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I noticed this before but if abhidhamma was “invented” by generations of monks after Buddha Gotama, I would expect it to contain many inconsistencies with the Suttas. But so far, I have not seen any significant contradiction.
Additionally, the so-called “scholars” who make those statements are non-ariyas who frequently make mistakes in their translations of the Pali Tipitaka. So I wouldn’t trust them. That being said, it has been stated that Abhidhamma in its final form was completed in the 4th Buddhist Council, almost 5 centuries after our Sammasambuddha. But the main framework was already there in the 1st council:
“21. Pañcasatikakkhandhaka” section of the “Cūḷavagga” of the Vinaya Piṭaka contains a small section at the end called Tassuddānaṁ which summarizes the events of the First Buddhist Council. It contains this verse: “Upāliṁ vinayaṁ pucchi, suttantānandapaṇḍitaṁ; Piṭakaṁ tīṇi saṅgītiṁ,akaṁsu jinasāvakā.”
- That says: “Venerable Upāli recited the Vinaya (Upāliṁ vinayaṁ pucchi,) Ven. Ananda recited the Suttas (suttantānandapaṇḍitaṁor sutta ānanda paṇḍitaṁ), and all of the 500 Arahants present recited ALL THREE Piṭaka (Piṭakaṁ tīṇi saṅgītiṁ,akaṁsu jinasāvakā.)
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And in digha Nikaya, 16.6.1
The Buddha said that after he had mahaparinibbana, Only the Dhamma and Vinaya will be our teachers.
Dear Waisaka
So would you say that when you were in school and refered to your teacher as a teacher, you were actually lying? 😊
In my humble opinion, if the Sutta is your light, use the Sutta. If the whole Tipitakka is your light, use the whole Tipitakka. There is a saying: the more the words, the less the meaning. Only 3 words are necessary: anicca, dukkha, anatta.
May all have a true light in their lives. 🙏
Namo Buddhaya ☸️
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“The Buddha said that after he had mahaparinibbana, Only the Dhamma and Vinaya will be our teachers. “
- There is no contradiction. Abhidhamma is also Dhamma.
- Abhidhamma is the same as Dhamma in the Sutta Pitaka, but it is presented a bit differently (systematically and analytically).
- Here is a rough analogy that can give the idea. To drive a car, one does not need to understand the physics and engineering of how it is built. However, if the car breaks down while driving, that person cannot fix even a minor problem and could get stuck. However, someone with a bit of knowledge about the car may be able to fix a minor issue. A mechanic with more knowledge about the car’s construction may be able to fix more problems.
- That is how we should look at Abhidhamma. The more Abhidhamma knowledge one has, the easier it becomes to resolve some issues that may arise while studying suttas.
- Also see “Abhidhamma – Introduction.”
P.S. As discussed in that post, Abhidhamma was not taught to the public at the time of the Buddha. The Buddha described the Abhidhamma framework to Ven. Sariputta, and it took over 200 years for bhikkhus to develop the Abhidhamma theory fully. Only ready parts were recited in the early Sangayanas (Buddhist Councils), and the completed Abhidhamma Pitaka was recited in the third Council about 250 years after the Parinibbana of the Buddha. See #7 in the post.
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I havent read abhidhamma yet, but why would the Buddha not teach abhidhamma to anyone except sariputta ? (And maybe the students of sariputta and deities?).
I understand about inclinations, the inclinations of sariputta and his students to analytical knowledge, still, if abhidhamma had value, i dont see why it had to be posponed.Why only teach the framework instead of the full thing.
If it is true that abhidhamma was only valuable to a few monks and it will only confuse the others, why theravada is teaching it to all monks?.
Regards
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“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.
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Thanks Lal for the fast answer:
-if abhidhamma was so intellectual why it was taught to deities? I would think they where more intuitive instead of conceptual.
-i get that at the beggining of the sasana there where quick attainments, but at later years according to suttas fewer and fewer saints, wouldnt have been useful then?
-so you think abhidhamma was meant to be a teaching for books?
Im just throwing thoughts haha
Regards
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The value of something can’t be discerned by throwing guesses and making assumptions, but through rigorous examination. I have made this mistake before. If one sees any issues/contradictions of Abhidhamma concepts with the rest of the canon, they can bring it up. Else, who knows (or cares?) what precisely happened 2000+ years ago.
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