This modern translation of the Abhidhammattha Sangaha (Manual of Abhidhamma) offers an introduction to Buddhism’s fundamental philosophical psychology.
The Author has compressed the whole of the Abhidhamma-Pitika and its supplement the Visudhimagga in this small book, mostly written in aphoristic small sentences. The book is very popular and today it is taught as the first book to the students of Abhidhamma in the monas-teries of Ceylon, Burma, Thailand & Indo-China. It is rather better not to call it the first book for it is really a guide through the whole bulk of Abhidhamma-Pitaka. It gives a very vivid exposition of the method adopted in the analysis and grouping of the state of thing (Dhammas) in the Dhammasangini as a system.
In the study Mathieu Boisvert presents a detailed analysis of the five aggregates (pancakkhandha) and establishes how the Theravada tradition views their interaction. He clarifies the fundamentals of Buddhist psychology by providing a rigorous examination of the nature and interrelation of each of the aggregates and by establishing, for the first time, how the function of each of these aggregates chains beings to the cycle of birth, death and rebirth--the theory of dependent origination (paticcasamuppada). Boisvert contends that without a thorough understanding of the five aggregates, we cannot grasp the liberation process at work within the individual, who is, after all, simply an amalgam of the five aggregates. The Five Aggregates represents an important and original contribution to Buddhist Studies and will be of great interest to all scholars and students of Buddhism.
Devoted readers who have no basic knowledge of Abhidhamma and the doctrine of Dependent of Dependent Origination should obtain instructions from teachers compulsorily when reading this book. Dependent Origination is profound in its nature.