EVOLUTION OF ABHIDHAMMA

ME02- EVOLUTION OF ABHIDHAMMA

About Evolution of Abhidhamma to know clearly, we have to analysis the early Buddhist teaching because Abhidhammic teaching is base on it.

Firstly, after the Buddha’s passing away, classifying the Buddha’s teaching for the sake of future generation was done to a certain extent at the First Buddhist Council in India.

In this Council, the teachings were mainly classified into only two sections as Dhamma and Vinaya. Dhamma was further classified into four or five sections as Nikayas and Vinaya consisted of two main parts, Bhikhu-Vinaya and Bhikkhuni-vinaya.

It is existence as Dhamma and Vinaya till not only First Buddhist Council but also Second Council which was held after one hundred years of Buddha’s passing away in the city of Visali. Therefore, Abhidhamma was not developed as a separate section of Pali canonn at the time of the First and the Second Councils.

Secondly, there is a common agreement among the scholars that the four Nikayas mostly represent an earlier period of Buddha’s teachings. They are preserved as Suttapitaka in the Theravada tradition.

Suttapitaka includes frie Nikaya and the fifth Nikaya consists of fifteen texts some of which can be considered as representing an earlier period. So, the term Abhishamma occurs in the Suttapitaka but not in the sense of a separate Pitaka in that time.

Thirdly, according to Theravada Tradition, the Buddha while the Blessed One was still dwelling in the vicinity of the Bodhi Tree, sat in the jewel house (Ratanaghara) and contemplated the seven books of Abhidhamma.

Moreover, The Buddha preached Abhidhamma to His mother and the Deva at Tavatimsa heaven. So the term Abhishamma according to tradition, is preached as first Dhamma.

Fourthly, the different Buddhist sects interpreted the teachings of Buddha in various ways. These various interpretations and theories are recorded in the Kathavatthuppakarana, the last text of the Abhidhamma-Pitaka. By Shwe Zan Aung, The controversial points of the different Buddhist sects recorded in the Kathavatthu, have been classified into ten headings as follows:

(1) Of the Buddha

(2) Of other Ariyans

a. The Arhant

b. Those in the lower Path-Stages

c. Of the Ariyan Nature and Path

(3) Of the Average Man or World ling

(4) Of Devas

(5) Of the order

(6) Of the Religion or Church (Sasana)

(7) Of the Individual

(8) Of Cosmology

(9) Of the unconditioned

(10) Some ethical points

Thus the definitions were different from each other. As a result the compiled their own collections of such analyses and some of them even debated on such controversial matters. In order to establish Theravada point of view regarding such controversial point, the Kathavatthuppakarana was compiled by Ven.Moggaliputtatissa.

Further, there was no unanimity among the Buddhist sects regarding the number of doctrine aspects so far collected and classified in the course of time.

Four main processes have been carried out at the councils in order to preserve the Buddha’s teachings:

v Collection of the teachings

v Classification of the teachings

v Abstraction of the doctrinal parts from the teachings

v Definition and analysis of the doctrines.

And this also proves the fact that Abhidhamma came into being as a process of interpretation of the early Buddhist teachings by different Buddhist sects.

Finally, attempt taken by Abhidhammic traditions to fulfil the above purpose should be studied under the topic of doctrinal interpretations in the Abhidhamma. (words: 543) for the students of university of Kelaniya,in srilanka, 2009

www.setgyarwalar.co.cc