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106-649: The early Buddhist community initially split into two main Nikāyas (monastic groups, divisions), the Sthavira ("Elders"), and the Mahāsāṃghika ("Great Community"). This initial split occurred either during the reign of Aśoka (c. 268-232 BCE) or shortly after (historians disagree on the matter). Later, these groups became further divided on doctrinal grounds into numerous schools of thought and practice (with their own monastic rules and doctrinal Abhidharma texts). Some of

212-455: A "council". The Sthavira school had, by the time of Aśoka, divided into three sub-schools, doctrinally speaking, but these did not become separate monastic orders until later. Only two ancient sources (the Dīpavaṃsa and Bhavya's third list) place the first schism before Aśoka, and none attribute the schism to a dispute on Vinaya practice. Lamotte and Hirakawa both maintain that the first schism in

318-465: A "merely conceptualized" ( parikappa-siddha ) "product of the mind's synthesizing function", and "exists only by virtue of conceptual thought." There are two kinds of mutually interdependent conceptualizations: Names can be assigned to everything, including dhammas, however, unlike with everyday objects, names given to dhammas do not have a corresponding attha - paññatti, because dhammas are "profound." According to Karunadasa, " what this seems to mean

424-483: A basic framework, and not all of the early schools developed an Abhidhamma literature. Theravādin sources state that, in the 3rd century BCE, a third council was convened under the patronage of Aśoka. Some scholars argue that there are certain implausible features of the Theravādin account which imply that the third council was ahistorical. The remainder consider it a purely Theravāda- Vibhajjavāda council. According to

530-570: A considerable amount of the canonical literature of some of these schools has survived, mainly in Chinese translation. Moreover, the origins of specifically Mahāyāna doctrines may be discerned in the teachings of some of these early schools, in particular in the Mahāsānghika and the Sarvāstivāda. The schools sometimes split over ideological differences concerning the "real" meaning of teachings in

636-412: A denomination, the assigning of a name, an interpretation, a distinctive mark of discourse on this or that dhamma." The pali commentary adds that this means "the process of predicating", and that things such as "I", "mine", "another", "a person", "a monastery" and "a chair" are all predications. These conceptual designations depend on the mind and are not themselves the dhammas, the ultimate realities, that

742-453: A fuller ontological account of nibbāna. The Theravada position is first found in the Dhammasaṅgaṇī , which describes nibbāna as the unconditioned element ( asankhata-dhatu ), completely outside of the five aggregates. It is a dhamma which "is neither skilful nor unskilful, associated neither with feeling nor with cognition, neither resultant nor giving result, does not require any object,

848-561: A living tradition in Theravāda nations today and modern Abhidhamma works continue to be written in modern languages such as Burmese and Sinhala . Abhidhamma studies are particularly stressed in Myanmar , where it has been the primary subject of study since around the 17th century. One of the most important figures in modern Myanmar Buddhism , Ledi Sayadaw (1846–1923), was well known for his writings on Abhidhamma (especially his commentary on

954-757: A number of Abhidhamma type texts not found in the Abhidhamma Piṭaka. One of these is the Paṭisambhidāmagga . Others include the Niddessa , the Nettipakaraṇa and the Peṭakopadesa . The Sri Lankan branch of the Theravāda school later developed further Abhidhamma texts, including commentaries ( Aṭṭhakathā ) on the books of the Abhidhamma and special introductory manuals. Major commentaries include

1060-477: A plurality of conditions gives rise to a plurality of effects. Applied to the dhamma theory this means that a multiplicity of dhammas brings about a multiplicity of other dhammas." According to the Atthasalini : "Dhammas bear their own particular natures ( sabhāva ). Alternatively, dhammas are borne by conditions, or according to particular natures." The use of the term sabhāva (own nature, own being) in

1166-544: A scholastic systematization of the Theravāda school's understanding of the highest Buddhist teachings ( Abhidhamma ). These teachings are traditionally believed to have been taught by the Buddha , though modern scholars date the texts of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka to the 3rd century BCE. Theravāda traditionally sees itself as the vibhajjavāda ("the teaching of analysis"), which reflects the analytical ( vibhajjati ) method used by

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1272-536: A self ( attā ) and conditioned. This is spelled out in the Patisambhidhamagga , which states that dhammas are empty of sabhāva ( sabhavena suññam ). According to Ronkin, the canonical Pāli Abhidhamma remains pragmatic and psychological, and "does not take much interest in ontology " in contrast with the Sarvastivada tradition. Paul Williams also notes that the Abhidhamma remains focused on

1378-405: A substantial mode of being, since dhammas are not permanent, or totally discrete entities. They are always in dependently conditioned relationships with other dhammas and always changing. Therefore, it is only for the sake of description that they are said to have their "own nature" ( sabhāva ). According to Karunadasa, this usage of sabhāva is only of provisional validity, "an attribution made for

1484-480: Is analyzable further due to being dependent on the mind's synthesizing function (i.e. paññatti ), that explanation is sammuti-sacca (truth by convention), which exists in a relative or conventional sense due to mental conception ( attha-paññatti ) and linguistic construction ( nama-paññatti ). However, even these ultimate components (i.e. dhammas ) are dependently originated , "necessarily co-existent and positionally inseparable ( padesato avinibhoga )". Unlike in

