What are the seven books of Abhidhamma Pitaka?

Abhidhamma Pitaka is the third and latest of the three Pali Canonical Texts (Tripitaka) recognized in early Buddhist Theravada tradition. The other two collections are the Sutta Pitaka and the Vinaya Pitaka.

It was compiled in the third Buddhist council held during the reign of Maurya emperor Asoka. This text deals with the philosophy and doctrine of Buddhism appearing in the suttas. However, it does not contain the systematic philosophical treatises. There are 7 works of Abhidhamma Pitaka which most scholars agree that don’t represent the words of Buddha himself. The 7 books are

  1. Dhammasangani: It contains a matrix which lists the classification of Dhammas or ideas.
  2. Vibhanga :It has 18 chapters dealing with different teachings of Buddhism. It is in 3 volumes and third volume is in question answer format.
  3. Dhatukatha:It has a matrix and various topics.
  4. Puggalapannatti: It has a matrix which deals with the list of the persons.
  5. Kathavatthu:It contains the debates and commentary on thoese debates.
  6. Yamaka :Yamaka has questions in pairs and understanding.
  7. Patthana :It also contains the questions and answers.

Pali Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition and is preserved in Pali Language.


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