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Abhidhamma Studies: Buddhist Explorations of Consciousness and Time, by Nyanaponika
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The Abhidhamma, the third great division of early Buddhist teaching, expounds a revolutionary system of philosophical psychology rooted in the twin Buddhist insights of selflessness and dependent origination. In keeping with the liberative thrust of early Buddhism, this system organizes the entire spectrum of human consciousness around the two poles of Buddhist doctrine - bondage and liberation, Samsara and Nirvana - the starting point and the final goal. It thereby maps out, with remarkable rigour and precision, the inner landscape of the mind to be crossed through the practical work of Buddhist meditation.
In this book of groundbreaking essays, Venerable Nyanaponika Thera, one of our age's foremost exponents of Theravada Buddhism, attempts to penetrate beneath the formidable face of the Abhidhamma and to make its principles intelligible to the thoughtful reader of today. His point of focus is the Consciousness Chapter of the Dhammasangani, the first treatise of the Abhidhamma Pitaka. Basing his interpretation on the detailed list of mental factors that the Abhidhamma uses as a guide to psychological analysis, he launches into bold explorations in the multiple dimensions of conditionality, the nature of consciousness, the temporality of experience, and the psychological springs of spiritual transformation. Innovative and rich in insights, this book does not merely open up new avenues in the academic study of early Buddhism. By treating the Abhidhamma as a fountainhead of inspiration for philosophical and psychological inquiry, it demonstrates the continuing relevance of Buddhist thought to our most astute contemporary efforts to understand the elusive yet so intimate nature of the mind.
- Sales Rank: #382584 in eBooks
- Published on: 2012-11-12
- Released on: 2012-11-12
- Format: Kindle eBook
Review
"A learned and carefully reasoned inquiry into the workings of the mind from a Buddhist perspective... a challenging yet important work." (Religious Studies Review)
"Abhidhamma is a systemization of reality as it concerns the final goal the Buddha's teaching, 'liberation from suffering.' Abhidhamma Studies rigorously maps out the inner landscape of the mind to be crossed through Buddhist meditation." (Research News and Opportunities in Science and Theology)
"I am greatly honored to welcome this new English edition of Nyanaponika Thera's brilliant work, rendered even more valuable by the addition of an instructive and lucid introduction by Bhikkhu Bodhi." (Prof. P.S. Jaini, UC Berkeley, Buddhist Studies)
"Delightful and thought-provoking... Essential reading for any serious student of Buddhism. Additionally, it will appeal to those interested in a wide variety of phenomenological and ontological issues... I heartily recommend reading it from cover to cover." (Douglas W, Shrader, SUNY Oneonta, in his review in Philosophy East & West)
"Students of Buddhism will find this an important guide." (The Bookwatch)
"Groundbreaking...innovative and rich in insights...valued and informative contribution to Buddhist studies." (Wisconsin Bookwatch)
"Interesting and important ideas..." (Journal of Buddhist Ethics)
About the Author
Nyanaponika Thera, a German-born Buddhist monk, was a scholar, translator, and founder of The Buddhist Publication Society in Sri Lanka. Thera died in 1994 at the age of 93.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Abhidhamma Studies
EXCERPT
Chapter 1: The Abhidhamma Philosophy: Its Estimation in the Past, Its Value for the Present
The High Esteem for the Abhidhamma in Buddhist Tradition
The Abhidhamma Pitaka, or the Philosophical Collection, forms the third great section of the Buddhist Pali Canon (Tipitaka). In its most characteristic parts it is a system of classifications, analytical enumerations, and definitions, with no discursive treatment of the subject matter. In particular its two most important books, the Dhammasangani and the Patthana, have the appearance of huge collections of systematically arranged tabulations, accompanied by definitions of the terms used in the tables. This, one would expect, is a type of literature scarcely likely to gain much popular appreciation. Yet the fact remains that the Abhidhamma has always been highly esteemed and even venerated in the countries of Theravada Buddhism.
