Ven Bhikkhu Bodhi Thero
The seven books of the Abhidhamma Pitaka, the third division of the Tipitaka, offer an extraordinarily detailed analysis of the basic natural principles that govern mental and physical processes. Whereas the Sutta and Vinaya Pitakas lay out the practical aspects of the Buddhist path to Awakening, the Abhidhamma Pitaka provides a theoretical framework to explain the causal underpinnings of that very path. In Abhidhamma philosophy the familiar psycho-physical universe (our world of “trees” and “rocks,” “I” and “you”) is distilled to its essence: an intricate web of impersonal phenomena and processes unfolding at an inconceivably rapid pace from moment to moment, according to precisely defined natural laws.
Western interpreters of Buddhism are often prone to invent their own versions of the Buddha’s teachings, which they then hail as the sole valid interpretation of the Dhamma. Without a reliable guide it is easy to get lost in the jungles of speculation and opinion,
This example shows that Ven Bhikkhu Bodhi Thero is following his Teacher’s advices with giving western Ven Monks & Western Buddhist people to understand the value of Tipitaka.
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