JUNIOR LEVEL ~ SAMPLE QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
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J01. Write a short essay on the origin of Abhidhamma. (J95). According to Acariya Buddhaghosa, Abhidhamma is neither the province nor the sphere of a disciple. It is the province, the sphere of the Buddhas. The commenterial tradition holds that it was not merely the spirit of the Abhidhamma, but the letter as well that was already realised and expounded by the Buddha Gotama during his lifetime. The Atthasalmi relates that in the fourth week after enlightenment, while the Blessed One was still dwelling in the vicinity of the Bodhi tree, he sat sat in a jewel house (ratanaghara) where he contemplated the 7 books of the Abhidhamma Pitaka. It is believed that the Blessed One himself expounded the books of the Abhidhamma except for the detailed refutation of deviant views in the Kathavatthu which was the work of the elder Moggaliputta Tissa during the reign of emperor Asoka. The Pali commentaries, apparently drawing upon an old oral tradition, maintain that Buddha expounded the Abhidhamma to the assembly of devas in the Tavatimsa heaven for 3 months. The chief recipient of the teaching was his mother, Mahamayadevi, who had been reborn as a deva. The reason the Buddha taught the Abhidhamma in the deva world was because in order to give a complete picture of the Abhidhamma it has to be expounded from the beginning to the end to the same audience in a single session. However, each day, the Buddha will give a synopsis of the Dhamma to elder Sariputta who in turn taught it to his own circle of 500 pupils. This teaching was then preserved by committing to memory and transmitted from generation to generation. It was in the 3rd council of Arahants that Abhidhamma was composed. Then, around 83 B.C., it was committed to writing at Aluvihara in Sri Lanka. It was written on ola leaves. |
J02. Explain the statement "Abhidhamma is a development of the Dhamma." (J91/J94). Abhidhamma is the title given to the third collection (pitaka) of the Buddhist canonical books. (Traditionally, the Abhidhamma Pitaka is mentioned after Vinaya and Sutta Pitaka). Both historically and logically, the Abhidhamma represents a development of the Dhamma or the doctrine of the Buddha. It enjoys equal canonical authority with the Dhamma and its texts have been compiled into a separate pitaka. The term "Abhidhamma" is prepositional compound formed out of "Abhi" and "Dhamma" and the fact clearly suggests that its origin and emergence are subsequent to that of Dhamma. According to the commentator Buddhaghosa, "abhi" when prefixed to "dhamma" conveys the sense of "supplementary dhamma" and "special dhamma". This well accords with what we know about the nature and character of the Abhidhamma texts. Tradition itself has recognised a distinction in style between the dhamma and Abhidhamma. Thus, the Suttas embodying the dhamma are taught in the discursive style that makes free use of the simile, the metaphor and the anecdote. This contrasted with the non-discursive style of the Abhidhamma which uses a very select and precise and therefore, thoroughly impersonal terminology which is decidedly technical in meaning and function. Buddhaghosa tells us how tradition recognised the distinctive character of each pitaka. The Vinaya Pitaka is the discourse on injunctions (anadesana), the Sutta Pitaka is the popular discourse (voharadesana) and the Abhidhamma Pitaka is the discourse on ultimate truths (paramatthadesana). It is generally accepted that the Abhidhamma originated and developed out of the Dhamma. As the understanding of the disciple became deeper, the necessary arose for a more precise statement of the nature of reality. Abhidhamma therefore is an analytical, logical and methodological elaboration of what was already given in discourses (sutta). Hence, Abhidhamma is a development of the Dhamma. |
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J03. Is Abhidhamma useful in daily life or not? Give reasons for your answer. (J93 / J95). Without the Buddha�s teaching, we would be ignorant of reality. We are inclined to take for permanent what is impermanent, for pleasant what is sorrowful, for self what is non-self. The aim of Abhidhamma is the eradication of wrong views and eventually of all defilements. When we study the listings of realities, we should not forget the real purpose of the study. The theory (pariyatti) should encourage us to the practice (patipatti) which is necessary for the realization of thetruth (pativedha). While we are studying nama and rupa and pondering over them, we should mindful of nama and rupa appearing at that moment. In this way, we will discover more and more what Abhidhamma is about and develop a growing interest in the realities to be experienced in and around us in daily life. All phenomena in and around us are jointly nama and rupa that arise and fall away. They are impermanent. The more we know of the different nama and rupa by experiencing their characteristics, the more we will see that "self" is only a concept. It is not a paramattha dhamma as taught in the Abhidhamma. For example, hearing is nama. It has no form or shape. Hearing is different from ear-sense; but it has ear-sense as a necessary condition. The nama that hears experiences sound. Ear-sense and sound are rupas that do not experience anything. If we do not learn that hearing, ear-sense and sound are three realities that are altogether different from each other, we will continue to think that it is self that hears. In the same way, we experience other realities in daily life through eye, nose, tongue, body sense and mind door. All these help us to eradicate the wrong view about self. When we discover and convince that there is no self, other defilements such as greed, anger, ill will, envy etc. will be eradicated as well. |
J04. What are the four different types of cittas? Explain any one of them. (J92 / J96, H95 ). Four different types of cittas are:
Kamavacara cittas : There are 54 kamavacara cittas, divided into 3 classes :
From the time we awake in the morning till the time we fall asleep at night, we are always in contact with 5 senses (visual object, sound, smell, taste, touch) and with our own thoughts. If the sense or the thought is good, we like it. We feel attached to it and we wish to enjoy it some more. At this time, lobha arises in our mind and lobha-mula citta will ensue. Whenever we feel angry, displeased or sad, or depressed, dosa-mula citta will arise. A person who is having doubt about kamma and its effect will have a moha-mula citta. Since the akusala citta leaves seeds of akusala kamma which will bring about unfavourable results and unhappy rebirth. Ahetuka cittas are kammically neutral cittas and they produce no kammic results. Sobhana citta yields good qualities and they are connected with wholesome roots such as alobha (generosity), adosa (goodwill) and amoha (knowledge).
