''Prakaranapada'' ( sa, प्रकरणपादशास्त्र, IAST: Prakaraṇapāda-śāstra), composed by Vasumitra, is one of the seven Sarvastivada Abhidharma

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

scriptures. The Chinese was translated by

Xuanzang Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...

as: T26, No. 1542, 阿毘達磨品類足論, 尊者世友造, 三藏法師玄奘奉　詔譯, in 18 fascicles; with another partial translation by Gunabhadra and Bodhiyasa: T26, No. 1541, 眾事分阿毘曇論, 尊者世友造, 宋天竺三藏求那跋陀羅, 共菩提耶舍譯, in 12 fascicles. Its commentary the Panca-vastu-vibhasa (五事毘婆沙論 T 1555) by Dharmatrata, was also translated by

. ''Prakaranapada'' is the major text of the central

Abhidharma The Abhidharma are ancient (third century BCE and later) Buddhist texts which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the Buddhist ''sutras''. It also refers to the scholastic method itself as well as the f ...

period. It influenced other non-

Sarvastivada The ''Sarvāstivāda'' (Sanskrit and Pali: 𑀲𑀩𑁆𑀩𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀺𑀯𑀸𑀤, ) was one of the early Buddhist schools established around the reign of Ashoka (3rd century BCE).Westerhoff, The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy ...

schools, though not in the polarizing manner that the later Jnanaprasthana and Vibhasa texts did. Its format for dharma analysis is used, for example, by the Maha-prajna-paramitopadesa, which also states that the first four chapters were composed by Vasumitra, with the other four chapters by Kasmira arhats. Yin Shun considers this Vasumitra to be the same Vasumitra who appears in the Mahavibhasa later. Yin Shun: Study of the Abhidharma, Texts and Commentators of the Sarvāstivāda, (說一切有部為主的論書與論師之研究), Zhengwen Publishing, 1968. pg. 148. This seems to indicate that before the later formalization of Sarvastivada doctrines, the ''Vijnana-kaya'' and ''Prakaranapada'' were perhaps representative of several differing lines of thought, though were only later over-shadowed by the Vibhasa and its orthodoxy. It would be interesting to perhaps trace some of these differences through the likes of Buddhadeva and Dharmatrata, as they are presented in the Vibhasa. ''Prakaranapada'' contains two systems of dharma classification, one fivefold, the other sevenfold. It was the former fivefold system that later became the standard format, and was important for the establishment of the respective characteristics, nature and functions of the various dharmas, especially the caitasika and citta-viprayukta-dharmas. The sevenfold system bears some similarities to

Pāli Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhi ...

Abhidhamma, and seems to make of categories of dharmas that are all sutra based. It also expands on the traditional fourfold theory of conditionality, by introducing some 20 types of condition, in paired dharmas. Although these are not the later sixfold classification, this may have opened the door for later innovation.

References

{{Buddhism topics Abhidharma