1590-477: Is "only for the purposes of description" that they are postulated. They are also said to be not-self ( anatta ) and thus empty ( suññā ). After all, dhammas are interconnected and interdependent in various relationships. Thus, the Pali Abhidhamma is not a type of pluralism, since it relies on both analysis ( bheda ) and synthesis ( sangaha ). According to Karunadasa, this "has enabled it to transcend

1696-672: Is a Pāli word meaning "volume". It is often used like the Sanskrit word āgama ( आगम ) to mean "collection", "assemblage", "class" or "group" in both Pāḷi and Sanskrit. It is most commonly used in reference to the Pali Buddhist texts of the Tripitaka namely those found in the Sutta Piṭaka . It is also used to refer to monastic lineages, where it is sometimes translated as a 'monastic fraternity'. The term Nikāya Buddhism

1802-553: Is a doctrinal innovation of the Abhidhamma, but it has its origins in some statements from the early Pāli Nikayas . This can mainly be seen in the distinction made in the Aṅguttara-nikāya between statements (not truths) that are nītattha (explicit, definitive) and neyyattha (requiring further explanation). Karunadasa notes that in the Nikayas, "no preferential value judgment is made between nītattha and neyyattha . All that

1908-405: Is absolutely no implication here that one dialect is either higher or lower than another." The suttas do not define the nature of nibbāna in a technical and philosophical sense, but focus on explaining it psychologically and through metaphor as the 'blowing out' of greed, hatred and delusion and remain ambiguous about its metaphysical status. The various Abhidharma systems attempted to provide

2014-514: Is also used as the term for a monastic division or lineage; these groupings are also sometimes called "monastic fraternities" or "frateries". Nikāyas may emerge among monastic groupings as a result of royal or government patronage (such as the Dhammayuttika Nikāya of Thailand), due to the national origin of their ordination lineage (the Siam Nikāya of Sri Lanka ), because of differences in

2120-521: Is because it is uncreated ( appabhava ) that it is free from ageing and death. It is because of the absence of its creation and of its ageing and death that it is permanent. He argues against the view that nibbana is unreal or non-existent and quotes a famous verse found in the Itivuttaka and the Udana which states "There is an unborn, an unbecome, an unmade, an unconditioned..." Thus, the commentary to

2226-602: Is believed (in Theravadin culture) that the Abhidhamma was taught by Buddha to his late mother who was living in Tavatimsa heaven. However, this is rejected by scholars, who believe that only small parts of the Abhidhamma literature may have been existent in a very early form. The Sarvastivadins also rejected this idea, and instead held that the Abhidharma was collected, edited, and compiled by the elders (sthaviras) after

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2332-409: Is called consensual reality, and the second is called paramattha because it represents the absolute truth or ultimate reality. Therefore, in Abhidhamma, when a situation is explained in terms of what cannot be empirically analyzed further into smaller components with different characteristics ( lakkhana ) that explanation is paramattha-sacca (ultimate truth), and when it is explained in terms of what

2438-537: Is emphasized is that the two kinds of statement should not be confused." Another early source of this doctrine is the Saṅgīti-sutta of the Dīgha-nikāya , which lists four kinds of knowledge: (a) the direct knowledge of the doctrine ( dhamme ñāna ), (b) the inductive knowledge of the doctrine ( anvaye ñana ), (c) knowledge of analysis ( paricchede ñana ), and knowledge of (linguistic) conventions ( sammuti-ñana ). In

2544-441: Is not classified as past, present or future." Though it is not accessible by discursive or conceptual thought, it is a dhamma that can be cognized or attained by the mind. The Theravāda commentarial literature also further developed their view of nibbāna , where it is seen as a real dhamma with a specific own nature or characteristic as well as being completely devoid of any conditioned characteristic. According to Buddhaghosa: "it

2650-586: Is sometimes used in contemporary scholarship to refer to the Buddhism of the early Buddhist schools . In the Pāli Canon , particularly, the "Discourse Basket" or Sutta Piṭaka , the meaning of nikāya is roughly equivalent to the English collection and is used to describe groupings of discourses according to theme, length, or other categories. For example, the Sutta Piṭaka is broken up into five nikāyas: In

2756-761: Is superior or inferior to the other. Nor do they represent two parallel truths. Because of this, in Abhidhamma, even paramattha-sacca is explained through concepts, though the ultimate itself is not a product of the mind's conceptual function ( paññatti ), it cannot be explained without the medium of paññatti . Furthermore, according to Tse Fu Kuan, the Dhammasaṅgaṇi , "does not appear to uphold that dhammas are ultimate realities as against conventional constructs like persons." This text also states that “all dhammas are ways of designation ( paññatti )”, that “all dhammas are ways of interpretation ( nirutti )” and that “all dhammas are ways of expression ( adhivacana )”. Therefore,

2862-435: Is that objects of conceptual thought like tables and chairs are easily recognizable, whereas the dhammas are difficult to be grasped." It is only in deep meditation that one is said to transcend conceptuality and gain direct insight into the dhammas themselves, seeing them as empty ( suñña ) and impersonal ( nissatta, nijjīva ). It is not only everyday objects that are conceptual, but also persons ( pudgala ), time ( kala ), and

