The Abhidharma are a collection of Buddhist texts dating from the 3rd century BCE onwards, which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries . It also refers to the scholastic method itself, as well as the field of knowledge that this method is said to study.
135-592: Bhikkhu Bodhi calls it "an abstract and highly technical systemization of the [Buddhist] doctrine," which is "simultaneously a philosophy , a psychology and an ethics , all integrated into the framework of a program for liberation ." According to Peter Harvey , 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
270-624: A Theravāda bhikkhu or monk. In 1984, succeeding co-founder Nyanaponika Thera , Bodhi was appointed English-language editor of the Buddhist Publication Society (BPS, Sri Lanka). He became its president in 1988. In 2002, he retired from the society's editorship while still remaining president. In 2000, at the United Nations' first official Vesak celebration, Bodhi gave the keynote address. In 2002, after retiring as editor of BPS, Bodhi returned to
405-597: A Buddhist phenomenology while Noa Ronkin and Kenneth Inada equate it with process philosophy . Bhikkhu Bodhi writes that the system of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka is "simultaneously a philosophy , a psychology and an ethics , all integrated into the framework of a program for liberation ." According to L. S. Cousins , the Buddhist sūtras deal with sequences and processes, while the Abhidharma texts describe occasions and events. Modern scholars generally believe that
540-541: A PhD in philosophy from Claremont Graduate University . In 1967, while still a graduate student, Bodhi was ordained as a sāmaṇera (novice) in the Vietnamese Mahayana order. In 1972, after graduation, he traveled to Sri Lanka , where, under Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero , he received sāmaṇera ordination in the Theravada Order and, in 1973, received full ordination ( upasampadā ) as
675-532: A beautiful jeweled residence for the Buddha to the north-east of the bodhi tree , where he meditated and delivered the Abhidharma teachings to gathered deities in the Trāyastriṃśa heaven, including his deceased mother Māyā . The tradition holds that the Buddha gave daily summaries of the teachings given in the heavenly realm to the bhikkhu Sariputta , who passed them on. The Sarvāstivāda - Vaibhāṣika held that
810-426: A certain manner by being wholeheartedly committed to this manner. Virtues contrast with vices , which are their harmful counterparts. Virtue theorists usually say that the mere possession of virtues by itself is not sufficient. Instead, people should manifest virtues in their actions. An important factor is the practical wisdom, also called phronesis , of knowing when, how, and which virtue to express. For example,
945-428: A certain standpoint. Moral standpoints may differ between persons, cultures, and historical periods. For example, moral statements like "Slavery is wrong" or "Suicide is permissible" may be true in one culture and false in another. Some moral relativists say that moral systems are constructed to serve certain goals such as social coordination. According to this view, different societies and different social groups within
1080-399: A characterization of what is good and then define what is right in terms of what is good. For example, classical utilitarianism says that pleasure is good and that the action leading to the most overall pleasure is right. Consequentialism has been discussed indirectly since the formulation of classical utilitarianism in the late 18th century. A more explicit analysis of this view happened in
1215-525: A constantly flowing stream of experience occurrences. 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 dhammas in the Theravada Abhidhamma are: The Sarvastivada Abhidharma also used these, along with
1350-480: 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. The Sautrantika school accepted the doctrine of svabhāva as referring to
1485-470: A diversity of viewpoints. A universal moral norm is seen as valid if all rational discourse participants do or would approve. This way, morality is not imposed by a single moral authority but arises from the moral discourse within society. This discourse should aim to establish an ideal speech situation to ensure fairness and inclusivity. In particular, this means that discourse participants are free to voice their different opinions without coercion but are at
SECTION 10
#17327647717121620-565: A dyad or triad of attributes. For example, terms could be grouped into those things that are rūpa (form, physical) or arūpa (formless), saṃskṛtam (constructed) or asaṃskṛtam, and the triad of kuśalam (wholesome), akuśalam (unwholesome), or avyākṛtam (indetermined). An early form of this method can be found in the Dasuttara Sutta . The explanations of the various elements in these lists also dealt with how these elements were connected ( saṃprayoga ) with each other. Over time,
1755-521: A fifth category: "factors dissociated from thought" ( cittaviprayuktasaṃskāra ). The Sarvastivadas also included three dharmas in the fourth "unconditioned" category instead of just one, the dharma of space and two states of cessation. 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
1890-479: A general standpoint of what is objectively right and wrong. In a slightly different sense, the term ethics can also refer to individual ethical theories in the form of a rational system of moral principles, such as Aristotelian ethics , and to a moral code that certain societies, social groups, or professions follow, as in Protestant work ethic and medical ethics . The English word ethics has its roots in
2025-515: A lack of practical wisdom may lead courageous people to perform morally wrong actions by taking unnecessary risks that should better be avoided. Different types of virtue ethics differ on how they understand virtues and their role in practical life. Eudaimonism is the original form of virtue theory developed in Ancient Greek philosophy and draws a close relation between virtuous behavior and happiness. It states that people flourish by living
2160-549: A means to promote their self-interest. Ethical egoism is often criticized as an immoral and contradictory position. Normative ethics has a central place in most religions . Key aspects of Jewish ethics are to follow the 613 commandments of God according to the Mitzvah duty found in the Torah and to take responsibility for societal welfare . Christian ethics puts less emphasis on following precise laws and teaches instead