Two examples taken from the chronicles of Sri Lanka illustrate this high regard for the Abhidhamma. In the tenth century C.E., on the order of King Kassapa V, the whole Abhidhamma Pitaka was inscribed on gold plates, and the first of these books, the Dhammasangani, was set with jewels. When the work was completed, the precious manuscripts were taken in a huge procession to a beautiful monastery and deposited there. Another king of Lanka, Vijayabahu (eleventh century), used to study the Dhammasangani in the early morning before he took up his royal duties, and he prepared a translation of it into Sinhala, which however has not been preserved.
What were the reasons for such an extraordinary esteem for material that appears at first glance to consist of no more than dry and unattractive textbooks? And what actual importance do the two basic works of the Abhidhamma in particular, the Dhammasangani and the Patthana, still have today? These are the questions that we shall attempt to answer here.
In considering the reasons for this high esteem and regard for the Abhidhamma, we may leave aside any manifestation of faith, more or less unquestioning, that evokes in the devotee a certain awe owing to the very abstruseness and bulk of these books. That apart, we may find a first explanation in the immediate impression on susceptible minds that they are faced here by a gigantic edifice of penetrative insight, which in its foundations and its layout cannot well be ascribed to a lesser mind than that of a Buddha; and this first impression will find growing confirmation in the gradual process of comprehending these teachings.
According to the Theravada tradition the Abhidhamma is the domain proper of the Buddhas (buddhavisaya), and its initial conception in the Master's mind (manasa desana) is traced to the time immediately after the Great Enlightenment. It was in the fourth of the seven weeks spent by the Master in the vicinity of the Bodhi Tree that the Abhidhamma was conceived. These seven days were called by the teachers of old "the Week of the House of Gems" (ratanaghara-sattaha). "The House of Gems" is indeed a very befitting expression for the crystal-clear edifice of Abhidhamma thought in which the Buddha dwelt during that period.
The Abhidhamma as System and Method
Those who have an eye for the ingenious and the significant in the architecture of great edifices of thought will probably be impressed first by the Abhidhamma's structural qualities, its wide compass, its inner consistency, and its far-reaching implications. The Abhidhamma offers an impressive systematization of the whole of reality as far as it is of concern to the final goal of the Buddha's teaching--liberation from craving and suffering; for it deals with actuality from an exclusively ethical and psychological viewpoint and with a definite practical purpose.
A strikingly impressive feature of the Abhidhamma is its analysis of the entire realm of consciousness. The Abhidhamma is the first historical attempt to map the possibilities of the human mind in a thorough and realistic way, without admixture of metaphysics and mythology. This system provides a method by which the enormous welter of facts included or implied in it can be subordinated to, and be utilized by, the liberating function of knowledge, which in the Buddha's teaching is the essential task and the greatest value of true understanding. This organizing and mustering of knowledge for such a purpose cannot fail to appeal to the practical thinker.
The Abhidhamma may also be regarded as a systematization of the doctrines contained, or implicit, in the Sutta Pitaka, the Collection of Discourses. It formulates these doctrines in strictly philosophical (paramattha) or truly realistic (yathabhuta) language that as far as possible employs terms descriptive of functions and processes without any of the conventional (vohara) and unrealistic concepts that assume a personality, an agent (as different from the act), a soul, or a substance.
These remarks about the systematizing import of the Abhidhamma may perhaps create the impression in the reader that the Abhidhamma is no more than "a mere method with only a formalistic function." Leaving aside the fact that this is not so, as we shall see later, let us first quote, against this somewhat belittling attitude, a word of Friedrich Nietzsche, himself certainly no friend of rigid systematization: "Scientific spirit rests upon insight into the method."
For the preeminently practical needs of the Buddhist the Abhidhamma fulfills the requirements stated by Bertrand Russell: "A complete description of the existing world would require not only a catalogue of the things, but also a mention of all their qualities and relations." A systematic "catalogue of things" together with their qualities, or better "functions," is given in the first book of the Abhidhamma, the Dhammasangani, a title that could well be rendered "A Catalogue (or Compendium) of Things"; and the relations, or the conditionality, of these things are treated in the Patthana.
