetration).
One of the most interesting features of the
Prakaraapda is its first chapter on the pacavas-
tuka, the fivefold classification of factors that would
form the foundation of later Sarvstivda classifica
tions of factors (Cox, 1998, 215). This method of
encompassing and organizing all possible phenom
ena (Cox, 1998, 220) distributes all factors into cor
poreality (rpa), mind (citta), mind concomitants
(caitta), factors dissociated from the mind (citta
viprayukta), and unconditioned factors (asaskta).
(There is an annotated Japanese translation of the
Prakaraapda by Watanabe, 1932b; English sum
maries include Frauwallner, 1995, 3236; Potter,
1996, 375379; Willemen, Dessein & Cox, 1998, 73;
Cox, 1998, 212221.)
Jnaprasthna or
*Abhidharmajnaprasthnastra
As mentioned above, the Jnaprasthna is con
sidered the most important of the seven canonical
Sarvstivda Abhidharma treatises. This is reflected
in the fact that a vast commentary on this trea
tise, the Mahvibh, was compiled, comprising
200 fascicles in Xuanzangs Chinese translation
(T. 1545) and generally regarded as the definitive
statement of Sarvstivda Abhidharma exegesis
(Cox, 1998, 229). The Jnaprasthna is ascribed to
Ktyyanputra, whose dates are variously given as
100, 300 or even 500 after nirva (Cox, 1998, 221; see
also above). Two Chinese translations are extant,
one by Saghadeva, Zhu Fonian () and
Dharmapriya in 30 fascicles (T. 1543; 383 ce), enti
tled *Aagrantha or *Aaskandha(ka), the other
by Xuanzang in 20 fascicles (T. 1544; 657660 ce),
entitled Jnaprasthna. The two translations differ
in both structure and doctrine and most likely rep
resent distinct Sarvstivda lineages. Sanskrit frag
ments have been discovered in Bamiyan and Ku
(Lvi, 1932, Demiville, 1961). The Jnaprasthna
consists of 8 chapters (*skandhakas) entitled:
1. *Sakra (Miscellany);
2. *Sayojana (Fetters);
3. Jna (Knowledge);
4. Karman (Action);
5. Mahbhta (Fundamental Material Elements);
6. Indriya (Controlling Faculties);
7. Samdhi (Concentration); and
8. Di (Views).
Explaining the structure of these eight chapters
in terms of mutual dependence, the Mahvibh
(T. 1545 [XXVII] 7a25ff.) states that
[t]he first chapter is explained as presenting the
factor of enlightenment, which occurs through
the abandonment of defilements (Chapter 2). The
abandonment of defilements depends on knowl
edge (Chapter 3), and a person who has given up
the effects of action (Chapter 4) gives rise to that
knowledge that abandons defilements. These
varieties of action are dependent upon the four
fundamental material elements (Chapter 5), and
most prominent among the varieties of derived
elements are the controlling faculties (Chapter
6). The purification of the controlling faculties
takes place through concentration (Chapter 7),
and to practice concentration, one must have sur
mounted false views (Chapter 8).(trans. Cox, 1998,
227228)
(The *Aaskandhaka [T. 1543] has been translated
into Japanese with annotations by Nishi Giy and
Sakamoto Yukio, 1934; Xuanzangs Chinese version
of the Jnaprasthna [T. 1544] has been translated
with copious notes and tables by Sakurabe Hajime
and Kaji Yichi, 19962000; parts of the work have
been translated into French by La Valle Poussin,
1930; 19361937); Hurvitz, 1977, has dedicated a study
to the Jnaprasthna s path to liberation; English
summaries include Potter, 1996, 417449; Willemen,
Dessein & Cox, 1998, 7379; Cox, 1998, 221229; the
first two chapters have been retranslated from the
Chinese of T. 1544 into Sanskrit by nti Bhiku
astri, 1955.)
Abhidharma Canonical Texts
of Other Sects
The extent to which Buddhist denominations other
than the Theravdins and the Sarvstivdins pos
sessed canonical Abhidharma works, and a for-
tiori what these Abhidharmapiakas looked like,
is very difficut to assess. As A. Bareau (19471950)
has pointed out, there is no compelling reason to
believe that every denomination had developed
an Abhidharmapiaka of its own. Whereas cer
tain groups that branched off from a mother sect
likely kept the latters Abhidharmapiaka with
slight adaptations and emendations where neces
sary, other groups lacking an independent third
100 Abhidharma
basket may have borrowed one from a geographi
cally close sect. According to Paramrtha, the
Smityas, the Dharmottaryas, the Bhadraynyas
and the aagarikas, the four subsects that
seceded from the Vtsputrya sect, kept the lat
ters *riputrbhidharma (not to be confounded
with the homonym Dharmaguptaka work described
below; the Vtsputrya *riputrbhidharma was
otherwise known as the *Dharmalakabhidharma,
in nine sections), although they deemed it insuf
ficient, and completed it here and there with their
own interpretations of the stras (Demiville,
19311932, 58). In a similar way, in Sri Lanka and a
Theravda context, the Abhayagirivsins and the
Jetavanyas apparently kept the Abhidharmapiaka
of the Mahvihravsins (Bareau, 19471950, 3).
When it alludes to abhidharma, the Vinaya of the
Mahsakas may well refer only to the discipline
of dogmatic exegetics rather than to a separate
basket (T. 1421 [XXII] 132b; T. 1422 [XXII] 204a).
The Vinaya of the Mahsghikas, on the con
trary, seems to point to the existence of a separate
Abhidharmapiaka (T. 1425 [XXII] 295a, etc.; see
Bareau, 19471950, 9n6), and the same applies to the
Haimavatas, whose Vinayamtk (T. 1463 [XXIV]
818a28f.) suggests that their Abhidharma was struc
turally very close, if not identical, to the Dharma
guptaka *riputrbhidharma, the only extant
non-Theravdin and non-Sarvstivdin Abhidharma
treatise.
*riputrbhidharmastra
The *riputrbhidharmastra has come down
to us in a Chinese translation by Dharmayaas and
Dharmagupta in 30 fascicles, the Shelifu apitan lun
(; T. 1548; Frauwallner, 1955, 221n1).
This treatise is generally attributed to the Dharma
guptaka school (Bareau, 1950; Mizuno, 19961997,
319340) in spite of the fact that the Chinese tradition
regards it a Smitya text (see above for a homonym
Vtsputrya/Smitya Abhidharma treatise). San
skrit fragments from the *riputrbhidharma or a
very similar text have been recently identified in the
Schyen collection by K. Matsuda (2002). The trea
tise consists of 5 chapters whose titles, in A. Bareaus
Sanskrit restoration, are as follows:
1. Sapranaka (With Questions);
2. Apranaka (Without Questions);
3. Sagraha (Includedness);
4. Saprayoga (Simultaneous Mental Associa
tion); and
5. Prasthna (Base).
Resemblances with the Sarvstivda Dharma
skandha and the Pali Vibhaga and Puggalapaatti
have long been recognized (Kimura, 1922, 73118). E.
Frauwallner has analyzed the *riputrbhidharma
in terms of structure and content and as to the way
in which its mtks developed from those of ear
lier texts. According to him, this treatise of interest
ing idiosyncratic character helps us to avoid the
one-sided judgements that exclusive observation of
the Abhidharma of the other schools might other
wise lead us into making (Frauwallner, 1995, 116).
(An annotated Japanese translation was published
by Watanabe, 1934; English summaries and discus
sions include Frauwallner 1995, 97117; Potter, 1996,
317325.)
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