2295-611: A more general principle. Many theories of normative ethics also aim to guide behavior by helping people make moral decisions . Theories in normative ethics state how people should act or what kind of behavior is correct. They do not aim to describe how people normally act, what moral beliefs ordinary people have, how these beliefs change over time, or what ethical codes are upheld in certain social groups. These topics belong to descriptive ethics and are studied in fields like anthropology , sociology , and history rather than normative ethics. Some systems of normative ethics arrive at
2430-550: A person should tell the truth even in specific cases where lying would lead to better consequences. Another disagreement is between actual and expected consequentialism. According to the traditional view, only the actual consequences of an act affect its moral value. One difficulty of this view is that many consequences cannot be known in advance. This means that in some cases, even well-planned and intentioned acts are morally wrong if they inadvertently lead to negative outcomes. An alternative perspective states that what matters are not
2565-401: A pleasurable experience has a high value if it has a high intensity and lasts for a long time. A common criticism of Bentham's utilitarianism argued that its focus on the intensity of pleasure promotes an immoral lifestyle centered around indulgence in sensory gratification. Mill responded to this criticism by distinguishing between higher and lower pleasures. He stated that higher pleasures, like
2700-504: 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 conventional. The ultimate goal of the Abhidharma is Nirvana 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
2835-790: A single principle covering all possible cases. Others encompass a small set of basic rules that address all or at least the most important moral considerations. One difficulty for systems with several basic principles is that these principles may conflict with each other in some cases and lead to ethical dilemmas . Distinct theories in normative ethics suggest different principles as the foundation of morality. The three most influential schools of thought are consequentialism , deontology , and virtue ethics . These schools are usually presented as exclusive alternatives, but depending on how they are defined, they can overlap and do not necessarily exclude one another. In some cases, they differ in which acts they see as right or wrong. In other cases, they recommend
SECTION 20
#17327647717122970-464: A situation, regardless of their specific role or position. Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) is one of the most well-known deontologists. He states that reaching outcomes that people desire, such as being happy, is not the main purpose of moral actions. Instead, he argues that there are universal principles that apply to everyone independent of their desires. He uses the term categorical imperative for these principles, saying that they have their source in
3105-425: A society construct different moral systems based on their diverging purposes. Emotivism provides a different explanation, stating that morality arises from moral emotions, which are not the same for everyone. Moral nihilists deny the existence of moral facts. They reject the existence of both objective moral facts defended by moral realism and subjective moral facts defended by moral relativism. They believe that
3240-510: A soteriological purpose, first and foremost and its goal is to support Buddhist practice and meditation. 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. The Abhidharmikas often used
3375-557: A virtuous life. Eudaimonist theories often hold that virtues are positive potentials residing in human nature and that actualizing these potentials results in leading a good and happy life. Agent-based theories, by contrast, see happiness only as a side effect and focus instead on the admirable traits and motivational characteristics expressed while acting. This is often combined with the idea that one can learn from exceptional individuals what those characteristics are. Feminist ethics of care are another form of virtue ethics. They emphasize
3510-487: Is a moral obligation to refrain from lying. Because it relies on consent, contractualism is often understood as a patient-centered form of deontology. Famous social contract theorists include Thomas Hobbes , John Locke , Jean-Jacques Rousseau , and John Rawls . Discourse ethics also focuses on social agreement on moral norms but says that this agreement is based on communicative rationality . It aims to arrive at moral norms for pluralistic modern societies that encompass
3645-720: Is an attempt to best express the Buddhist view of " ultimate reality " ( paramārtha-satya ). There are different types of Abhidharma literature. The early canonical Abhidharma works, such as the Abhidhamma Piṭaka , are not philosophical treatises but mainly summaries and expositions of early Buddhist doctrinal lists with their accompanying explanations. These texts developed out of early Buddhist lists or matrices ( mātṛkās ) of key teachings. Later post-canonical Abhidharma works were written as either large treatises ( śāstra ), as commentaries ( aṭṭhakathā ), or as smaller introductory manuals. They are more developed philosophical works which include many innovations and doctrines not found in
3780-476: Is better than an unequal distribution even if the aggregate good is the same. There are disagreements about which consequences should be assessed. An important distinction is between act consequentialism and rule consequentialism. According to act consequentialism, the consequences of an act determine its moral value. This means that there is a direct relation between the consequences of an act and its moral value. Rule consequentialism, by contrast, holds that an act
3915-410: Is between naturalism and non-naturalism. Naturalism states that moral properties are natural properties accessible to empirical observation . They are similar to the natural properties investigated by the natural sciences , like color and shape. Some moral naturalists hold that moral properties are a unique and basic type of natural property. Another view states that moral properties are real but not
4050-456: Is embedded in and relative to social and cultural contexts. Pragmatists tend to give more importance to habits than to conscious deliberation and understand morality as a habit that should be shaped in the right way. Postmodern ethics agrees with pragmatist ethics about the cultural relativity of morality. It rejects the idea that there are objective moral principles that apply universally to all cultures and traditions. It asserts that there
