Learning the Abhidhamma 1

I cannot recommend enough that you take the time to familiarise yourself with the Abhidhamma. This, I feel, is particularly important for those who lack any real faith. Whilst the process, at its root, is identical to deity worship, the abstract objectivity of learning a model of the structure of reality can really help manage one’s inner world.

You can download a very good guide to the Abhidhamma written by Bhikkhu Bodhi. If you search for ‘Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma PDF by Bhikkhu Bodhi’ (and your overlords permit it!), you should find a copy. Bhikkhu Bodhi also does some excellent videos on YouTube which are very good.

I start with the 72 ultimate entities as this provides a nice framework of reality. If you familiarise yourself with these 72, subsequent teaching will be much easier.

Ultimate Entities

These are elemental qualities that are, for purposes of definition, stand-alone.

‘Elemental’ means they cannot be reduced further to constituent parts. ‘Stand-alone’ means they don’t require any other quality for definition, with perhaps the exception of nirvana — which is largely defined by the absence of conditioned labels. Still, in the case of nirvana it is still something — but this ‘something’ transcends cognitive definition.

The ‘stand-alone’ is purely analytical — as material elements are always found in groups of at least eight different material groups, called pure octads. Citta, the part of the mind that knows and manifests as consciousness, can only ever arise with at least seven cetasikas (mental factors).

Understanding the Matrix

Our matrix of reality is created out of only 72 ultimate entities. By learning these entities we have a conceptual foundation upon which to build.

Unfortunately, this is just the beginning. From this foundation we will learn how these 72 entities interact with one another. There will be many more new words as we discover the forces that drive this matrix and cause its manifestation.

The Purpose of Learning the Abhidhamma

I won’t lie to you. Learning the Abhidhamma is just a step, not the ultimate goal. You will never regret any effort involved, and the knowledge will serve you impeccably. However, we only really learn the Abhidhamma to know where to look. Our ultimate goal lies beyond the full comprehension of what the first card means. Once you fully understand what the unconditioned means, you have what is called the ‘pointing out’ or ‘pith instruction’.

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