Non concretely produced matter

In Abhidhamma analysis, a distinction is made between concretely produced matter — arising from conditions such as karma, mind, temperature, and nutrition — and non-concretely produced matter. The latter refers to certain material phenomena that do not arise through these generative causes but exist as inseparable aspects of other conditioned matter.

Non concretely produced matter includes characteristics or qualities such as:

• Space (ākāsa-dhātu): The quality of separation that allows physical phenomena to coexist without obstruction — not absolute emptiness, but the “room” enabling form to arise.
• Characteristics of matter: Features like malleability, adaptability, and continuity that are inherent to physical phenomena but not produced independently.
• Vitality (rūpa-jīvitindriya): The life faculty that sustains living matter while conditions remain favorable.

These types of matter exist as dependent aspects of other formations. They do not arise as separate, self-sufficient entities, but as integral features embedded within the broader stream of conditioned processes.

Examining non concretely produced matter reinforces the understanding that even the most subtle aspects of physical existence are contingent and empty of inherent substance. There is no ultimate “thingness” behind appearances — only interwoven conditions manifesting temporarily before dissolving.

Through this deepening analysis, attachment to form weakens further. The practitioner sees that what appears solid is merely a transient, conditioned display, and liberation arises not by perfecting form, but by releasing clinging to it entirely.

“All formations are like foam and bubbles — insubstantial, unstable, and ungraspable.”
— Samyutta Nikāya 22.95