The Foundations of Buddhism

The Abhidharma 207

but in such texts we do not have a full system in the manner of

the Theravadin or Sarvastivadin Abhidharma. A third complete

system of Abhidharma is, however, elaborated in certain of

the works of the· Mahayana Y ogacara tradition, principally in

Asailga's Abhidharma-samuccaya ('Compendium of Abhidharma')

and in Hstian-tsang's commentary on Vasubandhu's Trirrzsikii

('Thirty Verses'), the Ch'eng-wei-shih lun or Vijnapti-mtitratii-

siddhi ('Demonstration of the Theory of Mind Only'). While this

Y ogacarin Abhidharma owes much to the Sarvastivadin system, it

also incorporates and adapts certain aspects of other Abhidharma

systems in order to present a complete Abhidharma in accord-

ance with a Mahayanist outlook and the view that mind ( vijnapti)

alone is ultimately 'real'.

The Abhidharma as a system of Buddhist thought

As a system of thought Abhidharma is to be contrasted with

Siitranta (Pali suttanta), the system of the siitras or discourses

of the Buddha. Siitranta is regarded as the application of the

principles of the Buddha's teaching to a particular situation: each

siitra preserved in the Nikaya/ Agama collections is a discourse

delivered by the Buddha, or one of his disciples, at a particular

time, in a particular place, and to a particular person or group.

Siitranta teachings are embellished with poetic language, with

similes and metaphors that inspire the listener. The Abhidharma

method, in contrast, presents the Buddha's teachings without mak-

ing concessions to time or place or audience, and in technical

terms that are precisely defined to ensure analytical exactitude.
The contrast between the methods of Siitranta and Abhidharma
coincides in part with other distinctions sometimes made in
the texts between types of teachings. Some teachings are said
to be expressed in terms whose meaning must be determined
(neyiirtha/neyyattha)~, while others are expressed in terms whose
meaning is already determined (nfttirtha/nitattha). Some teachings
are expressed in conventional terms (sarrzvrti/sammuti), others
are expressed in ultimate terms (paramiirtha/paramattha). The