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A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s4: The Abhidhammapiṭaka. Buddhist Scholasticism

A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s4

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English

The Abhidhammapiṭaka. Buddhist Scholasticism

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As the word Abhidhamma means "higher religion," or the "higher subtleties of religion,"¹ it used sometimes to be translated by "metaphysics." In reality, however, Abhidhamma has nothing to do with metaphysics, and as to philosophy, it has no more and no less connection with it than the Dhamma as taught in the Suttapiṭaka. Indeed, the only difference between the books of the Abhidhammapiṭaka and those of the Suttapiṭaka is that the former are more circumstantial, drier, more learned, in a word, more scholastic. Both treat of the same subject. We shall look in vain for originality and profundity in the Abhidhamma books. Definitions and classifications are their strong point. The definitions, however, valuable as they are for the dictionary and the knowledge of Buddhist terminology, are disappointing in that they only turn on an endless series of synonyms. The classifications, too, however estimable for the attempt at creating a psychological basis of ethics which they contain, are rarely penetrating analyses of psychical processes; much more frequently they are mere enumerations, unduly protracted, or arbitrarily created or banal categories. As a rule, all this yields nothing but dogmatism, hardly ever is there a trace of any research which could be called scientific. The form of these works is mostly that of questions and answers, after the style of a catechism.

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¹ Buddhaghosa explains the *abhi* ("higher") in the word "Abhidhamma" as referring, not to the contents, but merely to the more detailed mode of treatment. Cf. *A. C. Taylor*, in *JRAS.* 1894, pp. 560 f. and *Rhys Davids* in SBE, Vol. 36, p. 237 note.

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The texts of the Abhidhamma, the beginnings of which are already to be found in the Suttapiṭaka (*e.g.* Majjhimanikāya 137 and 140, and in many of the Suttas of the Aṅguttaranikāya), are probably merely extensions of the Mātikās or "lists," (*viz.*, of the philosophical and ethical conceptions treated in the Suttapiṭaka) which are already mentioned in the Vinayapiṭaka.¹

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¹ The Dhamma-Saṅgaṇi begins with a Mātikā of this nature, and *Mrs. Rhys Davids* (Buddhist Manual of Psychological Ethics, 2nd Ed., pp. ix, cv-cxiii) believes that this one should be regarded as the sole source of the Abhidhammapiṭaka. The Puggala-paññatti and the Dhātukathā, however, also begin with Mātikās. The passages in which *Mātikā* is mentioned (*e.g.*, dhammadharo vinayadharo mātikādharo paṇḍito, Cullavagga I, 11, 1; XII, 1, 9), indicate that the word does not mean any one definite text, but, as in the case of dhamma and vinaya, a class of texts.

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Book I of the Abhidhammapiṭaka, the Dhamma-Saṅgaṇi,² "Compendium of Dhammas," deals with the classification and definition of the Dhammas, *i.e.*, the psychical conditions and phenomena. Now, as in ancient Buddhism, ethics and psychology are just as inseparable as are philosophy and religion,³ the English translator of this work, Mrs. Rhys Davids, is quite right in calling it "A Buddhist Manual of Psychological Ethics."⁴ In the extremely valuable introduction to her translation,⁵ this excellent authority on the philosophy of the Pāli texts, has been successful in her attempt to present the philosophy of ancient Buddhism in its main characteristics, as contained in the doctrine of the Nikāyas, and classified and summarised in this catechism, whose bare structure of enumerations is so difficult of comprehension, and to assign to that philosophy its rightful place in the general history of philosophical thought. It is not the intention of the Dhamma-Saṃgaṇi itself to give any systematic presentation of ethics or psychology; it presupposes a knowledge of the Dhamma, and only claims to be a manual for study for the use of advanced monks. In spite of the fact that it is a purely learned work, and anything but popular, it has been held in great regard in Ceylon. Evidence of this can be found in the report about a king of Ceylon in the 10th century, who had a copy of the work engraved on gold plates studded with jewels, and took it in grand procession to a vihāra he had built, where he worshipped it with offerings of flowers.¹

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² Edited by *E. Müller*, PTS. 1885.

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³ Cf. *Mrs. C. A. F. Rhys Davids*, Buddhist Psychology, 2nd Ed., London, 1924, p. 138; Buddhist Manual, 2nd Ed., p. xxxviii ff.

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⁴ Translation... of the... Dhamma-Saṅgaṇi (Compendium of States or Phenomena), on OTF 1900, second edition, 1923.

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⁵ Also in her work "Buddhist Psychology," 2nd Ed., London, 1924. Cf. also *A. B. Keith*, Buddhist Philosophy, pp. 187 ff.