4185-537: Is found in Jainism , which has non-violence as its principal virtue. Duty is a central aspect of Hindu ethics and is about fulfilling social obligations, which may vary depending on a person's social class and stage of life . Confucianism places great emphasis on harmony in society and sees benevolence as a key virtue. Taoism extends the importance of living in harmony to the whole world and teaches that people should practice effortless action by following
Abhidharma - Misplaced Pages Continue
4320-538: 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 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 intentional and hence accompanied by various mental factors (cetasikas), in
4455-736: Is no one coherent ethical code since morality itself is irrational and humans are morally ambivalent beings. Postmodern ethics instead focuses on how moral demands arise in specific situations as one encounters other people. Ethical egoism is the view that people should act in their self-interest or that an action is morally right if the person acts for their own benefit. It differs from psychological egoism , which states that people actually follow their self-interest without claiming that they should do so. Ethical egoists may act in agreement with commonly accepted moral expectations and benefit other people, for example, by keeping promises, helping friends, and cooperating with others. However, they do so only as
4590-651: Is not interested in which actions are right but in what it means for an action to be right and whether moral judgments are objective and can be true at all. It further examines the meaning of morality and other moral terms. Metaethics is a metatheory that operates on a higher level of abstraction than normative ethics by investigating its underlying assumptions. Metaethical theories typically do not directly judge which normative ethical theories are correct. However, metaethical theories can still influence normative theories by examining their foundational principles. Metaethics overlaps with various branches of philosophy. On
4725-428: Is 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." The Visuddhimagga of Buddhaghosa , 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
4860-446: Is one of the earliest forms of consequentialism. It arose in the 5th century BCE and argued that political action should promote justice as a means to increase the welfare of the people. The most well-known form of consequentialism is utilitarianism. In its classical form, it is an act consequentialism that sees happiness as the only source of intrinsic value. This means that an act is morally right if it produces "the greatest good for
4995-428: Is one of the main branches of philosophy and investigates the nature of morality and the principles that govern the moral evaluation of conduct , character traits , and institutions . It examines what obligations people have, what behavior is right and wrong, and how to lead a good life. Some of its key questions are "How should one live?" and "What gives meaning to life ?". In contemporary philosophy, ethics
5130-422: Is primarily concerned with normative statements about what ought to be the case, in contrast to descriptive statements , which are about what is the case. Duties and obligations express requirements of what people ought to do. Duties are sometimes defined as counterparts of the rights that always accompany them. According to this view, someone has a duty to benefit another person if this other person has
5265-438: Is right if it follows a certain set of rules. Rule consequentialism determines the best rules by considering their outcomes at a community level. People should follow the rules that lead to the best consequences when everyone in the community follows them. This implies that the relation between an act and its consequences is indirect. For example, if telling the truth is one of the best rules, then according to rule consequentialism,
5400-434: Is that codes of conduct in specific areas, such as business and environment, are usually termed ethics rather than morality, as in business ethics and environmental ethics . Normative ethics is the philosophical study of ethical conduct and investigates the fundamental principles of morality . It aims to discover and justify general answers to questions like "How should one live?" and "How should people act?", usually in
5535-688: Is the Madhyama-āgama ("Discourse on Explaining the Spheres", MĀ 86) which includes a list of thirty one topics to be taught to newly ordained monastics . The last sutra of the Madhyama-āgama (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 dependent arising . These two do not have any parallels in Pali. According to Analayo, another important doctrinal list which appears in
Abhidharma - Misplaced Pages Continue
5670-519: Is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy , it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics , applied ethics , and metaethics . Normative ethics aims to find general principles that govern how people should act. Applied ethics examines concrete ethical problems in real-life situations, such as abortion , treatment of animals , and business practices . Metaethics explores
5805-451: 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 dhammas (Pali: dhammas ). This concept has been variously translated as "factors" (Collett Cox), "psychic characteristics" (Bronkhorst), "phenomena" (Nyanaponika) and "psycho-physical events" (Ronkin). The early Buddhist scriptures give various lists of
5940-422: Is the only thing with intrinsic value is called ethical or evaluative hedonism . Classical utilitarianism was initially formulated by Jeremy Bentham at the end of the 18th century and further developed by John Stuart Mill . Bentham introduced the hedonic calculus to assess the value of consequences. Two key aspects of the hedonic calculus are the intensity and the duration of pleasure. According to this view,
6075-437: Is to have a good will. A person has a good will if they respect the moral law and form their intentions and motives in agreement with it. Kant states that actions motivated in such a way are unconditionally good, meaning that they are good even in cases where they result in undesirable consequences. Divine command theory says that God is the source of morality. It states that moral laws are divine commands and that to act morally
6210-489: Is to obey and follow God's will . While all divine command theorists agree that morality depends on God, there are disagreements about the precise content of the divine commands, and theorists belonging to different religions tend to propose different moral laws. For example, Christian and Jewish divine command theorists may argue that the Ten Commandments express God's will while Muslims may reserve this role for
