The Abhidharmakoà ÂabhÃÂá¹£ya (, lit. Commentary on the Treasury of Abhidharma), Abhidharmakoà Âa () for short (or just Koà Âa or AKB), is a key text on the Abhidharma written in Sanskrit by the Indian Buddhist scholar Vasubandhu in the 4th or 5th century CE. The Koà Âa summarizes the SarvÃÂstivÃÂdin Abhidharma in eight chapters with a total of around 600 verses and then comments on (and often criticizes) it. This text was widely respected and used by schools of Buddhism in India, Tibet and East Asia. Over time, the Abhidharmakoà Âa became the main source of Abhidharma and Sravakayana Buddhism for later MahÃÂyÃÂna Buddhists.
In the Koà Âa, Vasubandhu presents various views on the Abhidharma, mainly those of the SarvÃÂstivÃÂda-VaibhÃÂá¹£ika, which he often criticizes from a SautrÃÂntika perspective. The Koà Âa includes an additional chapter in prose refuting the idea of the "person" (pudgala) favoured by some Buddhists of the Pudgalavada school.
The VaibhÃÂá¹£ika master Samghabhadra considered that Vasubandhu had misrepresented numerous key points of VaibhÃÂá¹£ika Abhidharma in the Koà Âa, and saw Vasubandhu as a SautrÃÂntika (upholder of the sutras). However, Vasubandhu often presents and defends the VaibhÃÂá¹£ika Abhidharma position on certain topics (contra SautrÃÂntika). Because of this, Chinese commentators like Pu Guang do not see Vasubandhu as either a VaibhÃÂá¹£ika nor as a SautrÃÂntika.
The Abhidharmakoà ÂabhÃÂá¹£ya (AKB) is a work of Abhidharma, a field of Buddhist philosophy which mainly draws on the SarvÃÂstivÃÂda Abhidharma tradition. This tradition includes various groupings or "schools", the two main ones being VaibhÃÂá¹£ika and SautrÃÂntika. The main source for the VaibhÃÂá¹£ika tradition (which was based in Kaà Âmëra) is the Abhidharma MahÃÂvibhÃÂá¹£a à ÂÃÂstra. The other main tradition of SarvÃÂstivÃÂda philosophy were those masters who were called "westerners" (PÃÂà ÂcÃÂttya) or "outsiders" (BÃÂhyaka) and they were mainly based in Gandhara.
These masters (later known as SautrÃÂntikas) did not fully accept the VaibhÃÂá¹£ika philosophy and compiled their own Abhidharma texts, such as the Abhidharma-há¹Âdaya by Dharmaà Ârë, which was the first Abhidharma text to provide a series of verses with prose commentary (this is the style that the Koà Âa follows). This work was very influential on subsequent Abhidharma texts (which imitated its style) and various commentaries were written on it. The Abhidharmakoà ÂabhÃÂá¹£ya<nowiki/>'s style and structure is based on these SautrÃÂntika Abhidharma works.
According to K.L. Dhammajoti, in the AKB, Vasubandhu often favors the opinion of the SautrÃÂntika school against the SarvÃÂstivÃÂda VaibhÃÂá¹£ikas (when there is a dispute). For example, he criticizes the doctrine of the existence of the three times (past, present, future), a central SarvÃÂstivÃÂda doctrine. However, this is not always the case and he seems to have sometimes also favored certain VaibhÃÂá¹£ika doctrines (contra SautrÃÂntika), including the reality of certain mental factors (caittas), the notion of the conjunction () of mind () and mental factors and also the SarvÃÂstivÃÂda doctrine of simultaneous causation (') which was rejected by Sautrantika masters like à ÂrëlÃÂta.
The text is divided into the following chapters.
The first chapter of the work outlines the various conditioned and unconditioned factors (dharmas) that constitute sentient existence. This chapter mainly goes over the five aggregates, the sense fields, and the "eighteen dhÃÂtus". It also analyses which of the elements are pure or impure.
The second chapter examines three interconnected topics, starting with the twenty-two sense faculties (indriya), which govern specific aspects of sentient life. These include the six sense faculties, the male and female sex faculties, the faculty of life force, five feeling faculties (e.g., pleasure and equanimity), five spiritual faculties (e.g., faith and wisdom), and three pure faculties related to spiritual attainment. Vasubandhu also discusses the VaibhÃÂá¹£ika list of seventy-five factors, categorized into matter (rà «pa), mind (citta), mental factors (caitasika), conditioned factors dissociated from mind (cittaviprayuktasaá¹ÂskÃÂras), and unconditioned factors (asaá¹Âská¹Âta).
