What means Abhidhamma?
The Abhidhamma, literally ‘Higher Dhamma’, is the Philosophical-Psychological System of Buddhism. It is a system of highly philosophical ideas, to which the designation ‘Paramattha’ is applied. ‘Paramattha’ being a word-compound that is made of two distinct parts, the first part, ‘parama’, having the meaning of ultimate, highest, or final, while the second part ‘attha’ denotes, reality, thing or truth. Thus the word Paramattha means ‘Things ultimate’, ‘Highest things’ or more loosely, ‘Timeless-‘ or ‘Eternal Truths’.
In traditional Buddhist countries the Abhidhamma is held in highest esteem, being considered the more advanced teaching of Buddhism. Yet, although it is held in such high esteem, many a student studying it, found himself at the very least perplexed as to its usefulness. Oftentimes a more serious attempt to get to the meaning of this system has lead the serious student to strong doubts and confusion, wondering as to whether the whole thing, far away from having been taught by the Buddha, was not made up by the devil…
Those who like this blog also can check out another one by me under amonksnotes.wordpress.com. This, having been the preparation of my mind for my desired journey to explore the Abhidhamma, might perhaps be useful to those who seek to follow a similar path.
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This blog is an outline of the Buddhist Abhidhamma. Its aim is to show a method of contemplation, giving those who are inclined to meditate on the Abhidhamma, subjects or headings for meditation, all of which point in a definite direction, one subject providing a basis for the next.
Most people never have enough time, rarely have a good time and in general time seems be something that works usually against them. A person working on a spiritual path can not get around the problem of time. Because acquiring more control over ones life means also acquiring more control over time...
If we learn to understand our meditation in a grander context, and ideally in relation to the whole cosmos, the task of changing ourselves becomes a matter of universal importance.
“To understand means, to understand all,...to understand only in part, means to not understand at all.” ‘The Paṭṭhāna’, traditionally regarded as the …
In the ancient world, the wise man was often called the knower of the gods. The gods signifying hidden entities which were …
Matter If you but seek’st enlightenment; first it’s opposite must comprehend. But what is the opposite of spirit? Tis matter whose coarseness …
A condition of meditation, is a condition wherein the mind seeks an escape from matter. Meditation is about finding the middle path, …
Many a one would like to increase his own power of attraction, that is, his own capacity to attract whatever he may …
Nature is cyclical and moody. Sometimes she gives, sometimes she takes…Man’s inner nature too is cyclical and moody. Yet, to some degree man has proven a capacity to move beyond certain cycles, into a direction not indicated by nature
Principally should the study of this system give a person the key to comprehend any teaching or statement or problem whatsoever, be …
In Buddhism there is a bit of a quarrel amongst different schools in regards to the question of rebirth. The question being …
Here an example of the relevance of understanding the proper foundations upon which the mind may function. Besides, this example also illustrates …
For a Buddhist practitioner, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the law of kamma, is one of the essential things to aim at. …
Kamma and rebirth are interlinked, as are mind and body. Here I want to show in brief pictorial form the relation between mind and body, and how it relates to kamma and rebirth.
Sometimes people studying Buddhism, especially in relation to the vipassanā schools, end up with some conclusion that there is no continuity in …
This is just a small overview, to give some basic understanding about consciousness. For the purpose of easier study of the mind. …
One essential thing for a meditator who starts out on the meditators path, is to keep (or create) a meditation diary. This …
Kamma as a Paṭṭhāna condition, refers to the condition wherein actions, but more specifically mental acts of will or intention are acting …
Whenever we give something, whenever we sacrifice something from whatever material goods we possess, or from our time, …we are going against …
How to know the Truth? If your only sphere of knowledge is the sensory world,…It does not make much sense to concern …
Here an example of how some understanding of the physiological processes and mental sequences described throughout this website, may be used to …
“When I the starry courses know, And Nature’s wise instruction seek, With light of power my soul shall glow, As when with …
This is an idealised version of the arising of the Jhāna factors,…mainly for making clear the meaning of the terms. In actual …
Every person who through proficiency in some skill rises himself up above his fellow human beings, does so through having found some …
The Mental Body is one key concept of some of the esoteric tradition brought to the west*, which will prove very valuable …
Bhavanga (that wherein one’s existence is rooted), includes, so we believe, also blind (unconscious) emotions…wandering thoughts and dreams. All those we take …
Bīja Niyama is the law of organic life. Bīja literally means ‘seed’, in the sense of ‘germ of life’. Thus, Bīja Niyama, …
Very often people find it difficult to find a point of contact in their own experience with certain ideas that they yet …
The bhavanga is one key concept of Buddhist thought. Usually translated as life-continuum, it is more literally ‘that wherein one’s life is …
By learning to comprehend different relations between mind and matter (as shown in the post on the Paṭṭhāna conditions), as consciousness grows …
As a person grows in purity, slowly an understanding of the difference between body and mind begins to develop. Hence, the mind …
Good begets good, bad begets bad. Most people, at the very least have heard such saying. Yet, although there may be situations …
A concept is a synthesis of information arrived at through mental processing.
Anger Anger is life resisting life. It is when life is identified with what it is not, that it resists its own …
A concept is a synthesis of mind-objects (bits of information) arrived at through mental processing. Through processing the objects of the 5 …
Citta Niyāma is the law of mind. It is the law that governs the appearance and sequence in regard to mental phenomena. …
With every mental impulse, your body throws off particles of energy. Strong mental impulses produce a larger quantity of these particles. And …
There are five gods or devas. Which live in heaven, but which occasionally come down to earth to fight with the demons. …
Kamma Niyāma is the law of will or intention. Whenever the mind based on previous investigation and classification (of some sense-sphere phenomena) …
Should a person desire to practice Four Elements meditation as a subject for establishing mindfulness, he should frequently recite to himself the …
An Example of developing the Spiritual Faculties There are uncountable ways in which we could use the Abhidhamma system to develop our …
Conceiving of a past and a future and a good and a bad, the mind seeks to make more often decisions that …
The Chain of Becoming (often called the Law of Dependent Origination (Paticca samuppāda)) is perhaps the most famous of Buddhist Laws. Discovered …
Perhaps you might have heard from someone, that killing other living beings, is bad. Yet, your reason tells you, that if you …
Now, our body needs nutriment. When we eat our food, that food gets digested in the stomach and then send further downward …
Here I want to show, higher meditation experiences usually will only occur, when at least part of some higher Dhamma knowledge has …
Nowadays, what is now often termed ‘mindfulness meditation’ is becoming quite popular. Oftentimes people are advised to do things, like walking, very …
As choices become more consistent and as the mind becomes more capable of making intelligent kammical calculations that are in alignment with …
Bīja literally means ‘seed’, in the sense of ‘germ of life’. Thus this law of Bīja Niyāma, is essentially the law that …
The Buddha declared, that an absolute beginning of things can not be found,…yet in regard to the phenomenal world, whether on a …
The Paṭṭhāna, in traditional Buddhist countries often thought of as the quintessence of the Buddha’s wisdom, is on the other hand amongst …
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