Some who consider themselves "strong-minded" have called systems "a refuge of feeble minds." While it must be admitted that the conceptual labels supplied by systems (including the Abhidhamma) have often been misused as a surrogate for correct comprehension of reality, this does not mean that the fault lies in systematic thought itself. The fault lies, rather, in the attitude with which a system is developed and the use to which it is put. If systematic thought is cautiously and critically applied, it can fulfill a valuable function, providing "weapons of defense" against the overwhelming assault of innumerable internal and external impressions on the human mind. This unceasing influx of impressions, by sheer weight of number and diversity alone, can be either overpowering and fascinating or else confusing, intimidating, distracting, even dissolving. The only means by which the human mind can assimilate this vast world of plurality (papanca), at least partly, is with the aid of systematic and methodical thought. But systems may also be "aggressive weapons" when wielded by a mind that through its power of understanding tries to control and master the numerous experiences, actions, and reactions occurring in our inner and outer world, subordinating them to its own purposes.
The Abhidhamma system, however, is not concerned with an artificial, abstract world of "objects in themselves." Insofar as it deals with external facts at all, the respective concepts relate those "external facts" to the bondage or liberation of the human mind; or they are terms auxiliary to the tasks of the understanding and mental training connected with the work of liberation.
The basically dynamic character of the Abhidhamma system, and of the concepts it employs, goes far in preventing both rigidity and any artificial simplification of a complex and ever-changing world--the faults that those inimical to them find in all "systems." System and method bring order, coherence, and meaning into what often appears to be a world of isolated facts, which becomes amenable to our purposes only by a methodical approach. This holds true for the system of the Abhidhamma, too, in regard to the highest purpose: mind's liberation from ignorance and suffering.
Most helpful customer reviews
115 of 118 people found the following review helpful.
Excellent, surprisingly enjoyable and practical.
By whiltz@mindspring.com
Although my own practice centers around the Mahayana teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, recently I have found it very helpful to spend some time studying and practicing the older, more original approaches from the early days of the Buddhist tradition. In that regard, this small gem of a book has been quite a find! It deals, as the subtitle says, with "Buddhist explorations of consciousness and time" through a historical and philosophical account of the third set of the Buddha's teachings, the "basket" of wisdom. Although the subject matter is rigorously discussed from a philosophical standpoint, the book is anything but dry philosophy. Here, in enjoyable and fairly straightforward language, the author brings alive the fundamental Buddhist analytical and synthetical approaches for understanding of the nature of reality, and yet makes this potentially academic study reverberate wonderfully into such practical areas as the need for pure moral discipline, as well as pointing the way to more effective training in meditative tranquility and insight. I think this is one to keep on the bookshelf and re-read and study again from time to time as one's practice deepens, and it will also serve undoubtedly for me as a starting off point for a wealth of further studies, contemplations and meditations.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful.
A philosophical gem
By Tom Corsus
In Abhidhamma Studies, the Ven. Nyanaponika Thera has done something truly unique. For many of those who have a cursory acquaintance with its contents, the Abhidhamma is an impenetrable thicket of terms and tables. It is seen either as the dense high philosophy of monks who succeeded the Buddha, or the loftiest teachings of the Buddha, meant for gods and enlightened monks.
In this book, Nyanaponika Thera brings the Abhidhamma down to Earth and gives us just a glimpse of the insights it yet waits to unfold. In his introduction, Nyanaponika Thera argues that the Abhidhamma is only relevant as an organic, growing discipline engaging the minds of courageous and insightful souls. This work is not a dry summary of the contents of the seven books of the Abhidhamma, but an introduction to the method of the Abhidhamma.
The book begins with a brief contextualization of the Abhidhamma. The Abhidhamma is the third "basket" of the Pali Canon, the canonical scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. It consists of seven books, and these seven books are largely composed of lists of terms, definitions, and classification schemata. The origin of these books, however, is a subject of dispute.
