International Buddhist Academy - Founded by Khenpo Appey Rinpoche

Abhidharma-kosha (Treasury of Higher Knowledge) - July 16 - September 14

Introduction to Abhidharma
Abhidharma is one of the three crucial categories of the Buddhist teaching and makes up the training of higher knowledge, the source of all Buddhist Philosophies throughout all schools and periods. Literally, Abhidharma means “higher Dharma”, and is a systematic categorization of phenomena in a clear and detailed way. The Abhidharma is a unique feature of Buddhism. By mapping out the training towards higher knowledge, it leads one to an understanding of both sutras and tantras. The object of the Abhidharma is to know how samsara functions and therefore to understand how to become free of it. The Abhidharma text is “nominal Abhidharma”. The actual Abhidharma is the Transcendental Wisdom of realizing the non-existence of “self”.

Course on Abhidharma-kosha
Written in Sanskrit by the monk-scholar Vasubandhu in the 4th century CE, the Abhidharma-kosha (The Treasury of Higher Knowledge) is the key text used for the study of Abhidharma within the Tibetan traditions, due to its systematic and comprehensive treatment of ontology, psychology, cosmology, causality, states of consciousness and other key topics. We will study the Treasury of Higher Knowledge, alongside Vasubandhu’s own commentary, the Abhidharma-kośa-bhāsya. Khenpo Dr. Ngawang Jorden will lecture directly in English upon the critical first two chapters as presented through a Tibetan commentary.

Introduction to first 2 chapters
Chapters 1 and 2 give a general explanation of the two categories of phenomena that should be analyzed: those belonging to samsara and those belonging to nirvana.
The first chapter describes the object to be analyzed by defining samsara. The second describes the subject: the sense faculties. The Abhidharma does not focus on the mode of existence of phenomena, but rather on the cause of this appearance of phenomena and the manner of manifestation. It deals with both outer, physical phenomena and those belonging to the mind.

Chapter 1: the elements (skt: dhatu; tib: khams)
The First Chapter of the Abhidharmakosha, “The Elements” deals with both contaminated and uncontaminated phenomena. First it explains the five sense faculties, followed by the five external objects, other sense faculties, fields of perception and sources of perception which are neither form nor consciousness (and more). These are each further divided into various divisions that are extensively explained, providing a clear presentation of both mind and matter.
The classification of phenomena into 18 elements, or dhatus, includes everything that is considered to be an object of knowledge. Dhatu means "basis" or "potential" or "seed of all things", or "element containing the potential for a relationship of cause and effect".
This chapter defines samsara. Understanding the nature of samsara leads to renunciation.

Chapter 2: the sense faculties (skt: indriyas tib: dbang po)
The Second Chapter of the Abhidharma-kosha explains the nature of the sense faculties, a detailed exposition on how compounded phenomena arise, six causes, four conditions and the result.
This chapter concerns the five sense faculties (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and feeling) and the mental faculty. A detailed explanation of how perception functions leads to an understanding of how our perception of phenomena is flawed. This explanation includes a definition of all fifty-one mental factors. Then the various types of causes and conditions as well as their results are explained. The chapter concludes with a presentation of the twenty types of mind: those of the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm, as well as the uncontaminated.

As was said by Buddhaghosha,
“Those who study the Abhidharma literature experience unending joy and serenity of mind.”

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VASUBANDHU - a short biography

Vasubandhu was born in Purusapura, present-day Peshawar, in what was then the Kingdom of Gandhara, around the year 316 A.D. According to the Tibetan historians, Asangha and Vasubandhu were half-brothers. Vasubandhu's father, a Brahmana, was a court priest. Gandhara was no longer, at that time, the heart of a great empire.

According to Taranatha, Vasubandhu was born one year after his older brother Asangha became a Buddhist monk. In his youth, Vasubandhu may have received from his father much of the Brahmanical lore at his command, and it's possible that his father also introduced him to some of the classical topics of logic of the time. When Vasubandhu entered the Sarvastivada order, he amazed his teachers with his brilliance and quickness of mind.

Because of the controversies raging among the schools of the time, Vasubandhu decided to go from Gandhara to Kashmir to investigate the teachings of the Vaibashika School that were propagated from there. At the time, there would have been difficulty for a Gandharan to cross the border into Kashmir, so we are told by Paramartha that Vasubandhu took advantage of the fact that "lunatics" were freely allowed to roam as they wished. Vasubandhu successfully entered Kashmir through presenting himself convincingly as a crazy person, and settled down to study in Kashmir for four years. When he desired to leave, the same problem arose, and only after a panel of scholars was fooled by Vasubandhu into believing that he was not mentally fit, was he allowed to exit Kashmir.

Back now in Gandhara, Vasubandhu set to work supporting himself with teachings, and summarizing each daily teaching in verses, which in time, numbered over six hundred. These constitute the Abhidharmakosha, which was subjected to thorough criticism by every scholar of the day. Vasubandhu had a perfect opportunity to answer the attacks on his work with the self-commentary he had also been writing, for some time, the Kosha-bhasya. Still relatively young, Vasubandhu became renowned for his debating skill, attracted the patronage of King Chandragupta II and held a position of influence as royal tutor. He channeled all of the considerable wealth that came his way into monasteries, nunneries, hospitals, rest houses, and schools. His biographers show him to be a man filled with great Compassion for the physical and the mental afflictions of others. Both Indian and Chinese Buddhist historians speak of him as being a great Bodhisattva. He died at the age of eighty.