Do we have to learn Abhidhamma as a foundation to enhance our practice?

The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

14 September 2024

Question: Do we have to learn Abhidhamma as a foundation to enhance our practice?

Than Ajahn:  No I never study Abhidhamma. All you have to study are the 5 principal suttas that I mentioned in our last session, namely: Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (the Buddha’s first discourse);
Anattalakkhana Sutta; the Fire discourse (Aditta-pariyaya Sutta);
Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (the foundations of mindfulness); And the Mangala Sutta. These are the suttas that you really need. Unless you want to know more about each Dhamma, then you might have to study more suttas. 

But you don’t need to study the Abhidhamma.

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Question:  Luangphor mentioned that we don’t need to study the Abhidhamma. Please advise the sources where we can study the Dhamma.

Than Ajahn: The Abhidhamma and the other suttas came from the same source. They were from the teachings of the Buddha. The Abhidhamma is the selected teachings. The information in the Abhidhamma is taken from the suttas but it doesn’t provide the situations, such as, where or when the Buddha gave the talks, or to whom he gave the talks to. 

But the content of Dhamma teachings are the same, whether they are in the Abhidhamma or in the other sutta.

You can also go to Luangta’s website to study his teachings or you can go to the website: www.accesstoinsight.org.

There’s another website which I found it very useful when I started studying Buddhism, i.e. the Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, SriLanka.

They have free books for distribution. They also have many suttas translated into English.

Dhamma in English, Aug 23, 2020.

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Question:  I heard that one should study Buddhism in a systematic way. I don’t know which suttas or books I need to read to start studying Buddhism.

Than Ajahn:  I think from my experience, you need to study about 4 or 5 suttas to get you started. The first sutta is the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta – the first discourse the Buddha gave. Then, you should study the Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta where the Buddha talked about the 5 khandhas being anattā. Next, the Fire discourse (Aditta-pariyaya Sutta) where the Buddha compares the sensual objects and thoughts to the fire. 

Next, the foundations of mindfulness (Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta). And then, another sutta that you should study is the Mangala Sutta – the 38 ways to reach nibbāna. 

These are all the teachings of the Buddha that you need to study. 

A good source to study the sutta is from the website: www.accesstoinsight.org. You can read all the sutta in the website mentioned.

Dhamma in English, Aug 21, 2020.

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com

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