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¹ Mrs. *Rhys Davids*, Buddhist Manual, 2nd Ed., p. xxv.

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By way of appendix to the Dhamma-Saṃgaṇi, an old commentary to Book III of the work has also been included in the canon, and tradition has even ascribed this commentary to Sāriputta.²

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² Buddhaghosa calls this appendix (Text, pp. 231 ff.; cf. Mrs. *Rhys Davids l.c.*, pp. 334 ff) a commentary (aṭṭhakathākaṇḍaṃ or atthuddhāra). In the text itself, it has no especial title as though it were a part of the work.

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Book II of the Abhidhammapiṭaka, the Vibhaṅga,³ "Classification," is merely a continuation of Book I. It presupposes the formulas and categories of the Dhamma-Saṃgaṇi, but new ones are added. Section I deals with the fundamental conceptions and fundamental truths of Buddhism, with which the Dhamma-Saṃgaṇi too begins, Section II deals with the knowledge of the sense impressions up to the highest knowledge of a Buddha and Section III with the things which hinder knowledge. The last section, which deals with the various conditions in human and non-human existences, contains a considerable mythological element.

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³ Edited by Mrs. *Rhys Davids*, PTS. 1904.

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Book III of the Abhidhammapiṭaka, called Dhātukathā,¹ "Discourse on the Elements," is a short text of 14 chapters, in questions and answers on the elements of psychical phenomena and their mutual relations.

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¹ Edited by *E. R. Gooneratne*, PTS. 1892.

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In form and contents, Book IV, called Puggalapaññatti,² "Description of Human Individuals," is the book which is most closely allied to the texts of the Suttapiṭaka. In form it differs but little from the Saṅgīti-Sutta of the Dīghanikāya, and Sections 3-5 are for the most part to be found in the Aṅguttaranikāya too. Some chapters here read exactly like Suttas in one of the Nikāyas, and stand out favourably from their environment. We occasionally come across pretty similes. For instance (V, 3), five kinds of monks, in their relationship to woman, are compared with five kinds of warriors, and the simile, as is so often the case in the Majjhimanikāya, is carried on to the minutest detail. But it is only rarely that we come upon passages of undeniable literary value. Generally speaking, even the parables are as barren and tedious as the remaining parts of the book, the object of which is to classify individuals according to their ethical qualities. A few examples will suffice to give an idea of the spirit and style of the work, and of the type of definitions and classifications to be found in those portions which genuinely partake of the nature of the Abhidhamma.

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² Edited by *R. Morris*, PTS. 1883; translated into English ("Designation of Human Types") *Bimala Charan Law*, PTS. 1923; into German by *Bhikkhu Nyānatiloka* ("Das Buch der Charaktere"), Breslau, 1910.

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"What sort of person is angry? What then is anger? That which is anger, being angry, and the state of being angry, hatred, hating, hatefulness, malice, the act of being malicious, maliciousness, hostility, enmity, rudeness, abruptness, resentment of heart—this is called anger. He who has not got rid of this anger is said to be an angry person."

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"What sort of person is crafty? What is meant by craftiness? Here a person becomes crafty and cunning. That which is craft, craftiness, state of being crafty, hardness, toughness, counterfeit, sham (—this is called craftiness).¹ The person in whom this craftiness remains unremoved is said to be a crafty person.

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¹ Missing in *Law's* translation.

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What sort of person is one having low inclination? Here is a person who, himself morally wicked and evil by nature, serves, follows, and worships another person who is also wicked and of evil disposition:—this is said to be a person having low inclination."

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What sort of person is one having good inclination? Here is a certain person who, morally good and of virtuous habits, serves, follows and reveres another person of the same nature:—he is said to be a person having good inclination."²

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² II, 1; 4; 25 f. Translation by B. *Ch. Law*.

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Book V of the Abhidhammapiṭaka, the Kathāvatthu,³ "Subjects of Discourse," is that book which more than all others in the Abhidhammapiṭaka, is of importance from the point of view of the history of Buddhism, and is the only work of the canon which is ascribed to a definite author.⁴ As has already been mentioned above (p. 11 f.) it is said to have been compiled in connection with the Third Council, by Tissa Moggaliputta, the president of the Council. This tradition handed down by the chroniclers of Ceylon has been accepted as historical by prominent scholars, whilst others reject it as being entirely unauthentic.⁵ Now as the Kathāvatthu in its present form is a patch-work,¹ I think it quite possible that Tissa Moggaliputta might have compiled a Kathāvatthu in the 3rd century B. C., but that the work was augmented by additional portions every time a new heresy cropped up.² The work, as we have it at present, and as Buddhaghosa commentated it in the 5th century A. D., consists of 23 sections, each of which contains 8-12 questions and answers, in which the most diverse false views are presented, confuted and rejected. (The commentary tells us which schools taught these false doctrines.) We find such questions as, for instance, the following:

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³ Edited by A. C. *Taylor*, PTS 1894, 1897. Translated (Points of Controversy or Subjects of Discourse) by Shew Zan Aung and Mrs. *Rhys Davids*, PTS 1915. For an analysis of the work, see T. W. *Rhys Davids*, in JRAS 1892.