6345-552: 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 Mahavibhasa 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." Svabhava in
6480-411: Is usually divided into normative ethics , applied ethics , and metaethics . Morality is about what people ought to do rather than what they actually do, what they want to do, or what social conventions require. As a rational and systematic field of inquiry, ethics studies practical reasons why people should act one way rather than another. Most ethical theories seek universal principles that express
6615-421: Is wrong to break a promise even if no harm comes from it. Deontologists are interested in which actions are right and often allow that there is a gap between what is right and what is good. Many focus on prohibitions and describe which acts are forbidden under any circumstances. Agent-centered deontological theories focus on the person who acts and the duties they have. Agent-centered theories often focus on
6750-399: Is wrong. This observation is sometimes taken as an argument against moral realism since moral disagreement is widespread in most fields. Moral relativists reject the idea that morality is an objective feature of reality. They argue instead that moral principles are human inventions. This means that a behavior is not objectively right or wrong but only subjectively right or wrong relative to
6885-667: The Ancient Greek word êthos ( ἦθος ), meaning ' character ' and ' personal disposition ' . This word gave rise to the Ancient Greek word ēthikós ( ἠθικός ), which was translated into Latin as ethica and entered the English language in the 15th century through the Old French term éthique . The term morality originates in the Latin word moralis , meaning ' manners ' and ' character ' . It
SECTION 50
#17327647717127020-621: The Buddhist doctrine . 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 mātṛkās were combined with each other to produce new ones, and new concepts and schemas were introduced, such as
7155-743: The Chinese Canon and also in Sanskrit fragments, such as the Śāriputra Abhidharma Śāstra of the Dharmaguptaka school and various texts from the Pudgalavāda tradition . These different traditions have some similarities, suggesting either interaction between groups or some common ground antedating the separation of the schools. In the Theravāda tradition it was held that the Abhidhamma
7290-667: The Dīgha Nikāya , as well as the Saṅgīti Sūtra and Daśottara Sūtra of the Dīrgha Āgama . 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 Aṅguttara Nikāya (AN 3.25, AN 4.87–90, AN 9.42–51) illustrates an Abhidharma method. Another text which contains a similar list that acts as a doctrinal summary
7425-551: The Mahāgopālaka-sutta (and its Sanskrit parallel) which says that a learned monk is one who knows the Dharma, Vinaya, and the mātṛkās. Western scholars of Buddhist studies such as André Migot , Edward J. Thomas , Erich Frauwallner , Rupert Gethin , and Johannes Bronkhorst have argued that the Abhidharma was based on early and ancient lists of doctrinal terms which are called mātikās (Sanskrit: mātṛkā ). Migot points to
7560-1202: The Mahāsāṃghika school seems not to have accepted them as part of their Buddhist canon. Another school included most of the Khuddaka Nikāya within the Abhidhamma Piṭaka . After the closing of the foundational Buddhist canons , Abhidharma texts continued to be composed, but now they were either commentaries on the canonical texts (like the Pāli Aṭṭhakathās and the Mahāvibhāṣa ), or independent treatises ( śāstra ) 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
7695-685: The New York and New Jersey area. He was appointed the second president of the Buddhist Publication Society and has edited and authored several publications grounded in the Theravada Buddhist tradition. In 1944, Block was born in Brooklyn , New York, to Jewish parents. He grew up in Borough Park , where he attended elementary school P.S. 160. In 1966, he obtained a B.A. in philosophy from Brooklyn College . In 1972, he obtained
7830-521: The Sarvāstivāda school, the Saṅgītiparyāya , which is effectively a commentary on the sūtra. Frauwallner notes that basic fundamental concepts such as the 12 āyatanāni , the 18 dhatāvah , and the 5 skandhāh often occur as a group in the early Buddhist texts . He also points out another such list that occurs in various texts "comprises several groups of elements of import for entanglement in
7965-459: The Sarvāstivādin and Theravādin schools. These differences are much more pronounced than among the other canonical collections ( Sūtras , Āgama , and Vinaya ). 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
8100-609: The early Buddhist schools . 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 Xuanzang could reportedly collect Abhidharma texts from seven different Buddhist traditions . These various Abhidharma works were not accepted by all Indian Buddhist schools as canonical; for example,
8235-402: The medieval period , ethical thought was strongly influenced by religious teachings. In the modern period , this focus shifted to a more secular approach concerned with moral experience, reasons for acting , and the consequences of actions. An influential development in the 20th century was the emergence of metaethics. Ethics, also called moral philosophy, is the study of moral phenomena. It
SECTION 60
#17327647717128370-532: The 20th century, virtue ethics experienced a resurgence thanks to philosophers such as Elizabeth Anscombe , Philippa Foot , Alasdair MacIntyre , and Martha Nussbaum . There are many other schools of normative ethics in addition to the three main traditions. Pragmatist ethics focuses on the role of practice and holds that one of the key tasks of ethics is to solve practical problems in concrete situations. It has certain similarities to utilitarianism and its focus on consequences but concentrates more on how morality
8505-404: The 20th century, when the term was coined by G. E. M. Anscombe . Consequentialists usually understand the consequences of an action in a very wide sense that includes the totality of its effects. This is based on the idea that actions make a difference in the world by bringing about a causal chain of events that would not have existed otherwise. A core intuition behind consequentialism is that
8640-403: The Abhidharma to be the pure and literal ( nippariyaya ) description of ultimate truth ( paramattha sacca ) and an expression of perfect spiritual wisdom ( prajñā ), while the sutras were considered 'conventional' ( sammuti ) and figurative ( pariyaya ) teachings, given by Gautama Buddha to specific people, at specific times, depending on specific worldly circumstances. They held that Abhidharma
