22 Indriya DEFINITION: Indriya: Literally, ―Belonging to Indra‖, a Chief Deity
Abhidharmakosa Chapter 2: Indriyas (Faculties) Overview: Chapter 2 continues the analysis of Chapter 1 in laying out the basic underlying principles of the Abhidharma approach. Chapter 2 begins with an exposition of the indriyas which continues the treatment of traditional teaching categories from Chapter 1 (which analyzed skandhas, ayatanas and dhatus). After the analysis of the indriyas (see below for summary and table), Vasubandhu lays out the dharmas associated and not associated with mind along the lines of the less traditional Panca-vastuka (five groups) formulation (this was an later Abhidharma development). To some extent, Chapter 1 covered the rupa (material form) group of dharmas, as well as the mind/consciousness (citta/vijnana) group (just 1 dharma). The unconditioned dharmas are treated in both chapter 1 and 2. Chapter 2 then unfolds the mental dharmas and the dharmas not associated with mind (which comprise the 4th skandha: samskaras). By treating the indriyas first, Vasubandhu may be trying to give a more sutra-based foundation to the exposition of the samskaras before unfolding the later Panca-vastuka formulation. After the analysis of the indriyas below, there is a study of the 75 dharmas (and some thoughts on the development of ―dharma lists‖. As the dharmas are not things, but functions or causal forces, Vasubandhu follows up the exposition of the dharmas with a treatment of causality (K48-73, see overview below). 22 Indriya DEFINITION: Indriya: literally, ―belonging to Indra‖, a chief deity. Indriya comes to connote supremacy, dominance, control, power and strength. Soothill‘s definition of the Chinese: ―根 mūla, a root, basis, origin; but when meaning an organ of sense, indriyam, a 'power', 'faculty of sense, sense, organ of sense'.
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