Systematization of the Buddha's teaching

                                                                      
                                                                            As far as the suttas themselves are concerned, they are given in a conventional form of language. As a result of that we can see the diversity among the discourses. The discourses delivered by the Buddha were on different occasions for various purposes depending on the nature of the audience. The above mentioned complicated nature of the discourses creates difficulties in understanding their true nature. This is evident in the incident that happened between ven. Udāyi and carpenter Pañcakaṅga. In Bahuvedanīya Sutta of Majjhima Nikāya (no. 59) is given the story, where ven. Udāyi held the view that there are three kinds of feelings, while Pañcakaṅga held the view that there are two kinds of feeling. These two people went to meet the Buddha and asked Him5 who of the two was correct. The Buddha explained, that both of them were correct. According to the time or according to the need of the particular person the Buddha preaches the Dhamma. Further, the Buddha mentioned that He has explained two, three, five, six, eighteen, thirty-six and one hundred and eight kinds of feeling.

On another occasion (in Mahātaṇhāsaṅkhaya Sutta, Majjhima Nikāya - 38) ven. Sāti held the view that the same consciousness transmigrates from existence to existence (life to life). In this regard, the Buddha explained that ven. Sāti misinterprets His teachings. Prof. Sumanapāla Galmangoda, Mrs. Rhys Davids, Prof. W. S. Karunaratne and many other scholars believe that Abhidhamma is a later development. The evolution of Abhidhamma as a separate canon (piṭaka) should be identified as a result of gradual development of the discourses and search for a methodology to interpret the Buddha's teaching accurately. Prof. Galmangoda summarized the process of Abhidhamma as follows: 1. As a process of systematization of the Buddha's teachings 2. As a process of seraching for reliable basis for the human action, responsibility and rebirth 3. As a process of seraching for the methodology for accurately interpreting the early Buddhist discourses In this way Abhidhamma developed by abstracting the doctrinal terms from the discourses. When the Abhidhammika followed this method, they founded two kinds of discourses: 1. Nītattha and 2. Neyyattha. With the development of Abhidhamma, the Neyyattha suttas were those which represented the conventional truth and Nītattha suttas represented the absolute/ultimate truth. The doctrinal aspects abstracted from the discourses can be identified as mātikā (topics). They included: 1. Five aggregates (pañcakkhandha) 2. Four great elements (cattāro mahābhūtā) 3. Twelve faculties (dvādasāyatana) 4. Eighteen elements (aṭṭhārasadhātuyo) 5. The final extinction (Nibbāna) Giving deep interpretations to the above mentioned topics led to development of Abhidhamma. The systematization goes to the collection of Sutta Piṭaka. Thus especially the Saṅgīti and Dasuttara suttas (Dīgha Nikāya 33 and 34) follow the method of systematization. Aṅguttara Nikāya itself follows it. The schools that confirm that Abhidhamma is an outcome of later development claim, that it appeared as a result of systematization.