Paṭṭhāna


The Paṭṭhāna is a Buddhist scripture. It is the seventh and final text of the Abhidhamma Pitaka, which is one of the "Tripiṭaka-Three Baskets" of canonical Theravada Buddhist texts collectively known as the Pali Canon.
The Paṭṭhāna consists of three divisions. It provides a detailed examination of causal conditioning,, analyzing the 24 types of conditional relations in relation to the classifications in the matika of the Dhammasangani. This book emphasizes the point that — apart from nirvana, which is absolute — all other phenomena are relative in one way or another.
The Paṭṭhāna is the most popular paritta in Myanmar. In Burmese Buddhism, the scripture is ritually recited by monks and laypeople for protection, and Burmese Buddhists believe the Paṭṭhāna can guard against threats and dangers, please helpful gods, and ward off evil spirits.

Etymology

The term Paṭṭhāna is derived from the Pali components pa and ṭhāna. Thus, Paṭṭhāna refers to the study of various conditional relations. Another name for the text is Anantanaya Samanta Paṭṭhāna—''Anantanaya meaning "infinite perspectives" and Samanta'' meaning "adorned with completeness"—emphasizing the vast and comprehensive scope of the treatise.

Origin

The Paṭṭhāna is one of the seven books of the Abhidhamma Pitaka in the Pali Canon. According to traditional accounts, following his enlightenment on the full moon of the month of Kason in the 103rd year of the Maha Sakkaraj, the Buddha contemplated the Abhidhamma in seclusion. From the 6th to the 13th day of the waxing moon in the month of Nayon, he is said to have meditated before a golden pavilion offered by celestial beings.
While contemplating the first six books of the Abhidhamma, his bodily radiance remained constant. However, upon reflecting on the final book, the Paṭṭhāna, six-colored rays of light are said to have emanated from him. This event inspired great reverence from the gods and Brahmās. According to the commentary tradition, upon hearing the exposition of the Paṭṭhāna, 80,000 celestial beings attained liberation, and 500 human monks reached arahantship.

24 conditional relations

According to the Paṭṭhāna dhamma, all corporeal and mental phenomena are dependent upon some combination of 24 possible conditions. These conditions or paccayas are:
  1. Root condition : lobha, alobha, dosa, adosa, moha and amoha, by being the six root or primitive causes, give rise to all thoughts and feelings.
  2. Object condition : external objects and their effects, such as light and sounds, are ones of the causes of thoughts and feelings by stimulating a person's sensations.
  3. Predominance condition : a few mental aspects, such as wish and motivation, are believed to be possible dominant causes in Buddhist Psychology because each of them can profoundly dominate the rest of the mental aspects at one time.
  4. Proximity condition : each step or process of a vithi, a mental procedure in Buddhist psychology, happens in order. One of such steps is a subsequent cause that give rise to a following one.
  5. Contiguity condition : this point is sort of emphasis of the continuity between two successive steps of a vithi.
  6. Conascence condition : the Pali word saha means "together" and jata means "rise." Interpretations of this point can be in two main versions. In the more straightforward one, the conditions that arise together and give rise to particular effects together are simultaneous causes. In the broader sense, according to Abhiddhamma, all the variety of physical or mental features are mere manifestations of a number of fundamental physical or mental principles, and hence all of the variety can be unified to a simple group just like the fundamental forces can be unified in electroweak interaction and Grand Unified Theory.
  7. Mutuality condition : in Abhidhamma, some mental and physical phenomena are inter-supportive causes that can give rise to one another. The relationship of the change of a magnetic flux and that of an electric field could be a good example for this.
  8. Support condition : if one or more processes or phenomena is attributed to a particular cause no matter whether the causality is direct or indirect, that cause is, in Abhidhamma, regarded as a responsible cause.
  9. Decisive support condition : the modifier upa is added to nissaya. There are 3 subconditions under decisive support condition or upanissaya paccaya. These are:
  10. #Decisive support by way of Object
  11. #Decisive support by way of Proximity
  12. #Decisive support by way of Natural Condition
  13. Prenascence condition : a condition that has risen into its existence before an effect that it gives rise to, it is a pre-existing cause.
  14. Postnascence condition : a condition that rises into its existence after a phenomenon that it later supports or maintains, it is a post-existing cause.
  15. Frequency condition
  16. Karma condition : in Theravada Buddhism, the correct meaning of karma is basically the same as agency in humanism, a purposeful action. If a particular process or phenomena of a person is purposeful enough to cause a consequence, it is called a karma causes.
  17. Karma-result or consequence condition
  18. Nutriment condition : nutrition that serves as fuel or raw material in physiology is nutritious causes.
  19. Faculty condition
  20. Jhāna condition : a relation specific to meditation attainments
  21. Path condition : a relation specific to the stages on the Buddhist path
  22. Association condition
  23. Dissociation condition
  24. Presence condition
  25. Absence condition
  26. Disappearance condition
  27. Non-disappearance condition
All of these 24 conditions may in fact be reduced to only four conditions: Object, Decisive support, Karma, and Presence.

English translations