Āpídámó Jièshēn Zúlùn 阿毘達磨界身足論
Abhidharma-dhātu-kāya-pāda-śāstra: Treatise on the Body of Elements by 世友 (造), 玄奘 (譯)
About the work
The Āpídámó Jièshēn Zúlùn 阿毘達磨界身足論 (Skt. Abhidharma-dhātu-kāya-pāda-śāstra, CBETA T26n1540) is one of the “six feet” (六足論) of the Sarvāstivāda canonical Abhidharma, 3 juan, traditionally attributed to the Venerable Vasumitra 尊者世友 (世友). It is the shortest of the six feet and deals systematically with the analysis of dhātu (界 “elements” or “sense-spheres”). Xuánzàng 玄奘 translated the text during the Táng dynasty.
Prefaces
No independent preface survives in the received text.
Abstract
The Dhātu-kāya-pāda provides a classification of the eighteen dhātus (eighteen elements: the six sense organs, six sense objects, and six corresponding consciousnesses) and the twelve āyatanas (sense-bases). While the briefest of the six feet, it is a technically precise systematization of the Buddhist analysis of experience into its constituent elements. The text is attributed to Vasumitra 世友 (Vasumitra), the same master to whom the Prakaraṇa-pāda (KR6l0007) is also ascribed; this Vasumitra is distinct from the author of the Mahāvibhāṣā-era treatise Yìbù zōnglún lùn 異部宗輪論 (KR6r0007).
Modern scholarship treats the attribution to Vasumitra as plausible, though the precise identity of the historical person behind the name is uncertain. The text’s conciseness suggests it may serve as a mnemonic reference companion to the more elaborate analyses in the Jñāna-prasthāna (KR6l0009) and the Mahāvibhāṣā (KR6l0010).
Translations and research
- Frauwallner, Erich. Studies in Abhidharma Literature. Albany: SUNY Press, 1995.
- Willemen, Dessein, and Cox. Sarvāstivāda Buddhist Scholasticism. Leiden: Brill, 1998.
- Dhammajoti, Bhikkhu KL. Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma. 4th ed. Hong Kong: Centre of Buddhist Studies, 2009.
Links
- CBETA Online
- Taisho Vol. 26, No. 1540
- Kanseki DB