Global InformationAbhidharma information
| Translations of abhidhamma | |
|---|---|
| English | higher teaching, meta-teaching, about dharmas [phenomena] |
| Sanskrit | 𑀅𑀪𑀺𑀥𑀭𑁆𑀫 |
| Pali | Abhidhamma |
| Bengali | অভিধর্ম্ম ôbhidhôrmmô |
| Burmese | အဘိဓမ္မာ (MLCTS: əbḭdəmà) |
| Chinese | 阿毗達磨(T) / 阿毗达磨(S) (Pinyin: āpídámó) |
| Japanese | 阿毘達磨 (Rōmaji: abidatsuma) |
| Khmer | អភិធម្ម (UNGEGN: âphĭthômm) |
| Korean | 아비달마 阿毗達磨 (RR: abidalma) |
| Sinhala | අභිධර්මය (abhidharmaya) |
| Tibetan | ཆོས་མངོན་པ་མཛོད། |
| Tagalog | ᜀᜊᜑᜒᜇᜑᜀᜎᜋᜀ Abahidahaalamaa |
| Thai | อภิธรรม (RTGS: aphitham) |
| Vietnamese | 阿毗達磨 A-tì-đạt-ma 阿毗達磨 Vi Diệu Pháp |
| Glossary of Buddhism | |
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The Abhidharma are a collection of Buddhist texts dating from the 3rd century BCE onwards, which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. It also refers to the scholastic method itself, as well as the field of knowledge that this method is said to study.
Bhikkhu Bodhi calls it "an abstract and highly technical systemization of the [Buddhist] doctrine," which is "simultaneously a philosophy, a psychology and an ethics, all integrated into the framework of a program for liberation."[1] According to Peter Harvey, the Abhidharma method seeks "to avoid the inexactitudes of colloquial conventional language, as is sometimes found in the Suttas, and state everything in psycho-philosophically exact language." In this sense, it is an attempt to best express the Buddhist view of "ultimate reality" (paramārtha-satya).[2]
There are different types of Abhidharma literature. The early canonical Abhidharma works, such as the Abhidhamma Piṭaka, are not philosophical treatises but mainly summaries and expositions of early Buddhist doctrinal lists with their accompanying explanations.[3][4] These texts developed out of early Buddhist lists or matrices (mātṛkās) of key teachings.
Later post-canonical Abhidharma works were written as either large treatises (śāstra), as commentaries (aṭṭhakathā), or as smaller introductory manuals. They are more developed philosophical works which include many innovations and doctrines not found in the canonical Abhidharma.[5] Abhidharma remains an important field of scholarship among the Theravāda, Mahāyāna, and Vajrayāna schools of Buddhism.
- ^ Dhamma, U Rewata; Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2000). A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma. Buddhist Publication Society. p. 2. ISBN 1-928706-02-9.
- ^ Harvey, Peter (2013). An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices, p. 90. Cambridge University Press.
- ^ The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). "Abhidhamma Pitaka". Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
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