2968-549: Is the central theory or cornerstone of the Pāli Abhidhamma . According to various scholars of Abhidhamma, the main point of this theory is to provide a useful schema for meditative contemplation and insight into the nature of phenomena. "Dhammā" has been translated as "factors" (Collett Cox), "psychic characteristics" (Bronkhorst), "psycho-physical events" (Noa Ronkin) and "phenomena" ( Nyanaponika Thera ). Noa Ronkin defines dhammas as "the constituents of sentient experience;

3074-499: Is to say, they are not the ultimate truth ( paramattha ). Together, the conceptual and the ultimate reality constitute the whole of the knowable ( ñeyya-dhamma ). Paññattis are seen as without sabhāva ( asabhāva ), are "distinct from both mind and matter," do not arise and fall like dhammas do and "are not brought about by conditions", are “not positively produced” ( aparinipphanna ) and are neither conditioned ( sankhata ) nor unconditioned ( asankhata ). In Abhidhamma, paññattis are

3180-406: Is unconditioned. These dhammas are divided into four main categories: Since no dhamma exists independently, every single dhamma of consciousness, known as a citta, arises associated ( sampayutta ) with at least seven mental factors ( cetasikas ). In Abhidhamma, all awareness events are thus seen as being characterized by intentionality (aboutness, direction) and never exist in isolation. From

3286-500: Is what allows us to say that the individual characteristic of the earth element is solidity. This is contrast to "universal characteristics" of all dhammas ( sāmanna-lakkhaņa ), which are those features all dhammas share. Thus, while in Theravāda Abhidhamma, dhammas are the ultimate constituents of experience, they are not seen as substances ( attena ), essences or independent particulars, since they are empty ( suñña ) of

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3392-1074: The Abhidhamma Pitaka s (collectively known as the " Tripiṭaka "), was taken to Sri Lanka by Emperor Aśoka's son, the Venerable Mahinda . There it was eventually committed to writing in the Pali language. The Pāli Canon remains the most complete set of surviving Nikāya scriptures, although the greater part of the Sarvāstivādin canon also survives in Chinese translation , some parts exist in Tibetan translations, and some fragments exist in Sanskrit manuscripts, while parts of various canons (sometimes unidentified), exist in Chinese and fragments in other Indian dialects as in Gāndhārī . Around

3498-599: The Atthasālinī (a commentary on the Dhammasaṅgaṇī ), the Sammohavinodanī (a Vibhaṅga commentary) and the Pañcappakaṇaraṭṭhakathā, a commentary on the other books of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka . The Sri Lankan tradition also produced practice manuals, such as Vimuttimagga ("Path of Freedom") c. 1st or 2nd century CE. The 5th century scholar Buddhaghosa is one of the most influential Abhidhammika of

3604-456: The Khuddaka Nikāya : The Khuddaka Nikaya can easily be divided into two strata, one being early and the other late. The texts Sutta Nipata , Itivuttaka , Dhammapada , Therigatha ( Theragatha ), Udana , and Jataka tales belong to the early stratum. The texts Khuddakapatha, Vimanavatthu, Petavatthu, Niddesa, Patisambhidamagga, Apadana, Buddhavamsa and Cariyapitaka can be categorized in

3710-714: The Sutta Piṭaka , and sometimes over disagreement concerning the proper observance of vinaya. These ideologies became embedded in large works such as the Abhidhammas and commentaries. Comparison of existing versions of the Suttapiṭaka of various sects shows evidence that ideologies from the Abhidhamma s sometimes found their way back into the Suttapiṭaka s to support the statements made in those Abhidhammas . Some of these developments may be seen as later elaborations on

3816-910: The Abhidhammatthasangaha, called the Paramatthadipanitika ). This commentary, which critiqued an older 12th-century commentary from Sri Lanka (the Abhidhammattha-vibhavini-tika ) led to a lively controversy, as different figures debated on Abhidhamma topics. The books of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka were translated into English in the 20th century and published by the Pāli Text Society . The translators were C. A. F. Rhys Davids ( Dhammasaṅgaṇī , Kathāvatthu ), U Thittila ( Vibhaṅga ), U Narada ( Dhātukathā , Paṭṭhāna ), B.C. Law ( Puggalapaññatti ). [REDACTED] Religion portal In

3922-440: The Buddha taught. Some scholars argue that the first council actually did not take place. The expansion of orally transmitted texts in early Buddhism, and the growing distances between Buddhist communities, fostered specialization and sectarian identification. One or several disputes did occur during Aśoka's reign, involving both doctrinal and disciplinary ( vinaya ) matters, although these may have been too informal to be called

4028-472: The Khuddaka Nikaya within their Abhidharma Pitaka. Also, the Pali version of the Abhidhamma is a strictly Theravada collection, and has little in common with the Abhidhamma works recognized by other Buddhist schools. The various Abhidhamma philosophies of the various early schools disagree on numerous key points and belong to the period of sectarian debates among the schools. The earliest texts of

4134-689: The Pali Canon . Then there are exegetical works which were composed in Sri Lanka in the 5th century. There are also later sub-commentarial works composed in later historical periods. The primary source for the Abhidhamma is the Abhidhamma Piṭaka , a set of seven texts which form the third "basket" of the Theravāda Tipiṭaka (also known as the Pāli Canon ). It is generally accepted by modern scholars that these works began to be composed during

