Description

A commentary by Ācārya Kelsang Wangdi

This is a literal commentary by Acārya Kelsang Wangdi on chapter one of the Abhidharmakośa, which is about the constituents (dhātu). It outlines the Abhidharma analysis of phenomena, and offers its basic view of the nature of reality, primarily within the framework of the five aggregates.

The chapter begins with explaining the meaning of the term “abhidharma”, followed by the two crucial classifications of phenomena in this school: contaminated and uncontaminated phenomena; conditioned and unconditioned phenomena. It then elaborates the concept of conditioned phenomena in the forms of the five skandhas, twelve āyatanas, and eighteen dhātus. The final section of the chapter is an extensive presentation of the twenty-two different ways of classifying the eighteen dhātus.