Dharma College

The Abhidhamma Philosophy of the Theravada Tradition

A course taught by Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi

Dharma College is happy to announce that it Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi will be continuing the program on the Theravada Abhidhamma philosophy that he started this past January. On January 9 and 10, Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi gave a two-day online program at Dharma College on the first two chapters of the Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma, his annotated edition of the Abhidhammattha-Sangaha. The Sangaha is the primary handbook of Abhidhamma in the Theravada world, used in the monasteries of southern Asia to introduce students to the complex philosophical psychology of the Abhidhamma.

Beginning in July, Ven. Bodhi will continue this series, covering the remaining chapters of the Comprehensive Manual. These deal with such topics as functions and objects of consciousness, the process of consciousness, kamma and rebirth, the material world, and much more. A schedule of the classes can be found below.

Before joining the classes that begin this summer, it is recommended that students view the recordings of the classes on the first two chapters of the Comprehensive Manual given this past January, on states of consciousness and mental factors. These can be found at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBIV-qFu3kM&list=PLBmQktl6KetWDqJT0aPOEiGaGzBoF_hhQ

Here is a link to the Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma (CMA). Please paste this into your web browser to download for free:

https://www.baus.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Comprehensive-Manual-of-Abhidhamma.pdf

Here is the syllabus (CMA = Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma):

Sessions will be in the mornings from 10-12 am (PST) on both days (Saturday and Sunday):

November 13-14: CMA Chapter 8: Dependent origination and conditional relations.
December 4-5th: Chapter 9, on meditation practice.

This Abhidhamma course is being conducted in partnership with the Buddhist Association of the United States (BAUS). Based at Chuang Yen Monastery in upstate New York, BAUS is dedicated to promoting a broad view of the Buddha’s teachings in the United States and offers programs by esteemed teachers of different Buddhist traditions.