4240-516: The Potthapāda Sutta , where he explains that even though he uses the word "myself" ( atta ), he is not referring to an ultimate essence, only speaking conventionally and that such terms "are names ( samaññā ), expressions ( nirutti ), turns of speech ( vohāra ), and designations ( paññatti ) in common use in the world. And of these the Tathāgata makes use indeed, but is not led astray by them". Also,

4346-783: The Sarvāstivāda , the Dharmaguptakas , the Saṃmitīya , and the Pudgalavādins . The Pudgalavādins were also known as Vatsiputrīyas after their putative founder. Later this group became known as the Sammitīya school after one of its subdivisions. It died out around the 9th or 10th century CE. Nevertheless, during most of the early medieval period, the Sammitīya school was numerically the largest Buddhist group in India, with more followers than all

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4452-815: The Sutta Pitaka, which have been seen as a "proto-abhidhamma" by scholars such as Johannes Bronkhorst and Frauwallner. These suttas include the Saṅgīti Sutta and Dasuttara Sutta , the two last suttas of the Dīgha Nikāya (as well as the Saṅgīti Sūtra and Daśottara Sūtra of the Dīrgha Āgama). Tse fu Kuan also argues that certain sutras of the Aṅguttara Nikāya (AN 3.25, AN 4.87–90, AN 9.42–51) depicts an early Abhidhamma type method. The Khuddaka Nikāya includes

4558-539: The Suttapitaka ). Although the literature of the various Abhidharma Pitakas began as a kind of commentarial supplement upon the earlier teachings in the Suttapitaka , it soon led to new doctrinal and textual developments and became the focus of a new form of scholarly monastic life. The various Abhidharma works were starting to be composed from about 200 years after the passing away of the Buddha. Traditionally, it

4664-584: The Vinaya Pitaka . Early Mahayana came directly from "early Buddhist schools" and was a successor to them. Between the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE, the terms "Mahāyāna" and "Hīnayāna" were first used in writing, in, for example, the Lotus Sutra . The later Mahayana schools may have preserved ideas which were abandoned by the "orthodox" Theravada, such as the Three Bodies doctrine,

4770-570: The Visuddhimagga states that nibbāna is the opposite to all conditioned states. In Theravāda Abhidhamma, nibbāna is seen as totally other than the conditioned existents and as the only unique unconditioned dhamma. Therefore, Theravāda Abhidhamma holds that there is only one singular nibbāna , unlike in Vaibhasika or Mahayana Abhidharma, where there are different types of unconditioned elements and different forms of nibbāna (such as

4876-695: The apratistha or non-abiding nirvana of Mahayana and the unconditioned space element in Vaibhasika). In Early Buddhism , consciousness is a phenomenon that always arises based on conditions (i.e. it is dependently originated ) and it also never arises by itself, but is always found in relationship with the other four aggregates of personality. Likewise, it is also said to be mutually dependent on and arise together with "name and form" ( nama-rupa ) . Name refers to feeling ( vedanā ), perception ( saññā ), volition ( cetanā ), sense-impression ( phassa ) , and attention ( manasikāra ), while form refers to

4982-459: The parinirvana of Gautama Buddha , a council was held at Rajagaha Rajgir ) by some of his disciples who had attained arahantship , presided over by Mahākāśyapa , one of his most senior disciples, and with the support of king Ajātasattu , reciting the teachings of the Buddha. The accounts of the council in the scriptures of the schools differ as to what was actually recited there. Purāṇa is recorded as having said: "Your reverences, well chanted by

5088-466: The 3rd century BCE. They therefore cannot be the direct work of the Buddha himself, but of later disciples and scholars. However, according to some scholars like Rupert Gethin , it is possible that some elements found in Abhidhamma, such as the mātikās (lists, matrices of doctrinal terms) are from an earlier date than the books themselves. This has been studied by Erich Frauwallner , who argues that there are kernels of early pre-sectarian material in

5194-413: The Abhidhamma perspective, there are really only dhammas and their relations. If this is so, how can one explain common sense reality, the everyday world? To answer this, Ābhidhammikas resorted to the nominalist theory of paññatti (concepts, designations) as a way to explain such basic universal categories as unity, identity, time and space. The Buddha made use of this term in the suttas, as can be seen in

5300-522: The Adhidhammas of the various schools, according to some scholars, was that Buddha left no clear statement about the ontological status of the world – about what really exists. Subsequently, later Buddhists have themselves defined what exists and what not (in the Abhidhammic scriptures), leading to disagreements. Oliver Abeynayake has the following to say on the dating of the various books in

5406-670: The Apara and Uttara (Purva) Saila. Warder says that these were the early Buddhist schools as of circa 50 BCE, about the same time that the Pali Canon was first committed to writing and the presumptive origin date of the Theravada sect, though the term 'Theravada' was not used before the fourth century CE. A hypothetical combined list would be as follows: The classic sets of ten, six or four paramitas (perfections) were codified and developed by these various schools in later sources. Though

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5512-407: The Buddha and early Buddhists to investigate the nature of the person and other phenomena. According to Bhikkhu Bodhi , a modern Theravāda scholar, the Abhidhamma is "simultaneously a philosophy , a psychology and an ethics , all integrated into the framework of a program for liberation." There are different textual layers of Abhidhamma literature. The earliest Abhidhamma works are found in

