Rù Āpídámó Lùn 入阿毘達磨論
Abhidharma-avatāra-śāstra: Introduction to the Abhidharma by 塞建陀羅 (造), 玄奘 (譯)
About the work
The Rù Āpídámó Lùn 入阿毘達磨論 (Skt. Abhidharma-avatāra-śāstra “Introduction to the Abhidharma”, CBETA T28n1554) is a Tang dynasty translation of a Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma introductory manual, 2 juan, composed by the arhat Skandhila 塞建陀羅 (塞建陀羅) and translated by Xuánzàng 玄奘 (玄奘). The source text reads “塞建陀羅阿羅漢造，三藏法師玄奘奉詔譯.”
Prefaces
No independent preface survives in the received text.
Abstract
The Abhidharma-avatāra (“entry into Abhidharma”) is a concise Sarvāstivāda primer attributed to the arhat Skandhila 塞建陀羅 (Skandhila, also written 塞建地羅 in DILA). It functions as an introductory text (avatāra “entry/descent”) to the more elaborate Abhidharma corpus, providing accessible definitions of fundamental categories. A Tibetan translation of the same text also survives in the Tengyur (D4100), attributed to Skandhila. The text is placed by modern scholars in approximately the 4th–6th century CE, likely in the Kaśmīra tradition of condensed Abhidharma manuals that parallels the Hṛdaya lineage (KR6l0015–KR6l0017).
Xuánzàng translated this text as part of his systematic rendering of Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma literature during the Táng.
Translations and research
- No substantial secondary literature on this specific text located.
Links
- CBETA Online
- Taisho Vol. 28, No. 1554
- Kanseki DB