Dhamma theory

The Dhamma theory is an Abhidammic innovation^[1] It gives an overview of all the bare phenomena which form this world.^[2]

Early version

The early Buddhist scriptures give various lists of the constituents of the person:^[1]

1. Nāma and rūpa, "name" and "form," or the mental and material elements;
2. The five skandhas (aggregates): rupa (material elements), vedana (cognition), sañña (perception), sankhara ("mental formations," impulses), vijnana (consciousness);
3. Six dhatus (elements): pathavi (earth), apo (water), tejo (temperature), vayo (air), akasa (space), vijnana (consciousness);
4. Twelve Sense BasesTwelve ayatanas, means for the arising of sense-perception and the corresponding mental cognition: the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind; and the related external objects: form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mental objects;
5. Eighteen dhatus (elements); the twelve ayatanas, supplemented with the six kinds of consciousness which arise when perception takes place: the visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, and mental consciousnesses.

See also

• Tattva
• Dharma
• Eight consciousnesses

References

1. Karunadasa 1996, p. Ch.I.
2. Karunadasa 1996, p. Introduction.

Sources

• Karunadasa, Y. (1996), The Dhamma Theory. Philosophical Cornerstone of the Abhidhamma, Buddhist Publication Society