The Theravāda Abhidhamma : inquiry into the nature of conditioned reality

A Lucid Explanation Of The Basic Contours Of The Theravada Abhidamma System For Serious Students Of Buddhist Thought. The Renowned Sri Lankan Scholar Y. Karunadasa Examines Abhidhamma Perspectives On The Nature Of Phenomenal Existence. He Begins With A Discussion Of Dhamma Theory, Which Describes The Bare Phenomena That Form The World Of Experience. He Then Explains The Abhidhamma View That Only Dhammas Are Real, And That Anything Other Than These Basic Phenomena Are Conceptual Constructs. This, He Argues, Is Abhidhamma’s Answer To Common-sense Realism—the Mistaken View That The World As It Appears To Us Is Ultimately Real. Among The Other Topics Discussed Are The Theory Of Double Truth (ultimate And Conceptual Truth), The Analysis Of Mind, The Theory Of Cognition, The Analysis Of Matter, The Nature Of Time And Space, The Theory Of Momentary Being, And Conditional Relations. The Volume Concludes With An Appendix That Examines Why The Theravada Came To Be Known As Vibhajjavada, “the Doctrine Of Analysis.” Not Limiting Himself To Abstract Analysis, Karunadasa Draws Out The Abhidhamma’s Underlying Premises And Purposes. The Abhidhamma Provides A Detailed Description Of Reality In Order To Identify The Sources Of Suffering And Their Antidotes—and In Doing So, To Free Oneself. "The renowned Sri Lankan scholar Y. Karunadasa examines the Abhidhamma perspective on the nature of phenomenal existence. He begins with a discussion of dhamma theory, which provides the ontological foundation for Abhidhamma philosophy. (The dhamma theory is an Abhidhammic innovation that gives an overview of the bare phenomenon that form this world; it's a theory of real existents.) He then explains the category of "the conceptual" as the Abhidhamma's answer to the objects of common-sense realism. Among the other topics discussed are the theory of double truth (ultimate and conceptual truth), the analysis of mind, the theory of cognition, the analysis of matter, the nature of time and space, the theory of momentary being, and conditional relations. The volume concludes with an appendix that examines why the Theravāda came to be known as Vibhajjavāda, "the doctrine of analysis." Not limiting himself to abstract analysis, Karunadasa draws out the Abhidhamma's underlying premises and purposes--the Abhidhamma provides a detailed description of reality in order to identify all sources of suffering and thereby point to a complete cure for the problem of suffering"-- Provided by publisher Contents Foreword Preface Introduction 1. The Real Existents 2. The Nominal and the Conceptual 3. The Two Truths 4. The Analysis of Mind 5. Consciousness 6. Classes of Consciousness 7. The Ethically Variable Mental Factors 8. The Unwholesome Mental Factors 9. The Beautiful Mental Factors 10. The Cognitive Process 11. The Analysis of Matter 12. The Great Elements of Matter 13. The Real Dependent Matter 14. The Nominal Dependent Matter 15. The Material Clusters 16. Time and Space 17. Momentariness 18. The Conditional Relations Appendix: Theravāda and Vibhajjavāda Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index About the Author