Abhidhamma is mainly concerned with the study of abstract truths in absolute terms. But in describing the dhammas in their various aspects, it is not possible to keep to absolute terms only. Inevitably, conventional terms of every day language have to be employed in order to keep the lines of communication open at all. Abhidhamma states that there are two main types of conventional usage; the first type is concerned with terms which describe things that actually exist in reality and the second type describes things which have no existence in reality.
The first three books of the Abhidhamma investigate the absolute truth of the Dhamma in a planned system of detailed analysis employing such terms as khandha, āyatana, dhātu, sacca and indriya. These terms are mere designations which express things that exist in reality and can therefore be classified as conventional usage of the first type referred to above. To the second category of conventional usage belong such expressions such as man, woman, deva, individual etc., which have no existence in reality, but nevertheless are essential for the communication of thoughts.
It becomes necessary therefore to distinguish between these two types of apparent truths. But as the terms khandha, āyatana, dhātu, sacca and indriya have been elaborately dealt with in the first three books, they are dealt with here only briefly. Terms of the second type relating to individuals are given more weight and space in this treatise, hence its title Puggalapaññatti (designation of individuals). Different types of individuals are classified, in ten chapters of the book, according to the manner of enumeration employed in the Aṅguttara Nikāya.
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