A GLANCE AT THE ABHIDHAMMA DEBATE AND RELATED TEXTS IN MYANMAR (1900-1935)

Abstract

Controversy about the origins of the Abhidhamma are well known, what may not be so well known is that there was a great debate about two Abhidhamma post commentaries in Myanmar. Both are commenting on the same root Abhidhamma commentary the Abhidhammatthasaṅgaha. Of the two, the fi rst sub-commentary was written in the twelfth century and the second in the late nineteenth century. While commenting on the root text, the second criticized over two hundred points that were
described in the fi rst. It generated intensive controversy and resulted in numerous scholarly works, articles, books, and post-commentaries in Myanmar. Within 35 years after its printing (1900-1935), over forty scholarly works, both in Pāli and Myanmar, had been written by scholars, monks, and laymen taking a fi rm stand on either side. It is known as the great Abhidhamma debate in Myanmar. Unfortunately, most of the scholarly works were forever lost due to poor maintenance and political circumstance in Myanmar. Only few texts were preserved. This paper intends to introduce some crucial points of controversy mainly focusing on these two post-commentaries and related texts which contributed to the debate.