5618-449: The Buddha's death (though they relied on the Buddha's words for this compilation). Some schools of Buddhism had important disagreements on subjects of Abhidhamma, while having a largely similar Sutta-pitaka and Vinaya-pitaka. The arguments and conflicts between them were thus often on matters of philosophical Abhidhammic origin, not on matters concerning the actual words and teachings of Buddha. One impetus for composing new scriptures like

5724-577: The Buddhist sangha occurred during the reign of Ashoka. According to scholar Collett Cox "most scholars would agree that even though the roots of the earliest recognized groups predate Aśoka , their actual separation did not occur until after his death." According to the Theravada tradition, the split took place at the Second Buddhist council , which took place at Vaishali , approximately one hundred years after Gautama Buddha's parinirvāṇa . While

5830-652: The Khuddaka Nikaya can thus be regarded as later additions: And the following three which are included in the Burmese Canon: The original verses of the Jatakas are recognized as being amongst the earliest part of the Canon, but the accompanying (and more famous) Jataka Stories are commentaries likely composed at later dates. The Parivara , the last book of the Vinaya Pitaka , is a later addition to

5936-442: The Mahasamghika school was known for its doctrine of "transcendentalism" ( lokottaravada ), the view that the Buddha was a fully transcendent being. As the third major division of the various canons, the Abhidharma collections were a major source of dispute among the various schools. Abhidharma texts were not accepted as canonical by the Mahasanghika school and several other schools. Another school included most of their version of

6042-418: The Mahāyāna never had nor ever attempted to have a separate vinaya or ordination lineage from the early Buddhist schools, and therefore each bhikṣu or bhikṣuṇī adhering to the Mahāyāna formally belonged to an early school. Membership in these nikāyas , or monastic sects, continues today with the Dharmaguptaka nikāya in East Asia, and the Mūlasarvāstivāda nikāya in Tibetan Buddhism . Therefore, Mahāyāna

6148-403: The Niruttipatha Sutta states that the division of time into past, present and future are "three pathways of expression ( nirutti ), designation ( adhivacana ), and concept-making ( paññatti )." The first definition of the term in an Abhidhamma text is that found in the Dhammasangani: "That which is an enumeration, that which is a designation, an expression ( paññatti ), a current term, a name,

6254-419: The Pali Canon (the Sutta Nipata and parts of the Jataka ), together with the first four (and early) Nikayas of the Suttapitaka , have no mention of (the texts of) the Abhidhamma Pitaka. The Abhidhamma is also not mentioned at the report of the First Buddhist Council , directly after the death of the Buddha. This report of the first council does mention the existence of the Vinaya and the five Nikayas (of

6360-426: The Pāli Abhidhamma concerned itself with providing a finer and more exhaustive understanding of all phenomenal experience by explaining, analyzing and classifying all dhammas and their relationships. According to Y. Karunadasa , for the Abhidhamma, dhammas are "the basic factors into which all things can be resolved" and "elementary constituents, the ultimate realities behind manifest phenomena." This " Dhamma theory "

6466-422: The Pāli Nikayas, the Buddha teaches through a method in which experience is explained using various conceptual groupings of physical and mental processes, which are called " dhammā" . Examples of lists of dhammas taught by the Buddha in the Nikayas include the twelve sense 'spheres' ( ayatana ) , the five aggregates ( khandha ) and the eighteen elements of cognition ( dhatu ) . Expanding these various models,

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6572-409: The Sanskrit-based Buddhist tradition which refer to the conventional truth as samvrti (which has the meaning of concealing or covering), the Pāli Abhidhamma term sammuti just means human convention and does not have this connotation of an inferior truth hiding a higher truth. Therefore, as pointed out by K.N. Jayatilleke , the Theravāda version of two truths "does not imply that what is true in

6678-440: The Sautrāntikas were actually adherents of Mūlasarvāstivāda. The relation between Sarvāstivāda and the Mūlasarvāstivāda , however, is unclear. All of these early schools of Nikāya Buddhism eventually came to be known collectively as "the eighteen schools" in later sources. With the exception of the Theravāda, none of these early schools survived beyond the late medieval period by which time several were already long extinct, although

6784-424: The Silk Road. It is commonly said that there were eighteen schools of Buddhism in this period. What this actually means is more subtle. First, although the word "school" is used, there was not yet an institutional split in the saṅgha . The Chinese traveler Xuanzang observed even when the Mahāyāna were beginning to emerge from this era that monks of different schools would live side by side in dormitories and attend

6890-425: The Theravāda. His Visuddhimagga (a manual on spiritual praxis based on the Vimuttimagga ) remains one of the most important Theravāda texts. Chapters XIV to XVII are a kind of summary of the Abhidhamma. His commentaries on the suttas also reflect an Abhidhamma perspective. A further period of medieval Sri Lankan scholarship also produced a series of texts called the sub-commentaries (which are commentaries to

6996-444: The Theravādin account, this council was convened primarily for the purpose of establishing an official orthodoxy. At the council, small groups raised questions about the specifics of the vinaya and the interpretation of doctrine. The chairman of the council, Moggaliputta Tissa , compiled a book, the Kathavatthu , which was meant to refute these arguments. The council sided with Moggaliputta and his version of Buddhism as orthodox; it