8775-489: The Abhidharma, and hence the way of enlightened persons like the Buddha, who have developed the true insight ( vipassana ), sees reality as the constant stream of collections of dharmas, and this way of seeing the world is ultimate truth (paramārtha-satya). As the Indian Buddhist Vasubandhu writes: "Anything the idea of which does not occur upon division or upon mental analysis, such as an object like
8910-453: 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. The Sautrāntika school ('those who rely on the sutras') rejected the status of the Abhidharma as being Buddhavacana (word of the Buddha), they held it
9045-464: 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 mātṛkā , and it was from these lists that the Abhidharma later developed. The extensive use of mātṛkā can be found in some early Buddhist texts , including the Saṅgīti Sutta and Dasuttara Sutta of
9180-676: The Theravāda school, while the Abhidharmakośa (4–5th century CE) of Vasubandhu remains the primary source for Abhidharma studies in both Indo - Tibetan Buddhism and East Asian Buddhism . In the modern era, only the Abhidharma texts of the Sarvāstivādins and the Theravādins have survived as complete collections, each consisting of seven books with accompanying commentarial literature. A small number of other Abhidharma texts are preserved in
9315-556: The U.S. After living at Bodhi Monastery ( Lafayette Township, New Jersey ), he now lives and teaches at Chuang Yen Monastery ( Carmel, New York ), and as of May 2013 he has been the president of the Buddhist Association of the United States. Bhikkhu Bodhi is founder of Buddhist Global Relief , an organization that funds projects to fight hunger and empower women across the world. Ethics Ethics
9450-430: The actual consequences but the expected consequences. This view takes into account that when deciding what to do, people have to rely on their limited knowledge of the total consequences of their actions. According to this view, a course of action has positive moral value despite leading to an overall negative outcome if it had the highest expected value , for example, because the negative outcome could not be anticipated or
9585-529: The agent. It is controversial whether agent-relative moral theories, like ethical egoism , should be considered as types of consequentialism. There are many different types of consequentialism. They differ based on what type of entity they evaluate, what consequences they take into consideration, and how they determine the value of consequences. Most theories assess the moral value of acts. However, consequentialism can also be used to evaluate motives , character traits , rules, and policies . Many types assess
9720-570: The basic assumptions underlying moral claims are misguided. Some moral nihilists conclude from this that anything is allowed. A slightly different view emphasizes that moral nihilism is not itself a moral position about what is allowed and prohibited but the rejection of any moral position. Moral nihilism, like moral relativism, recognizes that people judge actions as right or wrong from different perspectives. However, it disagrees that this practice involves morality and sees it as just one type of human behavior. A central disagreement among moral realists
9855-417: The best action for someone with a good salary would be to donate 70% of their income to charity, it would be morally wrong for them to only donate 65%. Satisficing consequentialism, by contrast, only requires that an act is "good enough" even if it is not the best possible alternative. According to this view, it is possible to do more than one is morally required to do. Mohism in ancient Chinese philosophy
9990-417: The canonical Abhidharma texts emerged after the time of Gautama Buddha , 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 later Buddhist thinkers . Peter Skilling describes the Abhidharma literature as "the end-product of several centuries of intellectual endeavor". The Vinaya accounts on
10125-602: The canonical Abhidharma. Abhidharma remains an important field of scholarship among the Theravāda , Mahāyāna , and Vajrayāna schools of Buddhism . The Belgian Indologist Étienne Lamotte 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 Theravādin and Sarvāstivādin Abhidharmikas generally considered
10260-482: The commentaries gained canonical status. Thus, according to Analayo: 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 Abhidharma and the Vinaya, whose expositions often take
10395-466: 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." [REDACTED] Religion portal The Abhidharma texts' field of inquiry extends to the entire Buddhadharma , since their goal was to outline, systematize and analyze all of
10530-740: The compilation of the Buddhist Canon following the parinirvāṇa of Gautama Buddha (c. 5th century BCE) offer various and sometimes conflicting narratives regarding the canonical status of Abhidharma. While the Mahāsāṅghika Vinaya does not speak of an Abhidharma apart from the Sūtra Piṭaka and the Vinaya Piṭaka , the Mahīśāsaka , Theravāda , Dharmaguptaka , and Sarvāstivāda Vinayas all provide different accounts which mention that there
10665-421: The consequences. A related approach is to characterize consequentialism not in terms of consequences but in terms of outcome, with the outcome being defined as the act together with its consequences. Most forms of consequentialism are agent-neutral. This means that the value of consequences is assessed from a neutral perspective, that is, acts should have consequences that are good in general and not just good for
10800-462: The constituents of the person such as the five skandhas, the six or 18 dhatus , and the twelve sense bases . 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. The conventional reality of substantial objects and persons
10935-520: The cycle of existence" and was modeled on the Oghavagga of the Samyuttanikaya . 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 . Another related early method is called the mātṛkā ("attribute"), and refers to lists of terms divided by
11070-443: 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 between the Saṅgīti Sūtra and Abhidharma can be seen in the fact that it became the basis for one of the seven canonical Abhidharma texts belonging to
11205-423: The deficient state of cowardice and the excessive state of recklessness . Aristotle held that virtuous action leads to happiness and makes people flourish in life. Stoicism emerged about 300 BCE and taught that, through virtue alone, people can achieve happiness characterized by a peaceful state of mind free from emotional disturbances. The Stoics advocated rationality and self-mastery to achieve this state. In
