Abhidhamma makes things really easy regarding interpretations of Dhamma

Discussion of Abhidhamma and related Commentaries
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Ceisiwr
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Re: Abhidhamma makes things really easy regarding interpretations of Dhamma

Post by Ceisiwr »

Cause_and_Effect wrote: Sat Dec 31, 2022 8:02 pm
Ceisiwr wrote: Tue Dec 27, 2022 11:39 pm
I also think you can’t really understand the Dhamma without understanding the Abhidharma.
An eroneous view without support, the Nikayas frequently refer to the vinaya and suttas as the teaching but never an abhidhamma.
Still you must have some basis for this view, which is?
The suttas do speak of Abhidhamma and mātika. The Theravādin Vinaya also speak of there being the Vinaya, Dhamma and Abhidhamma. Just quite what is being referred to here is though another matter. I think it is important to study all the Abhidhamma material available, as best as we can, because it helps give better context to understanding how certain ideas developed. By doing that, you understand the Dhamma better. The Abhidhammas also do have important and helpful exegesis within them. This too helps us to better understand the Dhamma. They also act in part like ancient dictionaries which, once again, helps us to understand the Dhamma. We can also see potentially where they have gone off track, and by better understanding how they went off track we can better keep to the straight and narrow. This is, once again, very helpful. I should though, after review, amend by previous statement. It was to strong a claim. You can of course understand the Dhamma without the Abhidhamma, without commentaries or without much instruction. It's rare, especially today, but not impossible. For most of us though, studying the various Abhidhammas should be part of any Buddhist education for anyone who really wants to better understand what the Buddha was teaching. I would include in that also studying and understanding the philosophies and religions that the Buddha was familiar with too.
“Knowing that this body is just like foam,
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”
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