Paṭṭh · 728 texts · Pāli only

Conditional Relations

Paṭṭhāna

Paṭṭhāna (Conditional Relations) sets out a simple mātikā listing 24 kinds of condition. For example, the first is the “root condition” (hetupaccayo), dealing with how acts are caused by the unwholesome roots of greed, hate, and delusion, or their opposites. This mātikā is then applied to the mātikās of Dhammasaṅgaṇī, creating a bewildering complexity of possible combinations. The Paṭṭhāna is always heavily abbreviated, but if it were to be fully spelled out, it would probably be the largest book ever created, with many billions of combinations. The Dhammasaṅgaṇī and the Paṭṭhāna bookend the Abhidhamma collection, the first dealing with phenomena, the latter with their relations. While method and the details have expanded considerably, the approach can be seen as a detailed application of the underlying principles of dependent origination.