Abhidhamma as Oral Text, the Mind as Oral Text
Abhidhamma emerged from oral methods of textual composition and reflection, similar to others that gave rise to the corpuses that we today call the Pāli Canon. The texts, it seems, are one option to work out the oral method, and perhaps writing is responsible for the version we read today more than we realize. This means that in pursuing the oral sources of some of the core structures behind this tantalizing tradition – such as formulas, lists, and textual designs – we can better understand the goals of Abhidhamma, its processes of composition, and its relations to other genres of early Buddhist literature, especially the Suttas. Ultimately, this can give a better understanding of the philosophy as well.

In this talk, we will address the nature of Abhidhamma as oral text and examine some of the continuities and dis-continuities between it and the world of Sutta, with special focus on the Dhammasaṅgaṇī and the Vibhaṅga. This will allow us to challenge central assumptions in the way Abhidhamma is commonly understood, including that Abhidhamma is later than Sutta, or that it provides an analytic definition of truth based on events, rather than on processes. The idea that Abhidhamma is interested in ultimate particulars is misleading as well, so that we should be careful of reading Sarvāstivāda-Abhidharma or later commentarial approaches into Pāli Abhidhamma. Rather, this tradition is interested in perceiving the vibrant and efflorescent life of the mind in high resolution, when the mind is in many ways the same oral text that the texts describe. Conducting Abhidhamma analyses orally – that is, learning, contemplating and reciting the text – would also be a method of perceptual training, thereby providing a direct understanding of truths about consciousness and its relation to reality, selflessness and karma.
Date: 28 May 2025, 17:00
Venue: Balliol College, Broad Street OX1 3BJ
Venue Details: Gillis Lecture Theatre
Speaker: Eviatar Shulman (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Organising department: Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
Organisers: Pyi Phyo Kyaw (University of Oxford), Kate Crosby (University of Oxford)
Part of: Pali Week: Texts and Research
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Public
Editor: Pyi Kyaw