Āpídámó Pǐnlèi Zúlùn 阿毘達磨品類足論
Abhidharma-prakaraṇa-pāda-śāstra: Treatise on the Exposition of Categories by 世友 (造), 玄奘 (譯)
About the work
The Āpídámó Pǐnlèi Zúlùn 阿毘達磨品類足論 (Skt. Abhidharma-prakaraṇa-pāda-śāstra, CBETA T26n1542) is one of the six canonical Abhidharma “feet” (六足論) of the Sarvāstivāda school, 18 juan, attributed to Vasumitra 尊者世友 (世友). It represents the fullest and most systematic of the six-foot texts, covering a comprehensive range of doctrinal topics in ten chapters. Xuánzàng 玄奘 translated it into Chinese during the Tang dynasty, approximately in the 650s CE (the exact year is not established in the surviving records, but the Kāiyuán shìjiào lù 開元釋教錄 (KR6s0093) situates it within his middle Abhidharma translation period). An earlier, partial translation of the same text is preserved as the Zhòngshìfēn Āpítán lùn 眾事分阿毘曇論 (KR6l0006, T1541), translated by Guṇabhadra and Bodhiyaśas in the Liu Song.
Prefaces
No independent preface survives in the received text.
Abstract
The Prakaraṇa-pāda is the fullest of the six canonical Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma feet in terms of doctrinal coverage. Its ten chapters (prabandha) cover the five aggregates (skandha), sense-bases (āyatana), elements (dhātu), dependent origination (pratītyasamutpāda), and various lists of mental factors and moral qualities. It may be understood as a comprehensive summary of Sarvāstivāda ontology and soteriology.
The attribution to Vasumitra 世友 places this text within the same Kaśmīra-era Sarvāstivāda scholastic tradition as the Dhātu-kāya-pāda (KR6l0005). Modern scholars (Frauwallner 1995; Willemen, Dessein, Cox 1998) accept the broad attribution while acknowledging that the text’s present form represents the evolved scholastic tradition of the Kaśmīra Vaibhāṣika school, c. 1st–2nd century CE.
The relationship between T1541 and T1542 is important: the earlier Liu Song translation covers substantially fewer topics in 12 juan, while Xuánzàng’s 18-juan version provides a complete translation of the Sanskrit Prakaraṇa-pāda. The Mahāvibhāṣā (KR6l0010) cites this text extensively.
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. 1542
- Kanseki DB