The Foundations of Buddhism

zr8 The Abhidharma

respects beyond our conscious ~ontrol. '!'hat is to say, certain. thin~s

happen to us because of prev1ous actiOns; we react to thmgs m

certain ways because of past tendencies and patterns of thought

which nurture deep-rooted habits. Thus I may decide that

aggressive behaviour is unwholesome and that I will no longer

indulge my temper; yet when provoked, when the conditions arise,

I still find myself unable to control my temper. We react in un-

wholesome and unhealthy ways because greed, hatred, and delu-

sion have not been rooted out. These tendencies lurk in our minds,

and when the appropriate conditions arise they come to the fore.

On the other hand there are also present in the mind the seeds

of wholesome and healthy states of mind. According to the the-

ory of the Buddhist path these must be gradually and patiently

nurtured.and cultivated. The process is compared to the way in

which a hen cannot simply hatch her chicks by a mere wish; she

must sit patiently nurturing the eggs until suddenly they finally

hatch.^16

Some Abhidharma problems

The Abhidharma analysis represents a continuation of two

aspects of Buddhist theory: the breaking down of the individual

into its constituent parts and the analysis of the causal relations

that exist between those parts. As we saw in the account of 'no

self' in Chapter 6, the first is characterized by the analysis of

a being .into the five skandhas or aggregates of physical and

mental phenomena; the second by the analysis of causality in

terms of the twelve links of dependent arising. The first counters

the 'eternalist' tendency of beings to cling to the view that their

existence is substantial and enduring; the second the 'nihilist'

tendency to see the world and their own existence as chaotic

and meaningless. Again, as we saw in Chapter 6, past and pre-

sent critics of Buddhist theory argue that the breaking up of the

individual into parts cannot account for the experienced facts

of personal continuity and ends in devaluing the moral status

of the individual. Buddhist thought counters that such a criti-

cism does not take proper account of the causal continuity that