11340-432: The different schools were compiled separately and have major differences, they are based on an "ancient core" of common material. Rupert Gethin also writes that the mātikās are from an earlier date than the Abhidharma texts themselves. According to Frauwallner, The oldest Buddhist tradition has no Abhidharmapitaka but only mātṛkā . What this means is that besides the small number of fundamental doctrinal statements,
11475-533: The differentiation of cittas and caitasikās and new ways of connecting or relating the various elements with each other. 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. As time passed, these commentaries and their accompanying lists became inseparable from each other, and
11610-533: The distinctive or main characteristic of a dharma, but rejected the view that they exist in all three times . The Buddhist philosopher Dharmakirti uses the concept of svabhāva, though he interprets it as being based on causal powers. For Dharmakirti, the essential nature (or ‘nature-svabhāva’) is: Bhikkhu Bodhi Bhikkhu Bodhi (born December 10, 1944), born Jeffrey Block , is an American Theravada Buddhist monk ordained in Sri Lanka . He teaches in
11745-409: 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 exegetical texts, then, svabhāva is used as an atemporal, invariable criterion determining what a dharma is, not necessarily that
11880-408: The early Buddhist community 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 early Buddhist schools were substantially different, as can be seen in how different the canonical Abhidharma texts are in
12015-623: The early texts is the "thirty seven qualities that are conducive to awakening" ( bodhipākṣikā dharmāḥ ). This mātṛkā appears in various sūtras, like the Pāsādika-sutta , the Sāmagāma-sutta (and their parallels), and in the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra , where it is said to have been taught by the Buddha just before passing away. Analayo notes that these various lists served a useful purpose in early Buddhism since they served as aids for
12150-408: The experiential world, while the general Sarvastivada tradition eventually enumerated 75 dharma types. For the Abhidharmikas, truth was twofold 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
12285-411: The form of a commentary on a summary list. Therefore, the different Buddhist Abhidharma texts were developed over time as Buddhist monks and philosophers expanded their analytical methods in different ways. Since this happened in different monastic communities located in different regions, they developed in separate doctrinal directions . This divergence was perhaps enhanced by the various schisms in
12420-413: The form of universal or domain-independent principles that determine whether an act is right or wrong. For example, given the particular impression that it is wrong to set a child on fire for fun, normative ethics aims to find more general principles that explain why this is the case, like the principle that one should not cause extreme suffering to the innocent , which may itself be explained in terms of
12555-519: The formation of character . Descriptive ethics describes the dominant moral codes and beliefs in different societies and considers their historical dimension. The history of ethics started in the ancient period with the development of ethical principles and theories in ancient Egypt , India , China , and Greece . This period saw the emergence of ethical teachings associated with Hinduism , Buddhism , Confucianism , Daoism , and contributions of philosophers like Socrates and Aristotle . During
12690-405: The future should be shaped to achieve the best possible outcome. The act itself is usually not seen as part of the consequences. This means that if an act has intrinsic value or disvalue, it is not included as a factor. Some consequentialists see this as a flaw, saying that all value-relevant factors need to be considered. They try to avoid this complication by including the act itself as part of
12825-429: The greatest number" by increasing happiness and reducing suffering. Utilitarians do not deny that other things also have value, like health, friendship, and knowledge. However, they deny that these things have intrinsic value. Instead, they say that they have extrinsic value because they affect happiness and suffering. In this regard, they are desirable as a means but, unlike happiness, not as an end. The view that pleasure
12960-447: The hand. They are mere states ( dhamma ) occurring due to conditions and void. In this way the characteristic of not-self becomes more evident." The Sarvastivadins saw dharmas as the ultimately 'real entities' (sad-dravya), though they also held that dharmas were dependently originated . 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
13095-421: The human mind and culture rather than as subjective constructs or expressions of personal preferences and cultural norms . Moral realists accept the claim that there are objective moral facts. This view implies that moral values are mind-independent aspects of reality and that there is an absolute fact about whether a given action is right or wrong. A consequence of this view is that moral requirements have
13230-415: The importance of interpersonal relationships and say that benevolence by caring for the well-being of others is one of the key virtues. Influential schools of virtue ethics in ancient philosophy were Aristotelianism and Stoicism . According to Aristotle (384–322 BCE), each virtue is a golden mean between two types of vices: excess and deficiency. For example, courage is a virtue that lies between
13365-411: The intellectual satisfaction of reading a book, are more valuable than lower pleasures, like the sensory enjoyment of food and drink, even if their intensity and duration are the same. Since its original formulation, many variations of utilitarianism have developed, including the difference between act and rule utilitarianism and between maximizing and satisficing utilitarianism. Deontology assesses
13500-609: The level of ontology , it examines whether there are objective moral facts. Concerning semantics , it asks what the meaning of moral terms are and whether moral statements have a truth value . The epistemological side of metaethics discusses whether and how people can acquire moral knowledge. Metaethics overlaps with psychology because of its interest in how moral judgments motivate people to act. It also overlaps with anthropology since it aims to explain how cross-cultural differences affect moral assessments. Metaethics examines basic ethical concepts and their relations. Ethics