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J05. State the four Nanasampayutta kusala cittas. Explain why they are important. (J92).
The four Nanasampayutta kusala citta are :
When we give alms, we have no attachment (alobha) to the alms and goodwill (adosa) for the welfare of the person who receives the alms. If we also have knowledge (amoha) of the kamma and kamma vipaka at the time of giving, we will have all 3 wholesome roots to accompany our citta. Wholesome roots will always give rise to sobhana citta. The sobhana citta will bring about favourable results and rebirth in happy realm of existence. Tihetuka puggala are human beings and devas who are born with nana-sampayutta mahavipaka citta that contains wisdom (punna). These persons may obtain all the jhanas and all the maggasif they strenously undertake tranquillity and insight meditation. Dvihetuka puggala are human beings and devas born with nana-vippayutta maha-vipaka cittas that lacks wisdom. These persons cannot attain jhanas and maggas in the present life however hard they try. They may, however, become tihetuka puggala in the next life. The 4 nanasampayutta kusala citta ensure that a person may be reborn as tihetuka puggala and stand a chance to gain enlightenment if they practise strenously tranquillity insight meditaion. The 4 nanasampayutta kusala cittais important because it is the pathway to enlightenment. |
J06. Show the difference between citta and cetasika and explain what cetasikas are in human thinking. (J93 / J94). The cetasikas are mental phenomena that occur in immediate conjunction with citta and assist citta by performing more specific tasks in total act of cognition. Citta is only aware of an object, it does not feel it Vedana (a cetasika) does the function of feeling. Citta corresponds to vinnanakkhanda (the aggregate of consciousness) in suttanta. Cetasika corresponds to the three aggregates of feeling, perception and mental formations. Abhidhamma describes the mind (human thinking) as a combination of citta and cetasikas. There is only one cita arises at any one point of time, but cetasikas always arise in a group.
The nucleus of process of consciousness (citta) is made up of 7 universal cetasikas. There are also (pakinnaka) which can take any side. If they associate with immoral cetasika, they themselves become unwholesome. If they are associated with beautiful (sobhana) cetasikas, they they themselves become wholesome. In short, there are 52 cetasika � some can defile the mind (human thinking), some can purify the mind and some are neutral. This explains why the mind is sometimes bad and sometimes happy, sometimes wicked and sometimes noble.
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J07. List mental factors common to all consciousness (sabbacitta sadharana). (J92/J93/J94, S96, H92 ). The seven sabhacitta sadharana cetasikas are :-
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J08. What are the sabba-citta-sadharana cetasika? Why are they so called? Explain any one of them. (J96). There are 7 cetasikas common (Sadharana) to all consciousness (Sabbacitta). These mental factors (cetasikas) perform the most rudimentary and essential cognitive functions, without which consciousness of an object would be utterly impossible. The 7 Sabba-Citta-Sadharana cetasikas are:
They are so called because all these 7 cetasikas are associated collectively with all cittas. Consciousness of an object by citta is accomplished with the help of these cetasikas. The word phassais having the meaning "to touch" the object that has appeared, thereby initiating the entire cognitive event. Without contact, there will be no sense impression and consequently no cognition. According to the commentaries, contact has the characteristic of touching. Its function is impingement, as it causes consciousness and the object to impinge. Its manifestation is the concurrence of consciousness, sense faculty and object. Its proximate cause is an object field that has come into focus.
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