Though the abhidharma is recognized as one of the major topics of the Buddhist teachings, up until now there have been few translations of any of the great texts on it available in a Western language. This book gives thorough explanations of all the fundamental concepts and terms found in the Buddhist teachings. It presents the nature of the phenomena we experience, describes the karma and afflictions that create suffering, and shows the factors of the path that lead to liberation. It is like an encyclopedia of Buddhism that thoroughly explains the meaning of the many different technical terms found in the sutras, vinaya, and other Buddhist teachings--if you are wondering what something you have read in a Buddhist text really means, there is a good chance it is explained in this book. It thus provides an invaluable aid to students who want to deepen their understanding not only of the abhidharma, but of all the Buddhist teachings.

Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakosa-Bhasya (ca. 380-390), besides its culminating achievement in streamlining the overall structure of the exposition of the preceding Abhidharma manuals, is unmatched by any of the preceding manuals in respect of its comprehensiveness-incorporating all important Vaibhasika doctrines since the time of the Abhidharma-mahavibhasa-of its excellent skill in definition and elucidation, and of its ability to clarify the difficult point involved in doctrinal disputations. Added to these qualities is its great value as a brilliant critique and insightful revaluation of all the fundamental Sar-vastivada doctrines developed up to its time. Since its appearance, it has been used as a standard textbook for the understanding of not only the Abhidharma doctrines but all the fundamental Buddhist doctrines in general. Translated into Chinese by Paramartha in 563 A.D. and by Hsuan-tsang in 651-654 A.D., Hsuan-tsang's disciple P'u-kuang tells us that in India the Abhidharmakosa-Bhasya was hailed as the 'Book of Intelligence'. In China, Japan and the Far-east, too, the Kosa has generally been highly treasured as a textbook of fundamental importance for Buddhist studies. Vasubandhu's brilliant critique of the doctrines of the Vaibhasika was answered by the equally brilliant Samghabhadra - a contemporary staunch defender and expounder of the doctrines of the Vaibhasikas - in his masterwork, the Abhidharmanyayanusara, now extant only in Hsuan-tsang's translation (653-654 A.D.). The Sanskrit text, considered for a long time to be irremediably lost, was discovered by Rahula Samkrtyayana in 1935 in the Tibetan monastery of Ngor and was published by P. Pradhan in 1967 (1st edition).