Guide through the Abhidhamma

Guide Through the Abhidhamma-Piṭaka, by Nyanatiloka Mahathera, is a concise and systematic introduction to the philosophical collection of the Theravāda Pāli Canon. Subtitled Being a Synopsis of the Philosophical Collection Belonging to the Buddhist Pali Canon, the work was designed to guide readers through the structure, terminology, classifications, and principal doctrines of the Abhidhamma. The volume also contains a separate essay on Dependent Origination (paṭicca-samuppāda). The main body surveys the seven canonical books of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka: the Dhammasaṅgaṇī, Vibhaṅga, Dhātukathā, Puggalapaññatti, Kathāvatthu, Yamaka, and Paṭṭhāna. It introduces such central themes as the classification of mental and material phenomena, consciousness and mental factors, aggregates, sense bases, elements, the Four Noble Truths, dependent origination, faculties, foundations of mindfulness, enlightenment factors, the Noble Eightfold Path, and meditative absorptions. Originally published in 1938, the book was revised and enlarged in 1957, reissued in 1971, and published in a fourth edition by the Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, in 1983. It remains a useful reference for students of Theravāda Buddhism, Abhidhamma philosophy, Buddhist psychology, and Pāli canonical studies.