This chapter further explores the simultaneous arising of conditioned factors, focusing on the interaction between mind moments (citta) and their accompanying thought concomitants. This leads into a broader discussion of causality, where Vasubandhu identifies the various types of causes (hetu), results (phala), and conditions (pratyaya).
Finally, the chapter explains how conscious events (cittas) succeed one another in causal sequence.
The third chapter addresses Buddhist cosmology, describing the threefold world where sentient beings reside: the realms of desire (kÃÂma-dhÃÂtu), realm of form (rà «pya-dhÃÂtu), and the formless realm (arà «pya-dhÃÂtu). Vasubandhu also explains the intermediate state (antarabhava) between death and rebirth and elaborates on dependent origination (pratëtya-samutpÃÂda), which accounts for cyclic existence without an enduring self (atman). He also depicts the receptacle world (bhÃÂjana-loka), detailing its physical structureâÂÂMount Sumeru, continents, and oceansâÂÂand its cosmogony, temporal cosmology of kalpas and dissolution.
Chapter four of the Koà Âa is devoted to a study of action i.e. karma. This chapter explores the metaphysics of action, focusing on its most basic form, particularly bodily action. Debates on this topic include the PudgalavÃÂdin view that action is movement, the SarvÃÂstivÃÂda claim that it is shape, and Vasubandhu's SautrÃÂntika position that it is intention (cetanÃÂ) directed toward the body. The chapter distinguishes between informative actions, observable by others, and non-informative actions, internal to the agent, with mental action playing a crucial role in karmic retribution (vipaka). It also includes the Buddhist classification of ten virtuous and non-virtuous paths of action (karmapatha), concluding with a discussion of the effects of actions, though deferring details of their processes to later sections.
This chapter centers on latent dispositions or proclivities (anuà Âaya), the dormant state of mental afflictions (kleà Âa). These are subconscious dispositions that remain inactive until specific causes and conditions trigger them into active defilements, termed âÂÂenvelopmentsâ (paryavasthÃÂna). Their importance in the Buddhist path lies in their role in motivating karma, which sustains saá¹ÂsÃÂric existence. Six primary proclivities are identified: attachment (rÃÂga), hostility (pratigha), ignorance (avidyÃÂ), conceit (mÃÂna), doubt (vicikitsÃÂ), and afflicted views (dá¹Âá¹£á¹Âi).
A major debate covered in this chapter is that between the SarvÃÂstivÃÂda and SautrÃÂntika positions on defilement. The SarvÃÂstivÃÂdins view the proclivities (anuà Âaya) as ultimately existent factors (dharmas) that transform into active defilements, treating "proclivity" and "envelopment" as synonymous. In contrast, VasubandhuâÂÂs SautrÃÂntika perspective denies their ultimate existence, interpreting proclivities as forces (à ÂÃÂkti) within the mind stream that lead to afflictions through transformation. Vasubandhu likens proclivities to seeds (bëja) that mature into fruits (phala). This discussion extends to the nature of past and future dharmas, with SarvÃÂstivÃÂda asserting their existence and SautrÃÂntika rejecting unnecessary ontological entities.
The sixth chapter describes the path to liberation, structured around the four noble truths and the schema of the five paths. Vasubandhu addresses concerns such as why the first truth emphasizes suffering and not pleasure. He also provides definitions of conventional and ultimate truths. Meditative practices, including mindfulness of breathing, the loathsomeness of the body, and the four foundations of mindfulness, are explained and categorized under the path of preparation (prayogamÃÂrga). The subsequent paths are the path of insight (darà ÂanamÃÂrga), the path of cultivation (bhÃÂvanÃÂmÃÂrga), and the path of no further training (aà Âaiká¹£amÃÂrga), correlating with levels of defilement purification and the stages of attainment: stream-enterer, once-returner, non-returner, and arhat. Additionally, the thirty-seven factors conducive to awakening (bodhipaká¹£ikadharma) are discussed in this chapter.
