[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

instance, the corporeal aggregate may be further defined as corporeality
of the past, the present or the future; the corporeality which is internal or
external, coarse or fine, inferior or superior, far or near. The Sutta
Method of Analysis does not usually go further than this definition.
But the Abhidhamma approach is more thorough, more penetrating,
breaking down each corporeal or mental component into the ultimate, the
most infinitesimal unit. For example, Rþpakkhandha, corporeal
aggregate, has been analysed into twenty-eight constituents;
Vedanækkhandha, the aggregate of sensation, into five; Saññækkhandha,
the aggregate of perception, into six; Sankhærakkhandha, the aggregate of
mental formations, into fifty; and Viññænakkhandha, the aggregate of
consciousness, into eighty-nine. Then each constituent part is minutely
described with its properties and qualities and its place in the well
arranged system of classification is defined.
A complete description of things requires also a statement of how
each component part stands in relation to other component parts. This
entails therefore a synthetical approach as well, to study the inter-
relationship between constituent parts and how they are related to other
internal or external factors.
Thus the Abhidhamma approach covers a wide field of study,
consisting of analytical and synthetical methods of investigation,
describing and defining minutely the constituent parts of aggregates,
classifying them under well ordered heads and well arranged systems and
finally setting out conditions in which they are related to each other. Such
a large scope of intellectual endeavour needs to be encompassed in a
voluminous and classified compilation. Hence the Abhidhamma Pi¥aka is
made up of seven massive treatises, namely, (i) Dhammasa³ga¼ø,
containing detailed enumeration of all phenomena with an analysis of
consciousness (citta) and its concomitant mental factors (cetasikas);
148
(ii) Vibha³ga, consists of eighteen separate sections on analysis of
phenomena quite distinct from that of Dhammasa³ga¼ø; (iii) Dhætukathæ,
a small treatise written in the form of a catechism, discussing all
phenomena of existence with reference to three categories, khandha,
æyatana and dhætu; (iv) Puggalapaññatti, a small treatise giving a
description of various types of individuals according to the stage of their
achievement along the Path; (v) Kathævatthu, a compilation by the
Venerable Moggaliputta, the presiding thera of the third Great Synod in
which he discusses and refutes doctrines of other schools in order to
uproot all points of controversy on the Buddha dhamma; (vi) Yamaka,
regarded as a treatise on applied logic in which analytical procedure is
arranged in pairs; (vii) Pa¥¥hæna a gigantic treatise which together with
Dhammasa³ga¼ø, the first book, constitutes the quintessence of the
Abhidhamma Pi¥aka. It is a minutely detailed study of the doctrine of
conditionality, based on twenty-four paccayas, conditions or relations.
(c) Conventional Truth (Sammuti Sacca) and Ultimate Truth (Paramattha
Sacca).
Two kinds of Truth are recognised in the Abhidhamma according to
which only four categories of things namely, mind (consciousness),
mental concomitants, Materiality and Nibbæna are classed as the Ultimate
Truth; all the rest are regarded as apparent truth. When we use such
expressions as 'I', 'you', 'man', 'woman', 'person', 'individual', we are
speaking about things which do not exist in reality. By using such
expressions about things which exist only in designation, we are not
telling a lie; we are merely speaking an apparent truth, making use of
conventional language, without which no communication will be
possible.
But the Ultimate Truth is that there is no 'person', 'individual' or
'I' in reality. There exist only khandhas made up of corporeality, mind
(consciousness) and mental concomitants. These are real in that they are
not just designations, they actually exist in us or around us.
149
Chapter X
ABHIDHAMMA PI¿AKA
I. The Dhammasa³ga¼ø Pæ¹i
The Dhammasa³ga¼ø, the first book of the Abhidhamma, and the
Pa¥¥hæna, the last book, are the most important of the seven treatises of
Abhidhamma, providing as they do the quintessence of the entire
Abhidhamma.
Scheme of Classification in the Dhammasa³ga¼ø
(1) The Mætikæ
The Dhammasa³ga¼ø enumerates all the dhammas (phenomena)
i.e., all categories of næma, namely, Consciousness and mental
concomitant, and rþpa, Corporeality. Having enumerated the phenomena,
they are arranged under different heads to bring out their exact nature,
function and mutual relationship both internally (in our own being) and
with the outside world. The Dhammasa³ga¼ø begins with a complete list
of heads called the Mætikæ. The Mætikæ serves as a classified table of
mental constituents treated not only in the Dhammasa³ga¼ø but in the
entire system of the Abhidhamma.
The Mætikæ consists altogether of one hundred and twenty-two
groups, of which the first twenty-two are called the Tikas or Triads, those
that are divided under three heads; and the remaining one hundred are
called the Dukas or Dyads, those that are divided under two heads.
Examples of Triads are:
(a) Kusala Tika:
dhammas (i) that are moral, kusala, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]