A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s3.t2.331

v2.c19.s3.t2.331

12. The Paṭisambhidāmagga,¹ "the Path to Analysis," consists of three large sections, each containing ten treatises on some important point of Buddhist doctrine. Thus, for instance, I, 1 deals with the 73 kinds of knowledge, among which, to give an example, there is the knowledge of the great pity of the Tathāgata; I, 3 deals with the regulating of the breath as an aid to mindfulness (sati), I, 7 with the Karman, II, 2 with the four noble truths, II, 4 on the love towards all creatures (mettā), III, 2 with the miraculous powers (iddhi) of the saints, and so on. All these subjects are treated in the form of questions and answers, after the fashion of the Abhidhamma texts. The work appears in the Suttapiṭaka, however, and not in the Abhidhammapiṭaka, because, at least in part, its form is that of the Suttas, as some sections begin with introductory stories ("Thus I have heard," etc.) and the address "O monks" (bhikkhave) is to be found here and there, as in the Suttas.²