One of Nyanaponika Thera's primary aims in this book is to show the profundity of these books. The degree of rigor, consistency, depth, breadth, and purpose one finds in the Abhidhamma cannot help but suggest the presence of a sublime mind. As the author unpacks a small fragment of this teaching, one becomes mesmerized by the subtlety of this system. More importantly, the practical application of the system becomes readily apparent.
The purpose of the Abhidhamma is not to systematize and classify all of reality as an intellectual curiosity. Its true aim is to systematize the reality experienced by the mind relative to the goal of liberation. Without this focal point, the system of Abhidhamma would be left chasing its own tail, attempting to prove its own suppositions. However, because liberation provides both the ground and the aim of this system, many of the questions which plague metaphysical systems become moot. For instance, the question "what is a phenomenon?" is replaced by the question, "what are the characteristics of phenomena?" In the view of liberation, it is very important to realize that phenomena are impermanent, impersonal, and unsatisfactory. Beyond this, it is not relevant to attempt to define phenomena in terms of something else.
The Abhidhamma is a great boon for anyone attempting to understand causality at a deeper level. Nyanaponika Thera gives a beautiful exposition of the system's two-fold method of analysis and synthesis. Through analysis, the Abhidhamma dissolves the solidified reality of "I" and personality into a multitude of mental factors. Through synthesis, the Abhidhamma shows the relations which exist between these factors, and how they challenge or support one another.
Nyanaponika Thera's insights will mirror the experience of all those who have taken some time to witness the mechanics of their own mind. More importantly, his writing offers a tool to refine our own observations. A critical insight offered by the author is that the way we observe can affect the course of what we are observing. For instance, we might find that our mind is see-sawing between agitation and tranquility. If we focus unwisely on the agitation, we may very well increase the agitation to the point where tranquility leaves the scene altogether. Similarly, if we focus wisely on the tranquility, the agitation may very well subside. The author offers many examples of how mental factors engage and balance one another, and for those who are devoted to maintaining continuous mindfulness, these observations are invaluable.
Abhidhamma Studies succeeds on multiple levels. As an introduction to the system and method of Abhidhamma, it reveals this branch of the Pali Canon to be a perennial philosophy, a body of thought which not only provides timeless philosophical, psychological, and ethical insights, but also opens myriad channels of exploration and exposition. As applied Abhidhamma, it demonstrates the power of both the system and the method, delivering practical insights for anyone engaged in serious meditation. Most importantly, this work demonstrates the value of a clear and focused mind directed toward understanding the subtlest mechanics of reality. It invites us to establish a continuous awareness of the causal mechanics of our mind, destabilizing the ego and paving the way to wisdom.
For those with a philosophical inclination, this book is a nourishing gourmet meal. Enjoy!
27 of 32 people found the following review helpful.
Best book on Early Buddhist notions of self and mind.
By James Ryan
Nyanaponika introduces Early Buddhist philosophical psychology in detail. He shows that the common and superficial understanding of the Buddhist theory of self - according to which the theory is a mere list of the parts of a self - is wrong and overlooks the Abhidhamma (probably because it is an abstruse section of the Buddhist canon). The theory includes an often overlooked but sophisticated and plausible description of functional relations amongst the parts of a self, and Nyanaponika shows this with astonishing vivacity. This shows that the Early Buddhist theory was an early scientific psychology of a functionalist sort: a monumental acheivement in human intellectual history. All the while, he skilfully shows how the theory is logically connected with the Buddhist notion of psychological self-refinement and nirvana. Still, Nyanaponika and the Abhidhamma ideas he explains seem at times to rely on a dubious empirical method: the introspections of ancient Buddhist masters (which may have included the Buddha himself) who wrote the Abhidhamma texts. As a consequence, some of the descriptions of the parts of the self and their functions seem vague or implausible. Also, although Nyanaponika is good at explaining the philosophical as well as the psychological, one might have liked a bit more discussion of the structure of what appears to be an underlying Buddhist argument that there is no self. The book is of interest to philosophers and psychologists.
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