An overlook of the Abhidhamma

The Abhidhamma, often described as the “higher teaching” or “systematic philosophy” of Buddhism, offers a detailed and analytical presentation of the Buddha’s core insights. Unlike the suttas, which present teachings through dialogues and parables, the Abhidhamma dissects experience into its most fundamental components, providing a precise map of mind and matter.

At its heart, the Abhidhamma explains that all experience consists of momentary events arising and ceasing in rapid succession, governed by causes and conditions. It analyzes reality into ultimate realities (*paramattha dhammas*): consciousness (*citta*), mental factors (*cetasikas*), physical phenomena (*rūpa*), and nibbāna.

The Abhidhamma classifies mental states, identifies fifty-two mental factors, outlines the functioning of karma and rebirth, and describes the intricate processes of cognition. It offers a framework for understanding how volition shapes experience, how habitual tendencies operate, and how suffering is perpetuated or ended.

While its precision can appear dry or overly technical, the Abhidhamma is not intended as mere scholastic knowledge. For practitioners, it serves as a profound support for insight, helping to deconstruct the illusion of solidity, continuity, and selfhood. By analyzing experience into conditioned processes, attachment weakens, and wisdom deepens.

The Abhidhamma’s ultimate purpose aligns fully with the rest of the Buddha’s teaching: to reveal the impermanent, unsatisfactory, and non-self nature of phenomena, leading to the cessation of suffering. For those inclined toward detailed analysis, it offers a profound and rigorous lens into the workings of mind and reality.

“Whatever is subject to arising is subject to cessation. Seeing this with wisdom, one is freed from suffering.”
— Mahāparinibbāna Sutta, Dīgha Nikāya 16