The Tree of Enlightenment

them Buddhist philosophy. In the Tibetan tradition, also, the
Abhidharma is an important part of monastic training.
Why is the Abhidharma held in such high esteem? e basic
reason is that a knowledge of the Abhidharma, in the general
sense of understanding the ultimate teaching, is absolutely necessary
to achieve wisdom, which is in turn necessary to achieve
freedom. No matter how long one meditates or how virtuous a
life one leads, without insight into the real nature of things, one
cannot achieve freedom.
A knowledge of the Abhidharma is necessary in order to
apply the insight into impermanence, impersonality, and insubstantiality
that we gain from a reading of the Sutra Pitaka to
every experience of daily life. All of us may glimpse impermanence,
impersonality, and insubstantiality through reading
the Sutra Pitaka, but how often can we apply that momentary
intellectual truth to our daily existence? e system in the
Abhidharma teaching provides a mechanism for doing so. A
study of the Abhidharma is therefore extremely useful for our
practice.
Let us consider the origin and authenticity of the Abhidharma.
e eravada school holds that the Buddha is the source of the
Abhidharma philosophy and was himself the first master of the
Abhidharma because, on the night of his enlightenment, he penetrated
the essence of the Abhidharma. According to a traditional
account, the Buddha also spent the fourth week after his enlightenment
in meditation on the Abhidharma. is is the week
known as ‘the House of Gems.’ Later in his career, it is said that
the Buddha visited the Heaven of the irty-ree, where his
mother was, and taught the Abhidharma to her and the gods. It
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