The Abhidharma (lit. "about the dharma") refers to a class of Buddhist texts, the first of which date from the 3rd century BCE. Abhidharma texts contain detailed scholastic presentations of Buddhist doctrine, including doctrines that appear in canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. "Abhidharma" also refers to the scholastic method itself, and the knowledge (prajña) that this method is said to study and cultivate.
Bhikkhu Bodhi calls Abhidharma "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 is an attempt to best express the Buddhist view of "ultimate reality" (paramārtha-satya).Harvey, Peter (2013). An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices, p. 90. Cambridge University Press.
There are different types of Abhidharma literature. The early canonical Abhidharma works, such as the Pali 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. There were numerous schools of Abhidharma in India, such as the Theravada, and the Vaibhāṣika. They are more developed philosophical works which include many innovations and doctrines not found in the canonical Abhidharma. Abhidharma remains an important field of scholarship among the Theravāda, Mahāyāna, and Vajrayāna schools of Buddhism.
Definition 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 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.Potter, Buswell, Jaini; Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies Volume VII Abhidharma Buddhism to 150 AD, page 74 They held that Abhidharma was taught by the Buddha to his most eminent disciples, and that therefore this justified the inclusion of Abhidharma texts into their scriptural canon.
According to Collett Cox, Abhidharma started as a systematic elaboration of the teachings of the Buddhist sūtras, but later developed independent doctrines.Cox 2003, pp. 1–7 The prominent Western scholar of Abhidharma, Erich Frauwallner, has said that these Buddhist systems are "among the major achievements of the classical period of Indian philosophy."Sophie Francis Kidd, translator; Ernst Steinkellner, editor; Erich Frauwallner; Studies in Abhidharma Literature and the Origins of Buddhist Philosophical Systems
Two interpretations of the term "Abhi-dharma" are common. According to Bhikkhu Anālayo, 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 the parallel term abhivinaya (which just means discussions about the vinaya).Anālayo (2014) "The Dawn of Abhidharma," pp. 70–71. Hamburg University Press. 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".See, for instance, Rhys Davids (1900), Trungpa (1975), and Goleman (2004). Other scholars on the topic, such as Nyanaponika Thera and Dan Lusthaus, describe Abhidharma as a Buddhist phenomenologyNyanaponika, Abhidhamma studies, page 35Lusthaus, Dan; Buddhist Phenomenology – A philosophical investigation of Yogacara Buddhism and the cheng wei-shih lun, page 4. while Noa Ronkin and Kenneth Inada equate it with process philosophy.Ronkin, Noa; Early Buddhist metaphysicsInada, Kenneth K; The metaphysics of Buddhist experience and the Whiteheadian encounter, Philosophy East and West Vol. 25/1975.10 P.465-487 (C) by the University of Hawaii Press 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."Bodhi, A comprehensive manual of Abhidhamma, page 3. According to L. S. Cousins, the Buddhist sūtras deal with sequences and processes, while the Abhidharma texts describe occasions and events."Pali oral literature", in Buddhist Studies, ed Denwood and Piatigorski, Curzon, London, 1982/3
Origin and history
Modern scholarship Modern scholars generally believe that 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 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.Anālayo (2014) "The Dawn of Abhidharma," pp. 16–17. Hamburg University Press. 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 was some kind of Abhidharma to be learned aside from the sūtras and Vinaya.Anālayo (2014) "The Dawn of Abhidharma," pp. 17–19. Hamburg University Press. According to Bhikkhu Anālayo, "the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya does not explicitly mention the Abhidharma, although it reports that on this occasion Mahākāśyapa recited the mātṛkā(s)."Anālayo (2014) "The Dawn of Abhidharma," p. 20. Hamburg University Press. Bhikkhu Anālayo thinks that this reflects an early stage, when what later became Abhidharma was called the mātṛkās. The term appears in some sūtras, such as the Mahāgopālaka-sutta (and its Sanskrit parallel) which says that a learned monk is one who knows the Dharma, Vinaya, and the mātṛkās.Anālayo (2014) "The Dawn of Abhidharma," p. 21. Hamburg University Press.
The ancient core (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 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 the different schools were compiled separately and have major differences, they are based on an "ancient core" of common material.Frauwallner, Erich. Kidd, Sophie Francis (translator). Steinkellner, Ernst (editor) 1996. Studies in Abhidharma Literature and the Origins of Buddhist Philosophical Systems. SUNY Press. pp. 18, 100. Rupert Gethin also writes that the mātikās are from an earlier date than the Abhidharma texts themselves.Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 1998, page 48
According to Frauwallner,
The extensive use of mātṛkā can be found in some early Buddhist texts, including the Saṅgīti Sutta and Dasuttara Sutta of the Dīgha Nikāya, as well as the Saṅgīti Sūtra and Daśottara Sūtra of the Dīrgha Āgama.Tse-fu Kuan. Abhidhamma Interpretations of “Persons” (puggala): with Particular Reference to the Aṅguttara Nikāya. J Indian Philos (2015) 43:31–60 DOI 10.1007/s10781-014-9228-5 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 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.Anālayo (2014) "The Dawn of Abhidharma," p. 41. Hamburg University Press. 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.Anālayo (2014) "The Dawn of Abhidharma," p. 48. Hamburg University Press. These two do not have any parallels in Pali.
According to Bhikkhu Anālayo, another important doctrinal list which appears in the early texts is the "thirty seven qualities that are conducive to awakening" (bodhipākṣikā dharmāḥ).Anālayo (2014) "The Dawn of Abhidharma," p. 15. Hamburg University Press. 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.Anālayo (2014) "The Dawn of Abhidharma," p. 49. Hamburg University Press.
Bhikkhu Anālayo notes that these various lists served a useful purpose in early Buddhism since they served as aids for the memorization and teaching of the Buddhist doctrine.Anālayo (2014) "The Dawn of Abhidharma," p. 24. Hamburg University Press. The use of lists containing doctrinal statements can similarly be seen in Jain literature.Anālayo (2014) "The Dawn of Abhidharma," p. 27. Hamburg University Press. 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 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.Anālayo (2014) "The Dawn of Abhidharma," p. 31. Hamburg University Press. 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 the Sarvāstivāda school, the Saṅgītiparyāya, which is effectively a commentary on the sūtra.