A History of Pali Literature v1.c8.2

v1.c8.2

The Sarvāstivāda School of Buddhism recognises and holds as authoritative seven Abhidhamma treatises which have nothing in common with the seven texts of the Pāli Abhidhamma Piṭaka except as to their total number. All these seven treatises, called padas, are preserved in Chinese translations and are altogether lost in their original. The Indian originals of these treatises, so far as one can ascertain, were written in Sanskrit. In the Sarvāstivāda set of seven treatises, the highest place in importance is accorded to the Jñānaprasthāna shāstra of Kātyāyaniputra in the same way that in the Pāli set similar importance is attached to the seventh book called the Paṭṭhāna or Mahāpakaraṇa or the great treatise. For the parallels to the Sarvāstivāda treatises the Pāli Abhidhamma Piṭaka is not certainly the place to make the search. Strangely enough, the available Pāli counterparts of all these treatises are embodied in the Sutta Piṭaka and pass as suttanta texts. On a careful examination of the contents of these Pāli counterparts it appears, however, that they represent a step in advance from the general bulk of the suttas and as a matter of fact form a link of transition between the Pāli suttas and the Abhidhamma books.