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⁴ In the days of Buddhaghosa, it was indeed believed that Buddha himself had proclaimed the outlines of the work, and that Tissa had only elaborated the details. On the other hand, in the introduction to the Atthasālinī, *i.e.*, the commentary on the Dhammasaṅgaṇi, Buddhaghosa mentions that there were schools which did not acknowledge the Kathāvatthu as canonical.

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⁵ For the tradition: *Oldenberg*, ZDMG 52, 1898, 633 f.; T. W. *Rhys Davids* in Cambridge History I, 194; Mrs. *Rhys Davids*, Points of Controversy, pp. xxx f.; Buddhist Manual of Psychological Ethics (1923), pp. xxiv f. ; Geiger, Pāli Literatur und Sprache, pp. 6 and 16. Against the tradition : I. P. Minayeff, Recherches sur le Bouddhisme, pp. 81 ff., 200 f.; Barth in RHR 42, 1900, pp. 72 f. = Œuvres II, 355 ; and *Keith*, Buddhist Philosophy, pp. 18 f. Max *Walleser*, who formerly (Die buddhistische Philosophie in ihrer geschichtlichen Entwicklung, I, Heidelberg 1904 (1925), pp. 20 ff., 95 f.) placed absolute reliance on the tradition, has now come to the conclusion (Die buddhist. Philosophie IV, Die Sekten des Buddhismus, 1927, p. 12) "that this text is very considerably later than the historical legend would have us believe."

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¹ Mrs. *Rhys Davids*, Points of Controversy, p. xxxi, speaks of "the 'patchwork-quilt' appearance" of the work.

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² Cf. *La Vallée Poussin*, ERE IV, p. 184.

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Is there such a thing as a person (an individual soul) which can be regarded as a real or absolute substance? Does everything exist? Are there two kinds of cessation (of suffering)? Do the pupils of Buddha share in his superhuman powers? Can a householder be an Arhat? Can an Arhat lose his Arhat-hood as a result of Karman? Is virtuous behaviour unconscious? Can a person who has arrived at the right view (*i.e.*, the true faith) intentionally commit a murder? Is it correct to say that the Buddha lived in the world of human beings? Were the excrements and urine of the sublime Buddha more fragrant than all other fragrant things? Can animals be reborn among the gods? etc.

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All these themes are discussed in questions and answers with an imaginary opponent; the final answer is in the negative, the opposite opinion being declared false. For the refutation of false doctrines, which, in the majority of cases, are differences of opinion among schools, and not so much the heresies of various sects, many passages are quoted from the Vinayapiṭaka and the Suttapiṭaka,¹ which shows that the Kathāvatthu is at any rate later than these Piṭakas. It also refers to passages in the first two books of the Abhidhamma, and to subjects which are treated in the Paṭṭhāna, but it quotes neither the Dhātukathā, nor the Puggalapaññatti, nor the Yamaka.

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¹ For a list of these passages, see *Taylor's* edition, pp. 633 ff.

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Even though the Kathāvatthu in its present form cannot be regarded as a work of the 3rd century B.C., it nevertheless throws interesting light on the development of Buddhist dogmatics during the later centuries. As far as the history of the Buddhist schools and sects is concerned, the information contained in the Kathāvatthu and the commentary on it, is only of value if taken in conjunction with the Chinese and Tibetan records of the schisms.²

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² Cf. *La Vallée Poussin*, JRAS 1910, pp. 413 ff.; *Walleser*, Die Sekten des alten Buddhismus, Heidelberg 1927.

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We should be inclined to think that the Kathāvatthu formed the conclusion of the Abhidhammapiṭaka, but in the traditional enumeration of the texts, it comes fifth. The *sixth* is the Yamaka,³ the "Book of double questions," so called because all the questions are presented and explained in two ways.⁴ This work, which is very difficult to understand, is intended to dispel any doubts which might still arise after the first five books of the Abhidhamma.

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³ Edited by Mrs. *Rhys Davids*, assisted by *Cecilia Dibben*, Mary C. Foley, Mabel Hunt, and May Smith, PTS 1911 and 1913.