The seventh chapter outlines the ten types of knowledge (jñÃÂna) attained by those at advanced spiritual levels. These include knowledge of factors (dharmajñÃÂna), subsequent knowledge (anvayajñÃÂna), mundane conventional knowledge (lokasaá¹Âvá¹ÂtijñÃÂna), knowledge of othersâ minds (paracittajñÃÂna), and knowledge of the four noble truths (suffering, its origin, cessation, and the path). Advanced forms include knowledge of exhaustion (ká¹£ayajñÃÂna) and non-arising (anutpÃÂdajñÃÂna), unique to arhats, representing certainty in the completion of tasks related to the truths. The chapter differentiates these types of knowledge from right view (samyagdá¹Âá¹£á¹Âi) and receptivity (ká¹£ÃÂnti), while also exploring their qualities and characteristics.
The eighth chapter delves into meditative attainments (samÃÂpatti), offering a detailed analysis of absorptions (samÃÂdhi). It describes the qualities of the four meditations (dhyÃÂna) of the form realm, the four formless perception spheres (ÃÂyatana), and the attainment of cessation (nirodhasamÃÂpatti). Vasubandhu highlights three key types of samÃÂdhi: the samÃÂdhi of emptiness (à Âà «nyatÃÂ), leading to the realization of selflessness; the samÃÂdhi of signlessness (animitta), focusing on the nirvana free of characteristics; and the samÃÂdhi of wishlessness (apraá¹Âihita), fostering detachment from all phenomena. The chapter also explores the four immeasurables (brahmavihÃÂra)âÂÂloving-kindness (maitrë), compassion (karuá¹ÂÃÂ), joy (muditÃÂ), and equanimity (upeká¹£ÃÂ)âÂÂalongside three additional frameworks of concentration: the eight liberations (vimoká¹£a), the eight spheres of mastery (abhivÃÂyatana), and the ten totality spheres (ká¹ÂtsnÃÂyatana).
This additional concluding treatise critiques notions of individuality, targeting two key perspectives. The first is the PudgalavÃÂda view, which posits the existence of a person (pudgala) distinct yet not separate from the five aggregates. Vasubandhu challenges this with arguments from reason and scripture, particularly addressing the schoolâÂÂs fire-and-fuel analogy. The second critique targets the concept of an enduring self (ÃÂtman), upheld in various forms by all six orthodox Indian schools. Vasubandhu addresses objections from putative Hindu philosophers, tackling issues such as the no-self doctrine's compatibility with memory, agency (e.g., walking), and the differentiation of individual consciousness streams.
The Sanskrit original of the Abhidharmakoà ÂabhÃÂá¹£ya was lost for centuries,àand was known to scholarship only through Chinese and Tibetan translations.àThe work was of such importance to the history of Indian thought that in the 1930s, the great scholar RÃÂhula SÃÂá¹ ká¹ÂtyÃÂyana (1893âÂÂ1963) even re-translated the verses into Sanskrit, from Tibetan, and wrote his own Sanskrit commentary on them.àHowever, during a subsequent visit to Tibet, SÃÂá¹ ká¹ÂtyÃÂyana discovered an ancient palm-leaf manuscript of 367 leaves that contained not only Vasubandhu's verses, but his lost commentary. In 1967 and then in a revised edition of 1975, Prof. P. Pradhan of Utkal University finally published the original Sanskrit text of the Abhidharmakoà ÂabhÃÂá¹£ya, Vasubandhu's great work summarizing earlier traditions of the VibhÃÂṣàschool of Buddhist philosophy.
The Abhidharmakoà Âa-kÃÂrikà(the verses) and the Abhidharmakoà Âa-bhÃÂá¹£ya (the auto-commentary) were translated into Chinese in the 6th century by ParamÃÂrtha (T1559). They were translated again in the 7th century by Xuanzang (T1560 & T1558). Other translations and commentaries exist in Tibetan, Chinese, Classical Mongolian and Old Uyghur.
The verses and the commentary were first translated into a European language by Louis de La Vallée-Poussin, published in 1923âÂÂ1931 in French, which is primarily based on Xuanzang's Chinese translation but also references the Sanskrit text, ParamÃÂrtha's Chinese translation, and the Tibetan.
Currently, three complete English translations exist. The first by Leo M. Pruden in 1988 and the second by Gelong Lodrö Sangpo in 2012 are both based on La Vallée-Poussin's French translation. The third by Masahiro Shà Âgaito in 2014 is a translation of the Uighur translation of Xuanzang's Chinese translation.
There are many commentaries written on this text.
Indian Buddhist commentaries include:
According to Paul Demiéville, some of the major extant Chinese commentaries to the Abhidharmakoà Âa include:
Two other disciples of Xuanzang, Huaisi and Kuiji, wrote commentaries on the Koà Âa which are lost.