Seven treatises of Abhidharma: Difference between revisions
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The '''Seven treatises of Abhidharma''' (Tib. [[མངོན་པ་སྡེ་བདུན་]], [[Wyl.]] ''mngon pa sde bdun'') — according to the [[Vaibhashika]] school the seven treatises of [[Abhidharma]] were first spoken in sections by the [[Buddha]] in various lands and to various individuals. Later, seven [[arhat]]s collected them into treatises. They assert these Abhidharma treatises to be the [[Word of the Buddha]]. However, the [[Sautrantika]] or 'Followers of Sutra' and all higher schools consider these texts to be composed by the seven arhats and classify them as [[Shastra|treatises]]. | The '''Seven treatises of Abhidharma''' (Tib. [[མངོན་པ་སྡེ་བདུན་]], [[Wyl.]] ''mngon pa sde bdun'') — according to the [[Vaibhashika]] school the seven treatises of [[Abhidharma]] were first spoken in sections by the [[Buddha]] in various lands and to various individuals. Later, seven [[arhat]]s collected them into treatises. They assert these Abhidharma treatises to be the [[Word of the Buddha]]. However, the [[Sautrantika]] or 'Followers of Sutra' and all higher schools consider these texts to be composed by the seven arhats and classify them as [[Shastra|treatises]]. | ||
The Vaibhashika contend that if you do not posit these abhidharma texts as Word of the Buddha, than the [[three pitakas]] won't be complete. But the Sautrantikas reply that this is not the case, since the abhidharma pitaka is found within the [[Sutra]] and [[Vinaya]] texts, and so it is not necessary to have some separate texts to qualify as a pitaka. The Sautrantikas assert that these texts cannot be the Word of the Buddha, because in these texts things like [[space]] and [[uncompounded]] things are claimed to be substantially established (Wyl. rdzas su grub pa). This is contrary to logic and the Buddha would never have said anything illogical. | |||
The seven treatises are: | The seven treatises are: | ||
Revision as of 06:34, 27 October 2017
The Seven treatises of Abhidharma (Tib. མངོན་པ་སྡེ་བདུན་, Wyl. mngon pa sde bdun) — according to the Vaibhashika school the seven treatises of Abhidharma were first spoken in sections by the Buddha in various lands and to various individuals. Later, seven arhats collected them into treatises. They assert these Abhidharma treatises to be the Word of the Buddha. However, the Sautrantika or 'Followers of Sutra' and all higher schools consider these texts to be composed by the seven arhats and classify them as treatises.
The Vaibhashika contend that if you do not posit these abhidharma texts as Word of the Buddha, than the three pitakas won't be complete. But the Sautrantikas reply that this is not the case, since the abhidharma pitaka is found within the Sutra and Vinaya texts, and so it is not necessary to have some separate texts to qualify as a pitaka. The Sautrantikas assert that these texts cannot be the Word of the Buddha, because in these texts things like space and uncompounded things are claimed to be substantially established (Wyl. rdzas su grub pa). This is contrary to logic and the Buddha would never have said anything illogical.
The seven treatises are:
- Jnanaprasthana (Skt. Jñānaprasthāna) by Katyayana
- Prakaranapada (Skt. Prakaraṇapāda) by Vasumitra
- Vijnanakaya (Skt. Vijñānakāya) by Devakṣema
- Dharmaskandha (Skt.) by Shariputra
- Prajnaptisastra (Skt.) by Maudgalyayana
- Dhatukaya (Skt.) by Vasumitra
- Sangitiparyaya (Skt.) Mahākauṣṭhila
All seven texts were summarized in the Mahavibhasha. Vasubandhu then studied this text and summarized its content in his famous Treasury of Abhidharma.