7102-477: The actual ideas of these virtues (like dhyana , sila , prajña , etc) and the idea of the Buddha's past lives are drawn from early Buddhist sources (such as early jatakas ), they were developed further into specific doctrines about the bodhisattva path and how exactly the Buddha undertook it. The new schools also developed new doctrines about important Buddhist topics. The Sarvastivadins for example were known for their doctrine of temporal eternalism . Meanwhile

7208-420: The binary opposition between pluralism ( sabbam puthuttam ) and monism ( sabbam ekattam ), or as one Pāli commentary says, the binary opposition between the principle of plurality ( nānatta-naya ) and the principle of unity ( ekatta-naya )." That the Pali Abhidhamma sought to avoid both absolute pluralism and monism can be seen in various commentarial statements that warn against a one-sided focus or grasping on

7314-434: The canonical Abhidhamma Pitaka does not uphold the interpretation of the two truths as referring to primary ontological realities. Karunadasa notes how the Pali commentaries state that "the Buddha sometimes teaches the Dhamma according to conventional truth, sometimes according to ultimate truth, and sometimes through a combination of both." This is compared to a teacher using different dialects to teach his pupils. "There

7420-420: The characteristics of dhammas when considered as separate abstractions, including universal characteristics ( sāmanna-lakkhaņa ) such as impermanence ( aniccatā ) as well as the principle of dependent origination and the four noble truths. According to Y. Karunadasa , for the Theravāda, the two truths theory which divides reality into sammuti (worldly conventions) and paramattha (ultimate, absolute truths)

7526-468: The commentaries). There is also a genre of short introductory manuals to the Abhidhamma, like the 5th century Abhidhammāvatāra . The most influential of these manuals remains the short and succinct Abhidhammattha-saṅgaha of Ācariya Anuruddha. According to Bhikkhu Bodhi, this text has remained "the main primer for the study of Abhidhamma used throughout the Theravada Buddhist world," and various commentaries have been written on it. Abhidhamma remains

7632-404: The convenience of definition." It merely refers to the fact that "any dhamma represents a distinct fact of empirical existence which is not shared by other dhammas." According to Peter Harvey , the Theravāda view of a dhamma's sabhāva is that it refers to an individualizing characteristic ( salakkhaṇa ) that "is not something inherent in a dhamma as a separate ultimate reality, but arise due to

7738-595: The description of dhammas is not found in the books of the Abhidhamma Pitaka , but does appear in other texts such as the Nettippakarana and in the commentaries. Theravāda commentaries sometimes equate the two terms, such as the Visuddhimagga which states that ‘dhamma means sabhāva ’. However, it should be remembered that the Theravāda conception of sabhāva does not mean an essence or

7844-562: The dhammas’ individuality, not their existential status". Sabhāva is therefore synonymous with salakkhaṇa (own characteristic), which is what differentiates one type of dhamma from another for the convenience of definition. Salakkhaṇa (own characteristic) is also called as "individual characteristic" ( paccatta-lakkhaṇa ), "special characteristic" ( visesa-lakkhaṇa ), "the characteristic which separates it from other characteristics" ( asādhāraṇa-lakkhaṇa ), and "intrinsic characteristic" ( āveṇika-lakkhaṇa ). For example, this mode of description

7950-429: The earlier Nikayas, as opposed to the Abhidhamma, sammuti (linguistic conventions) is not analyzed down into existents called paramattha (ultimate). In the Theravāda Abhidhamma, the distinction does arise, referring to: two levels of reality, namely that which is amenable to analysis and that which defies further analysis. The first level is called sammuti because it represents conventional or relative truth or what

8056-519: The earliest Abhidhamma texts (such as in the Vibhanga , the Dharmaskandha , and the Śāriputrābhidharma ). According to Frauwallner's comparative study, these texts were possibly developed and "constructed from the same material", mainly early mātikās (Sanskrit: mātṛkā ) which forms the "ancient core" of early Abhidhamma. The extensive use of mātikā can also be found in some suttas of

8162-403: The early schools is often termed the early Buddhist texts and these are an important source for understanding their doctrinal similarities and differences. There were are various works of Abhidharma and other treatises written by these various schools which contain more unique doctrines which were specific to each school. According to the scriptures ( Cullavagga XI.1 ff), three months after

8268-508: The elders are the Dhamma and Vinaya , but in that way that I heard it in the Lord's presence, that I received it in his presence, in that same way will I bear it in mind." [ Vinaya-pitaka : Cullavagga XI:1:11]. According to Theravāda tradition, the teachings were divided into various parts and each was assigned to an elder and his pupils to commit to memory, and there was no conflict about what

8374-677: The four great properties (see section on " Rupa "). In this sense, early Buddhism and Theravāda Abhidhamma, avoids both idealism or materialism , as well as any kind of dualism that sees mind and body as totally separate. Instead, it posits that mind and body are mutually dependent phenomena. Using this perspective as its basic schema, Abhidhamma analyzes the cognitive process into individual cognitive units which have two main components: consciousness events ( cittas , an intentional knowing or awareness of an object) and mental factors ( cetasikas , mentality that arises in association with cittas ). These two components always arise together, and when

8480-554: The four schools should be grouped with the Mahāyāna or with the Hīnayāna is not determined." That is to say, there was no simple correspondence between a Buddhist monastic sect, and whether its members learn "Hīnayāna" or "Mahāyāna" teachings. Timeline: Development and propagation of Buddhist traditions (c. 450 BCE – c. 1300 CE)   India Early Sangha     Nik%C4%81ya Nikāya ( निकाय )

