January 9, 2025 at 7:41 pm
#53187
Keymaster
“I haven’t read Abhidhamma yet..”
1. That is one reason why you don’t understand why teaching Abhidhamma in the days of the Buddha was impossible.
- Also, Abhidhamma was not necessary in those days. Most people could grasp the essence of Buddha’s teachings without learning Abhidhamma. They had fulfilled paramita in previous lives and did not need much help completing that process. Many people only listened to one or two discourses and attained magga phala.
2. Abhidhamma is more suited for the current environment.
- You may want to read the post “Abhidhamma—Introduction” and also take a look at Ref.1 there. It is a free PDF file of a book by Bhikkhu Bodhi. Then, you will understand that learning Abhidhamma takes a while and is almost impossible to learn by only listening.
- Furthermore, it took almost 250 years to finish compiling the Abhidhamma theory, as explained in the post.
- After that, rereading the above comment may help clarify the situation further.