The Yamaka (;
Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...
for "pairs") is a text of the
Pali Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school.
During t ...
, the scriptures of a Buddhist monk laws. It is a text on applied logic and analysis included in the
Abhidhamma Pitaka.
Description
The ''Yamaka'' consists of ten chapters, each dealing with a particular topic of Buddhist doctrine: roots (mula),
aggregates, elements (dhatu), and so on.
Its title ('pairs') stems from its treatment of topics by way of a thesis and antithesis: Is all X Y? Does this imply that all Y is X?
The text's commentary treats the ten chapter headings as a
mātikā, though no explicit matrix is presented in the text.
[ ]A. K. Warder
Anthony Kennedy Warder (8 September 1924 – 8 January 2013) was a British Indologist. His best-known works are ''Introduction to Pali'' (1963), ''Indian Buddhism'' (1970), and the eight-volume ''Indian Kāvya Literature'' (1972–2011).
Life
Wa ...
suggested that the text was a late addition to the Abhidhamma Pitaka, and represented an advanced text in applied logic meant to refine the knowledge of scholars already familiar with the Thervada abhidhamma system. In many places, the text considers the question of where and under what circumstances a being will be reborn given certain circumstances and levels of understanding.[
]
References
External links
Pali text
at suttacentral.net
{{Buddhism topics
Abhidhamma Pitaka