PkTreatise on Phenomena
Pāli / Sanskrit:Prakaraṇapada
The full title is Abhidharmaprakaraṇapādaśāstra (Apidamo Pin Lei Zu Lun, 阿毘達磨品類足論). It was composed by Vasumitra and translated in eighteen fascicles by Xuanzang on October 10th–November 30th, CE 660 at Yü-hua Monastery (玉華寺). This was a central Abhidharma treatise, which influenced even non-Sarvāstivādin texts such as the Mahāprajñapāramītopadeśa. In the Taishō edition of the Chinese canon, it is text number 1542, located at T vol. 26, 692b. Another partial translation by Guṇabhadra and Bodhiyaśas in CE 435–443 may be found at T 1541 under the title 衆事分阿毘曇論.
Save your scripture progress
Create a free account to save scriptures, track progress, and continue your daily learning path.
Exposition of the Prakaraṇapada (Treatise on Phenomena)
Background
The Prakaraṇapada, also known as the Abhidharmaprakaraṇapādaśāstra (Treatise on the Categories of Phenomena), is one of the most important Abhidhamma texts of the early Buddhist tradition. This work was composed by Vasumitra, a deeply learned scholar of the Dharma from the Sarvāstivāda school, whose adherents held that dharmas exist in all three times: past, present, and future.
This work was translated into Chinese by Xuanzang, the great monk renowned for his mission of translating scriptures from India into China in the seventh century. Xuanzang translated the Prakaraṇapada into eighteen fascicles over the course of two months at Yuhua Monastery. The work became a central document in Abhidhamma studies, profoundly influencing other Buddhist scholastic traditions as well and demonstrating the universality and importance of its contents.
Main Contents
The Prakaraṇapada is a treatise on the classification and analysis of phenomena, dharmas, the constituent factors of reality. Unlike other early Buddhist scriptures, this work is not presented in the form of stories or dialogues, but as a system of profound analysis of the nature of existence.
The treatise organizes dharmas into logical groups, analyzing the relations between mental and material factors, between conditioned dharmas (saṃskṛta dharma, what is conditioned) and unconditioned dharmas (asaṃskṛta dharma, what is not conditioned). It presents in detail how these dharmas function, interact, and lead either to suffering or to liberation.
The Prakaraṇapada also explores complex categories such as form (rūpa), mind (citta), mental factors (cetasika), and dharmas that are neither associated with mind nor material. Through this detailed classification, the treatise guides readers to understand clearly how all phenomena follow the principle of causality, paṭiccasamuppāda, dependent origination.
🌏 The Buddhist canon is vast — some sūtras (such as comparative Vinaya across schools, or untranslated Tibetan-canon texts) have to this day NEVER been translated into Vietnamese or English by anyone, scholars included. Rather than leave it blank, Inti AI offers a FAITHFUL summary grounded in the tradition — from the sūtra's title, origin and essence — so you can still reach this rare part of the treasury. Whenever an original translation exists, the app shows the original first.
Translations belong to the translator/source credited above. The bilingual compilation, presentation, and AI translations compiled by Inti are © Inti Foundation. Please attribute when quoting; do not bulk-copy or use commercially without permission.