Samatha Trust Publications

This book has been compiled in the hope that a group of people studying abhidhamma in the West may be able usefully to share something of the experience with others. Although the work of translating the abhidhamma texts into English began more than seventy years ago, they remain comparatively little known in the West and a group studying abhidhamma is still something of a rarity. Yet the Abhidhamma-pitaka and the Sutta-pitaka, the two divisions of the Pali Buddhist scriptures of special importance to lay people, are complementary: the teachings contained in the suttas, which are far better known, are extended and deepened by the detailed, analytical teachings of the abhidhamma. To those wishing to investigate these teachings, the views and comments of others may be of interest.
Our `Abhidhamma Group' was formed of people who had practised samatha meditation for some years, and approached abhidhamma as a means to a deeper understanding of both meditation practice and everyday experience. The basis of our study was the Abhidhammattha-sangaha, the book traditionally used in many Buddhist countries. We found that although at first sight the text could appear rather dry and abstract, containing as it does the central technical terms and structures in very compact form, careful reading and re-reading revealed subtleties of meaning and clarity of analysis which were full of interest and amply rewarded the effort needed for the work.
The major part of this book consists of essays written by members of the group. After studying the text of the Abhidhammattha-sangaha over an extended period we held a series of meetings at which each member in turn presented a short essay on an aspect of the abhidhamma which he or she found especially interesting. It will be seen that each person's own experience and understanding has in one way or another been used to help interpret the abhidhamma material. The reading of each essay was followed by group discussion: notes were taken, and these have been included after the essays.
The essays are reproduced here with only minor alterations from the form in which they were first presented. No attempt was made at overall consistency of approach, some people choosing a fairly literal and orthodox treatment, others a more imaginative and experimental one. Both methods seem valid in their different ways, and we have not tried to impose uniformity. There is also, inevitably, some repetition - which may not be a bad thing. The editors have tried to indicate some overall structure by arranging the essays in order and adding a brief introduction to each section. They have also added a glossary of Pali terms, for whilst some contributors preferred to avoid Pali for technical terms and seek English equivalents, others chose to use the traditional Pali words. The translations in the glossary are not offered as the ideal or only ones.
Our group found the work that led to this collection illuminating and enjoyable. We hope that others may find the results stimulating and helpful in their own studies.

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