8586-454: The idea of consciousness ( vijnana ) as a continuum, and devotional elements such as the worship of saints. Although the various early schools of Buddhism are sometimes loosely classified as " Hīnayāna " in modern times, this is not necessarily accurate. According to Jan Nattier, Mahāyāna never referred to a separate sect of Buddhism (Skt. nikāya ), but rather to the set of ideals and doctrines for bodhisattvas. Paul Williams has also noted that

8692-582: The interpretation of the monastic code, or due to other factors (such as the Amarapura Nikāya in Sri Lanka, which emerged as a reaction to caste restrictions within the Siam Nikāya). These divisions do not rise to the level of forming separate sects within the Theravāda tradition, because they do not typically follow different doctrines or monastic codes, nor do these divisions extend to the laity. In Burma , nikaya monastic orders have emerged in response to

8798-494: The introduction and emphasis on Abhidhammic literature by some schools. This literature was specific to each school, and arguments and disputes between the schools were often based on these Abhidhammic writings. However, actual splits were originally based on disagreements on vinaya (monastic discipline), though later on, by about 100 CE or earlier, they could be based on doctrinal disagreement. Pre-sectarian Buddhism, however, did not have Abhidhammic scriptures, except perhaps for

8904-407: The irreducible ‘building blocks’ that make up one's world, albeit they are not static mental contents and certainly not substances." According to Karunadasa, a dhamma, which can be translated as "a 'principle' or 'element' ( dhamma )", is "those items that result when the process of analysis is taken to its ultimate limits". However, this does not mean that they have an independent existence, for it

9010-461: The later stratum. The texts in the early stratum date from before the second council (earlier than 100 years after Buddha’s parinibbana), while the later stratum is from after the second council, which means they are definitely later additions to the Sutta Pitaka, and that they might not have been the original teachings by the Buddha, but later compositions by disciples. The following books of

9116-666: The main sects included the Sarvāstivādins (" Temporal Eternalists "), the Dharmaguptakas ("Preservers of Dharma "), Lokottaravadins ("Transcendentalists"), the Prajñaptivādins ("Conceptualists"), the Vibhajyavādins ("the Analysts"), and the Pudgalavādins ("Personalists"). According to traditional accounts these sects eventually proliferated into 18 (or, less-commonly, 20) different schools. The textual material shared by

9222-444: The one sense is false in the other or even that the one kind of truth is superior to the other". As Karunadasa writes: the distinction between sammuti-sacca and paramattha-sacca does not refer to two kinds of truth as such, but to two ways of presenting what is true. Although they are formally introduced as two truths, they are explained as two modes of expressing what is true. They do not represent two degrees of truth, of which one

9328-591: The opposite error, a one-sided focus on the principle of unity. Instead, they are simply a "multiplicity of inter-connected but distinguishable co-ordinate factors." This is said to correspond to the idea that the Buddha's teaching is an ontological middle way between various extremes, such as absolute existence and non-existence, or radical plurality and absolute monism. While dhammas are said to be distinguishable (vibhāgavanta) from each other, they are said to arise together in clusters due to their inseparability (samsatthatā, avinibhogatā). This principle can also be seen in

9434-645: The other early Buddhist schools the alternate term āgama was used instead of nikāya to describe their Sutra Piṭaka s. Thus the non- Mahāyāna portion of the Sanskrit-language Sutra Piṭaka is referred to as "the Āgamas" by Mahāyāna Buddhists. The Āgamas survive for the most part only in Classical Tibetan and Chinese translation. They correspond closely with the Pāḷi nikāyas. Among the Theravāda nations of Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka, nikāya

9540-552: The other schools combined. The Sarvāstivādin school was most prominent in the north-west of India and provided some of the doctrines that would later be adopted by the Mahāyāna. Another group linked to Sarvāstivāda was the Sautrāntika school, which only recognized the authority of the sutras and rejected the abhidharma transmitted and taught by the Vaibhāṣika wing of Sarvāstivāda. Based on textual considerations, it has been suggested that

9646-409: The practicalities of insight meditation and leaves ontology "relatively unexplored". Ronkin does note however that later Theravāda sub-commentaries ( ṭīkā ) do show a doctrinal shift towards ontological realism from the earlier epistemic and practical concerns. The Theravāda Abhidhamma holds that there is a total of 82 possible types of dhammas, 81 of these are conditioned ( sankhata ), while one

9752-464: The principle of plurality ( nānattta-naya ). For example, the sub-commentary to the Dīgha Nikāya says that "the erroneous grasping of the principle of plurality is due to the undue emphasis on the radical separateness ( accanta-bheda ) of the dhammas." Likewise, dhammas "are not fractions of a whole indicating an absolute unity" or manifestations of a single metaphysical substratum, since this would be

9858-664: The relative conservativeness with which the Vinayas are interpreted, and the hierarchical structure within the nikaya. Since 1980, no new nikayas have been allowed, and there are a total of nine legally recognized monastic orders in Burma today under the 1990 Law Concerning Sangha Organizations. The largest of these is the Thudhamma Nikaya , which was founded in the 1800s during the Konbaung dynasty . The term Nikāya Buddhism

