Dear Nina (and friends),

Regarding matika you mentioned below, could you explain what is "matika"? Can this term also be used/presented in other Abhidhamma texts? Thank you.

Sincerely,

Thomas Law

--- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, Nina van Gorkom <vangorko@...> wrote:
>
> Dear friends,
>
> The Seven Books of the Abhidhamma (part 1).
>
> The Abhidhamma consists of the following seven books:
>
> 1.Dhammasanga.nii (translated as 'Buddhist Psychological Ethics',
> P.T.S. and also
> translated by U Kyaw, Myanmar.)
> 2.Vibha"nga (translated as 'Book of Analysis', P.T.S.)
> 3.Dhaatukathaa (Translated as 'Discourse on Elements', P.T.S.)
> 4. Puggalapa~n~natti (Translated as 'A Designation of Human Types',
> P.T.S.)
> 5.Kathaavatthu (Translated as 'Points of Controversy', P.T.S.)
> 6.Yamaka (the Book of Pairs, not translated into English)
> 7.Pa.t.thaana (Translated in part as 'Conditional Relations', P.T.S. )
> ------
> A summary of the contents of these seven books has been given by
> Ven. Nyanatiloka in his `Guide through the Abhidhamma Pi.taka' (BPS
> Kandy, 1971) and also by U Kyaw Khine in the introduction to his
> translation of the Dhammasa"nganii. Therefore, I will render only
> some salient features of each book with the purpose to show that the
> classifications found in the Abhidhamma are not mere lists to be read
> and memorized. They all point to the investigation of the realities
> of our daily life. In this way the pa~n~naa is developed that sees
> realities as they are, as impermanent, dukkha and anattaa. This kind
> of pa~n~naa leads to the eradication of defilements.
>
> The commentary to the Dhammasa"nganii, the first book, is the
> "Atthasaalinii", edited by the venerable Buddhaghosa and translated
> as "Expositor",
> The Dhammasa"nganii, begins, after the Matika, with a description of
> mahaa-kusala citta (kusala citta of the sense sphere) accompanied by
> pa~n~naa. It enumerates all the sobhana cetasikas assisting this
> citta while they accompany it just for a moment. It refers to mahaa-
> kusala citta experiencing an object, be it visible object, sound,
> odour, flavour, tangible object or dhamma object. This points to
> daily life. Time and again citta experiences an object through one of
> the six doors.
> The Dhammasa"nganii states with regard to the first type of mahaa-
> kusala citta of the sense sphere:<At a time (yasmi.m samaye) when
> mahaa-kusala citta of the sense sphere accompanied by joy and
> associated with understanding has arisen...> and then sums up the
> accompanying cetasikas. The "Expositor" (p. 76) explains the word
> samaya as time, occasion, concurrence of conditions, the mutual
> contribution towards the production of a common result: <By this word
> showing thus the condition, the conceit of one who believes that
> states unconditionally follow one's own will is subdued.>
> We cling to the idea of our own will that can direct dhammas, but
> this is not according to reality. Will or volition, be it wholesome,
> unwholesome or indeterminate, is only a conditioned element.
> The mahaa-kusala citta is accompanied by the cetasikas that always
> accompany citta, the "universals", such as contact, feeling or
> remembrance, sa~n~naa, as well as by the `particulars', pakinnakas,
> cetasikas that accompany many cittas but not all. Then follows a list
> of all the sobhana cetasikas necessary for the arising of even one
> moment of kusala citta of the sense sphere.
> For example, the cetasika confidence or faith, saddhaa, always has to
> accompany kusala citta. If there is no confidence in kusala, kusala
> citta could not arise. There have to be non-attachment and non-
> aversion. When we perform daana or observe siila we are not selfish,
> we are not thinking of our own pleasure and comfort. There is calm
> with each kusala citta, at such a moment there is no agitation. There
> has to be sati which is non-forgetful of kusala. Sobhana cetasikas
> are necessary so that mahaa-kusala citta with paññaa can arise just
> for one extremely brief moment and perform its function, and then
> citta and cetasikas fall away together. The cetasikas condition the
> citta by way of conascence-condition and by several other conditions.
> Thus, we cannot make kusala arise at will, it has no possessor, there
> is no one who can direct its arising. It arises when the right
> conditions are present and then it falls away immediately, nobody can
> cause it to last. All the sobhana cetasikas that fall away are
> accumulated from moment to moment so that there are conditions for
> the arising again of kusala citta.
> We shall see that several cetasikas are listed more than once
> under different aspects, such as understanding as faculty, or as
> power. The list ends with: sampajañña (sati and pañña), samatha,
> vipassanaa, paggaaha (grasp, which is the faculty of energy),
> avikkhepa (balance, self-collectedness, another word for ekaggata
> cetasika, one-pointedness or concentration).
> Thus we see that these lists are not a mere summing up, but that
> they point to the development of right understanding of realities.
>
> *******
> Nina.
>
>
>
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>