7 Paṭṭhāna Pāḷi

Paṭṭhāna Pāḷi, the seventh and last book of the Abhidhamma, is called the Mahā Pakāraṇa, the "Great Book" announcing the supreme position it occupies and the height of excellence it has reached in its investigations into the ultimate nature of all the dhammas in the universe.

The Dhammasaṅgaṇī gives an enumeration of these dhammas classifying them under the Tika and Duka groups. Vibhaṅga analyses them to show what dhammas are contained in the major categories of khandhas, āyatanas, dhātus etc. Dhātukathā studies the relationship of dhammas listed in the Mātikā with each component of these major categories of khandhas, āyatanas and dhātus. Yamaka resolves ambiguity in the internal and external relationship of each dhamma. Paṭṭhāna forming the last book of the Abhidhamma brings together all such relationships in a co-ordinated form to show that the dhammas do not exist as isolated entities but they constitute a well ordered system in which the smallest unit conditions the rest of it and is also being conditioned in return. The arrangement of the system is so very intricate, complex, highly thorough and complete that it has earned for this treatise the reputation of being deep, profound and unfathomable.

An Outline of the Paṭṭhāna System of Relations
Paṭṭhāna, made up of the words "pa" and "ṭhāna", means a system of relations. The great treatise of Paṭṭhāna arranges all conditioned things (twenty-two Tikas and one hundred Dukas of the Mātikā) under twenty-four kinds of relations, and describes and classifies them into a complete system for understanding the mechanics of the universe of Dhamma. The whole work is divided into four great divisions, namely:

(i) Anuloma Paṭṭhāna which studies the instance in which the paccaya relations do exist between the dhammas;
(ii) Paccanīya Paṭṭhāna which studies the instances in which paccaya relations do not exist between the dhammas;
(iii) Anuloma Paccanīya Paṭṭhāna which studies the instances in which some of the paccaya relations exist between the dhammas while the others do not;
(iv) Paccanīya Anuloma Paṭṭhāna which studies the instances in which some of the paccaya relations do not exist between the dhammas, while the others do exist.

The twenty-four paccaya relations are applied to these four great divisions in the followings six ways:

(i) Tika Paṭṭhāna
-the twenty-four paccayas are applied to the dhammas in their twenty-four Tika groups.
(ii) Duka Paṭṭhāna
-the twenty-four paccayas are applied to the dhammas in their one hundred Duka groups.
(iii) Duka-Tika Paṭṭhāna
-the twenty-four paccayas applied to the dhammas in their twenty-four Tikas mixed with one hundred Duka groups.
(iv) Tika-Duka Paṭṭhāna
-the twenty-four paccayas applied to the dhammas in their twenty-four Tikas mixed with one hundred groups.
(v) Tika-Tika Paṭṭhāna
-the twenty-four paccayas applied to the dhammas in the twenty-four Tika groups mixed with one another.
(vi) Duka-Duka Paṭṭhāna
-the twenty-four paccayas applied to the dhammas in their one hundred Duka groups mixed with one another.

The four Paṭṭhānas of the four great divisions when combined with the six Paṭṭhānas of the six ways result in twenty-four treatises which constitute the gigantic compilation of abstract Abhidhamma known as the Mahāpakāraṇa or, as the commentary and sub-commentary name it, "Anantanaya Samanta Paṭṭhāna" to denote its great profundity and depth.