The Central Conception of Buddhism and the Meaning of the Word "Dharma" c19.2

c19.2

The fifth chapter (*koça-sthāna*) of the *Abhidharma-koça* (v, 24 6) contains a detailed exposition of the argument between the Sarvāstivādins or Vaibhāṣikas and the Sautrāntikas upon the question of the reality of future and past elements (*dharmas*), written according to the method of later dialectics. It is divided in two parts, *pūrvapakṣa* and *uttarapakṣa*. In the first the Vaibhāṣika makes a statement of his case, and he is attacked by the Sautrāntika; he answers the questions and triumphs over the opponent. In the second the parts are reversed: the Vaibhāṣika puts the questions and the Sautrāntika answers them and secures the final victory. As a conclusion the Vaibhāṣika gives voice to his despair at the impossibility of conceiving the transcendentally deep essence of the elements of existence. The translation is made from the Tibetan text of the Peking edition of the Bstan-hgyur, Mdo. vol. 64, fol. 279, b. 5–285, a. 2. Some explanations have been introduced from Yaçomitra’s Commentary, and the Tibetan commentary of Mchims-pa, which is the standard work for *abhidharma* throughout Mongolia and Tibet.