9964-615: The same lectures. Only the books that they read were different. Secondly, no historical sources can agree what the names of these "eighteen schools" were. The origin of this saying is therefore unclear. A.K. Warder identified the following eighteen early Buddhist schools (in approximate chronological order): Sthaviravada , Mahasamghika , Vatsiputriya , Ekavyavaharika , Gokulika (a.k.a. Kukkutika , etc.), Sarvastivada , Lokottaravāda , Dharmottariya, Bhadrayaniya, Sammitiya , Sannagarika, Bahusrutiya , Prajnaptivada , Mahisasaka , Haimavata (a.k.a. Kasyapiya ), Dharmaguptaka , Caitika , and

10070-478: The second council probably was a historical event, traditions regarding the Second Council are confusing and ambiguous. According to the Theravada tradition the overall result was the first schism in the sangha , between the Sthavira nikāya and the Mahāsāṃghika , although it is not agreed upon by all what the cause of this split was. The various splits within the monastic organization went together with

10176-558: The south-west and the Kañci region in the south-east. This group later ceased to refer to themselves specifically as "Vibhajjavādins", but reverted to calling themselves "Theriyas", after the earlier Theras (Sthaviras). Still later, at some point prior to the Dipavamsa (4th century), the Pali name Theravāda was adopted and has remained in use ever since for this group. Other groups included

10282-545: The state of Buddhism in India during the early medieval period. By the time the Chinese pilgrims Xuanzang and Yijing visited India, there were five early Buddhist schools that they mentioned far more frequently than others. They commented that the Sarvāstivāda / Mūlasarvāstivāda , Mahāsāṃghika , and Saṃmitīya were the principal early Buddhist schools still extant in India, along with the Sthavira sect. The Dharmaguptakas continued to be found in Gandhāra and Central Asia, along

10388-414: The supporting conditions both of other dhammas and previous occurrences of that dhamma". This is shown by other definitions given in the commentaries, which state that a dhamma is "that which is borne by its own conditions," and "the mere fact of occurrence due to appropriate conditions." Similarly, Noa Ronkin argues that in Theravāda Abhidhamma, " sabhāva is predominantly used for the sake of determining

10494-409: The suttas (see: Mahāvedalla Sutta, ) which state that some dhammas are said to be blended (samsattha) in such a way that they cannot be separated out. The fact that dhammas always arise together is also connected to their conditional dependence on each other. In the Abhidhamma, nothing arises without a cause, from a single cause or as a single effect. Therefore, in Abhidhamma "it is always the case that

10600-413: The teachings. According to Gombrich, unintentional literalism was a major force for change in the early doctrinal history of Buddhism. This means that texts were interpreted paying too much attention to the precise words used and not enough to the speaker's intention, the spirit of the text. Some later doctrinal developments in the early Buddhist schools show scholastic literalism, which is a tendency to take

10706-620: The term Śrāvakayāna instead. The Chinese Buddhist monk and pilgrim Yijing wrote about relationship between the various "vehicles" and the early Buddhist schools in India. He wrote, "There exist in the West numerous subdivisions of the schools which have different origins, but there are only four principal schools of continuous tradition." These schools are namely the Mahāsāṃghika nikāya, Sthavira, Mūlasarvāstivāda and Saṃmitīya nikāyas. Explaining their doctrinal affiliations, he then writes, "Which of

10812-475: The time of Aśoka that further divisions began to occur within the Buddhist movement and a number of additional schools emerged. Etienne Lamotte divided the mainstream Buddhist schools into three main doctrinal types: One of them was faction of the Sthavira group which called themselves Vibhajjavādins. One part of this group was transmitted to Sri Lanka and to certain areas of southern India, such as Vanavasi in

10918-541: The words and phrases of earlier texts (maybe the Buddha's own words) in such a way as to read-in distinctions which it was never intended to make. In addition, the Dipavamsa lists the following six schools without identifying the schools from which they arose: During the first millennium , monks from China such as Faxian , Xuanzang , and Yijing made pilgrimages to India and wrote accounts of their travels when they returned home. These Chinese travel records constitute extremely valuable sources of information concerning

11024-464: Was coined by Masatoshi Nagatomifake as a non-derogatory substitute for Hinayana , meaning the early Buddhist schools . Examples of these groups are pre-sectarian Buddhism and the early Buddhist schools. Some scholars exclude pre-sectarian Buddhism when using the term. The term Theravada refers to Buddhist practices based on these early teachings, as preserved in the Pāli Canon . Abhidhamma The Theravada Abhidhamma tradition refers to

11130-428: Was never a separate rival sect of the early schools. Paul Harrison clarifies that while Mahāyāna monastics belonged to a nikāya, not all members of a nikāya were Mahāyānists. From Chinese monks visiting India, we now know that both Mahāyāna and non-Mahāyāna monks in India often lived in the same monasteries side by side. Additionally, Isabella Onians notes that Mahāyāna works rarely used the term Hīnayāna , typically using

11236-459: Was then adopted by Emperor Aśoka as his empire's official religion. In Pali , this school of thought was termed Vibhajjavāda, literally "thesis of [those who make] a distinction". The distinction involved was as to the existence of phenomena ( dhamma s) in the past, future and present. The version of the scriptures that had been established at the third council, including the Vinaya , Sutta and

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