..續本文上一頁introduce many (though not all) of the categories for classifying kamma, and work out the detailed correlations between kamma and its results. They also close off the total number of mental factors (cetasika). The phrase in the Dhammasangani, "or whatever other (unmentioned) conditionally arisen immaterial phenomena there are on that occasion," apparently envisages an open-ended universe of mental factors, which the Commentaries delimit by specifying the "or-whatever states" (yevapanaka dhamma). Again, the Commentaries consummate the dhamma theory by supplying the formal definition of dhammas as "things which bear their own intrinsic nature" (attano sabhavam dharenti ti dhamma). The task of defining specific dhammas is finally rounded off by the extensive employment of the fourfold defining device of characteristic, function, manifestation, and proximate cause, a device derived from a pair of old exegetical texts, the Petakopadesa and the Nettipakarana.

　　The Abhidhammattha Sangaha

　　As the Abhidhamma system, already massive in its canonical version, grew in volume and complexity, it must have become increasingly unwieldy for purposes of study and comprehension. Thus at a certain stage in the evolution of Theravada Buddhist thought the need must have become felt for concise summaries of the Abhidhamma as a whole in order to provide the novice student of the subject with a clear picture of its main outlines — faithfully and thoroughly, yet without an unmanageable mass of detail.

　　To meet this need there began to appear, perhaps as early as the fifth century and continuing well through the twelfth, short manuals or compendia of the Abhidhamma. In Burma these are called let-than or "little-finger manuals," of which there are nine:

　　Abhidhammattha Sangaha, by Acariya Anuruddha;

　　Namarupa-pariccheda, by the same;

　　Paramattha-vinicchaya, by the same (

　　);

　　Abhidhammavatara, by Acariya Buddhadatta (a senior contemporary of Buddhaghosa);

　　Ruparupa-vibhaga, by the same;

　　Sacca-sankhepa, by Bhadanta Dhammapala (probably Sri Lankan; different from the great subcommentator);

　　Moha-vicchedani, by Bhadanta Kassapa (South Indian or Sri Lankan);

　　Khema-pakarana, by Bhadanta Khema (Sri Lankan);

　　Namacara-dipaka, by Bhadanta Saddhamma Jotipala (Burman).

　　Among these, the work that has dominated Abhidhamma studies from about the twelfth century to the present day is the first mentioned, the Abhidhammattha Sangaha, "The Compendium of Things contained in the Abhidhamma." Its popularity may be accounted for by its remarkable balance between concision and comprehensiveness. Within its short scope all the essentials of the Abhidhamma are briefly and carefully summarized. Although the book”s manner of treatment is extremely terse even to the point of obscurity when read alone, when studied under a qualified teacher or with the aid of an explanatory guide, it leads the student confidently through the winding maze of the system to a clear perception of its entire structure. For this reason throughout the Theravada Buddhist world the Abhidhammattha Sangaha is always used as the first textbook in Abhidhamma studies. In Buddhist monasteries, especially in Burma, novices and young bhikkhus are required to learn the Sangaha by heart before they are permitted to study the books of the Abhidhamma Pitaka and its Commentaries.

　　Detailed information about the author of the manual, Acariya Anuruddha, is virtually non-existent. He is regarded as the author of two other manuals, cited above, and it is believed in Buddhist countries that he wrote altogether nine compendia, of which only these three have survived. The Paramattha-vinicchaya is written in an elegant style of Pali and attains a high standard of literary excellence. According to the colophon, its author was born in Ka…

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