13635-488: The major achievements of the classical period of Indian philosophy ." Two interpretations of the term "Abhi-dharma" are common. According to Analayo, the initial meaning of Abhidharma in the earliest texts (such as the Mahāgosiṅga-sutta and its parallels) was simply a discussion concerning the Dharma , or talking about the Dharma. In this sense, abhi has the meaning of "about" or "concerning," and can also be seen in
13770-451: The memorization and teaching of the Buddhist doctrine . The use of lists containing doctrinal statements can similarly be seen in Jain literature . 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 Saṅgīti Sūtra and its various parallels, which mention how the Jain community became divided over doctrinal matters after
13905-584: The mention of a " Mātṛkā Piṭaka" in the Cullavagga as the precursor to the canonical Abhidharma . Migot argues that this Mātṛkā Piṭaka , said to have been recited by Mahākāśyapa at the First Council according to the Ashokavadana , likely began as a condensed version of the Buddhist doctrine that was expanded over time. Thomas and Frauwallner both argue that while the Abhidharma texts of
14040-569: The moral rightness of actions based on a set of norms or principles. These norms describe the requirements that all actions need to follow. They may include principles like telling the truth, keeping promises , and not intentionally harming others. Unlike consequentialists, deontologists hold that the validity of general moral principles does not directly depend on their consequences. They state that these principles should be followed in every case since they express how actions are inherently right or wrong. According to moral philosopher David Ross , it
14175-477: The moral value of acts only depends on the pleasure and suffering they cause. An alternative approach says that there are many different sources of value, which all contribute to one overall value. Before the 20th century, consequentialists were only concerned with the total of value or the aggregate good. In the 20th century, alternative views were developed that additionally consider the distribution of value. One of them states that an equal distribution of goods
14310-431: The motives and intentions behind people's actions, highlighting the importance of acting for the right reasons. They tend to be agent-relative, meaning that the reasons for which people should act depend on personal circumstances. For example, a parent has a special obligation to their child, while a stranger does not have this kind of obligation toward a child they do not know. Patient-centered theories, by contrast, focus on
14445-476: The natural flow of the universe . Indigenous belief systems, like Native American philosophy and the African Ubuntu philosophy , often emphasize the interconnectedness of all living beings and the environment while stressing the importance of living in harmony with nature. Metaethics is the branch of ethics that examines the nature, foundations, and scope of moral judgments , concepts, and values. It
14580-410: 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 ( saṃgraha ) all main terms into the schema of the 12 āyatanāni, the 18 dhatāvah , and the 5 skandhāh . Over time, the initial scholastic method of listing and categorizing terms was expanded in order to provide a complete and comprehensive systematization of
14715-480: The parallel term abhivinaya (which just means discussions about the vinaya). The other interpretation, where abhi is interpreted as meaning "higher" or "superior", and thus Abhidharma means "higher teaching", seems to have been a later development. Some Western scholars have considered the Abhidharma to be the core of what is referred to as " Buddhism and psychology ". Other scholars on the topic, such as Nyanaponika Thera and Dan Lusthaus , describe Abhidharma as
14850-430: The people affected by actions and the rights they have. An example is the requirement to treat other people as ends and not merely as a means to an end. This requirement can be used to argue, for example, that it is wrong to kill a person against their will even if this act would save the lives of several others. Patient-centered deontological theories are usually agent-neutral, meaning that they apply equally to everyone in
14985-440: The person possesses and exercises certain capacities or some form of control . If a person is morally responsible then it is appropriate to respond to them in certain ways, for example, by praising or blaming them. A major debate in metaethics is about the ontological status of morality, questioning whether ethical values and principles are real. It examines whether moral properties exist as objective features independent of
15120-411: The person would want everyone to follow the same maxim as a universal law applicable to everyone. Another formulation states that one should treat other people always as ends in themselves and never as mere means to an end. This formulation focuses on respecting and valuing other people for their own sake rather than using them in the pursuit of personal goals. In either case, Kant says that what matters
15255-476: The person, or temporal eternalism ). Thus, according to Frauwallner, the different Abhidharma canons contained collections of doctrines which were sometimes unrelated to each other and sometimes contradictory. These different Abhidharmic theories were (together with differences in Vinaya ) some of the various causes for the splits in the monastic Saṃgha , which resulted in the fragmented early Buddhist landscape of
15390-575: The person. The Paramatthamañjusa Visuddhimaggatika of Acariya Dhammapala , a later Theravada commentary on the Visuddhimagga , 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: "when they are seen after resolving them by means of knowledge into these elements, they disintegrate like froth subjected to compression by
15525-479: The practice of selfless love , such as the Great Commandment to "Love your neighbor as yourself". The Five Pillars of Islam constitute a basic framework of Muslim ethics and focus on the practice of faith , prayer , charity , fasting during Ramadan , and pilgrimage to Mecca . Buddhists emphasize the importance of compassion and loving-kindness towards all sentient entities. A similar outlook
15660-468: The right to receive that benefit. Obligation and permission are contrasting terms that can be defined through each other: to be obligated to do something means that one is not permitted not to do it and to be permitted to do something means that one is not obligated not to do it. Some theorists define obligations in terms of values or what is good . When used in a general sense, good contrasts with bad . When describing people and their intentions,