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⁴ Not even the title of the work is clear, s. Introductory Note, p. xv f. Mrs. *Rhys Davids* took great pains to obtain light on the meaning and method of the work, from learned monks in Burma. The answers to her questions are incorporated in a Pāli essay by the Thera *Ledi Sadaw* of Mandalay in the Appendix to the edition.

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The seventh and last book of the Abhidhammapiṭaka is the Paṭṭhāna-Pakaraṇa, the "Book of the Causal Relationships," or Mahā-Pakaraṇa, "the Great Book," the first part of which is the Tika-Paṭṭhāna and the second part the Duka-Paṭṭhāna.¹ The entire work, deals with the investigation of the 24 kinds of relationships which are assumed between the (corporeal and psychical) phenomena: causal relationship, relationship of subject and object, relationship of the ruler and the ruled, contiguity, co-existence, etc. With the sole exception of Nirvāṇa, which is absolute, there is nothing which is not in some sense relative, *i.e.*, which is not related to something else in one of the 24 ways.² Mrs. Rhys Davids recommends the historian of Buddhistic ideas, and of logical and philosophical ideas in general, to study the first part of the Tika-Paṭṭhāna, in which these 24 kinds of relationships are enumerated, calling it "the one notable constructive contribution to knowledge in the Abhidhamma"; though, in general, she speaks rather sceptically about the value of this work of pure scholasticism.³

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¹ Tika-Paṭṭhāna, Parts I-III, ed. by Mrs. *Rhys Davids*, PTS 1921-1923; Duka-Paṭṭhāna I, ed. by Mrs. *Rhys Davids*, PTS 1906. The contents of the continuation of the Duka-Paṭṭhāna are given in the Tika-Paṭṭhāna, Part III, pp. 336 ff.

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² *Cf.* *Ledi Sadaw*, on the Philosophy of Relations, in JPT.S 1915-1916, pp. 21 ff.

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³ *Cf.* Foreword to Part I, p. v, and Editorial Note to Part II of the Tika-Paṭṭhāna.

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And Mrs. Rhys Davids, who has devoted years of patient and scholarly labour to the investigation of the texts of the Abhidhamma, yet concludes a general survey of the work accomplished, with these words of resignation: "As we leave this house of cloistered lives, of a closed tradition, of a past dominating present and future, we have a sense of rooms swept and garnished clean and tidy, of sealed windows, of drawn blinds, of no outlook towards the dawn."⁴

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⁴ *JRAS* 1923, p. 250.

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If we give credence to the tradition which dates the Kathāvatthu away back in the 3rd century B.C., we are compelled to date the earlier texts of the Abhidhamma still further back, and to assume that the scholastic activity of the monks began very early, immediately after the texts of the Suttapiṭaka. However, the authenticity of the Abhidhammapiṭaka is not universally recognised. It is disputed by the Sautrāntikas of the Hīnayāna, and the Sarvāstivādins have an Abhidharmapiṭaka in Sanskrit, the books of which differ entirely from those of the Pāli Abhidhammapiṭaka, though, as in the case of the latter, they are seven in number.¹ As even the report of the First Buddhist Council in the Vinayapiṭaka (Cullavagga XI) only mentions Vinaya and Dhamma, but not Abhidhamma, there are still doubts both as to the authenticity and the age of the Abhidhammapiṭaka.²

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¹ *Cf. La Vallée Poussin,* Bouddhisme, Études et Matériaux, p. 55; Bouddhisme, p. 166; *Kern,* Manual of Buddhism, p. 126. *Walleser* (Buddhistische Philosophie, I, 17 ff.) tries to identify certain texts of the Pāli Abhidhammapiṭaka with similar ones in the Sanskrit, but can only take his stand on mere conjectures.

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² *Eliot,* Hinduism and Buddhism, I, 276 note 1, 291 f., thinks it possible, though not proved, that the Abhidhammapiṭaka was compiled in Ceylon, and not earlier.

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Among those sects, however, which recognise the Abhidhammapiṭaka as canonical, it is held in great esteem. In the Milindapañha it is related as a great marvel that young Nāgasena was so clever that he could at once be instructed in the seven books of the Abhidhamma, without having first learned the Suttas. In an inscription of about 262 A.D., engraved on a rock in the neighbourhood of the temple of Mihintale in Ceylon, we read among the rules for the monks of the monastery: 12 cells are to be allotted to expounders of the Abhidhammapiṭaka, 7 to preachers of the Suttapiṭaka, and 5 to readers of the Vinayapiṭaka.³

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³ *R. Spence Hardy,* Eastern Monachism, London 1860, p. 156.

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The study of the Abhidhamma is continued, especially in Burma, even at the present day, and numerous works have been written on it in the course of centuries.

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