15795-417: The same course of action but provide different justifications for why it is right. Consequentialism, also called teleological ethics, says that morality depends on consequences. According to the most common view, an act is right if it brings the best future. This means that there is no alternative course of action that has better consequences. A key aspect of consequentialist theories is that they provide
15930-401: The same ontological status as non-moral facts: it is an objective fact whether there is an obligation to keep a promise just as it is an objective fact whether a thing is rectangular. Moral realism is often associated with the claim that there are universal ethical principles that apply equally to everyone. It implies that if two people disagree about a moral evaluation then at least one of them
16065-423: The same time required to justify them using rational argumentation. The main concern of virtue ethics is how virtues are expressed in actions. As such, it is neither directly interested in the consequences of actions nor in universal moral duties. Virtues are positive character traits like honesty , courage , kindness , and compassion . They are usually understood as dispositions to feel, decide, and act in
16200-409: The structure of practical reason and are true for all rational agents. According to Kant, to act morally is to act in agreement with reason as expressed by these principles while violating them is both immoral and irrational. Kant provided several formulations of the categorical imperative. One formulation says that a person should only follow maxims that can be universalized . This means that
16335-595: The teachings of the Quran . Contractualists reject the reference to God as the source of morality and argue instead that morality is based on an explicit or implicit social contract between humans. They state that actual or hypothetical consent to this contract is the source of moral norms and duties. To determine which duties people have, contractualists often rely on a thought experiment about what rational people under ideal circumstances would agree on. For example, if they would agree that people should not lie then there
16470-408: 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 early Buddhist schools . The "base upon which the entire [Abhidhamma] system rests"
16605-455: The term evil rather than bad is often employed. Obligations are used to assess the moral status of actions, motives , and character traits . An action is morally right if it is in tune with a person's obligations and morally wrong if it violates them. Supererogation is a special moral status that applies to cases in which the agent does more than is morally required of them. To be morally responsible for an action usually means that
16740-665: The term svabhāva (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,’ [namely], 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
16875-450: The truth and keeping promises. Virtue ethics sees the manifestation of virtues , like courage and compassion , as the fundamental principle of morality. Ethics is closely connected to value theory , which studies the nature and types of value , like the contrast between intrinsic and instrumental value . Moral psychology is a related empirical field and investigates psychological processes involved in morality, such as reasoning and
17010-444: The underlying assumptions and concepts of ethics. It asks whether there are objective moral facts, how moral knowledge is possible, and how moral judgments motivate people. Influential normative theories are consequentialism , deontology , and virtue ethics . According to consequentialists, an act is right if it leads to the best consequences. Deontologists focus on acts themselves, saying that they must adhere to duties , like telling
17145-399: The value of consequences based on whether they promote happiness or suffering. But there are also alternative evaluative principles, such as desire satisfaction, autonomy , freedom , knowledge , friendship , beauty , and self-perfection. Some forms of consequentialism hold that there is only a single source of value . The most prominent among them is utilitarianism , which states that
17280-406: The various canonical Abhidharma texts. 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 Buddhaghosa (5th century CE), particularly the Visuddhimagga , remains the main reference work of
17415-610: Was held to be extremely important, the Sarvastivada Mahavibhasa states "Abhidharma is [precisely] the analysis of the svalaksana and samanya-laksana of dharmas". According to Peter Harvey, the Theravadin view of dharmas was that "'They are dhammas because they uphold their own nature [sabhaava]. 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
17550-555: Was introduced into the English language during the Middle English period through the Old French term moralité . The terms ethics and morality are usually used interchangeably but some philosophers distinguish between the two. According to one view, morality focuses on what moral obligations people have while ethics is broader and includes ideas about what is good and how to lead a meaningful life. Another difference
17685-497: Was not a later addition, but rather was taught in the fourth week of Gautama Buddha '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 Kathavatthu , which contains material relating to later disputes and was held to only have been presented as an outline. According to their tradition, devas built
17820-465: 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 mātṛkā(s)." Analayo thinks that this reflects an early stage, when what later became Abhidharma was called the mātṛkās . The term appears in some sūtras, such as
17955-427: Was taught by the Buddha to his most eminent disciples, and that therefore this justified the inclusion of Abhidharma texts into their scriptural canon . 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, Erich Frauwallner , has said that these Buddhist systems are "among
18090-405: 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,
18225-475: Was unlikely. A further difference is between maximizing and satisficing consequentialism. According to maximizing consequentialism, only the best possible act is morally permitted. This means that acts with positive consequences are wrong if there are alternatives with even better consequences. One criticism of maximizing consequentialism is that it demands too much by requiring that people do significantly more than they are socially expected to. For example, if
#711288