Kathavatthu

Kathavatthu ( Pali Kathāvatthu ) is one of the seven books in the Abhidhamma-pitaka , going either fifth or seventh. Not all Theravada schools recognize Kathavatha as part of the canon ^{[ specify ]} .

Kathavatthu stands out among the canonical Pali texts in that only in relation to its tradition leads both authorship and the time of creation ^[1] . Thus, according to the early chronicles of Moggaliputta Tissa compiled this text at the cathedral in Pataliputra in the year 236 after the nirvana of the Buddha in order to stop and refute heretical teachings ^[2] .

Kathavatthu deals with certain statements; according to Buddhaghosh , 500 of them are orthodox, 500 are unorthodox. The text consists of 23 sections, each of which relates to five to twelve questions, and is built on a “question-answer” system, while it is not always possible to determine which of the parties to the dispute is a heretic and who is a supporter of Theravada ^[3] . The names of heretics whose teachings are condemned are not given in the text.

Kathavatthu is a text that has been constantly supplemented since creation as new heresies arose. The last such addition dates back, possibly, to the 1st century BC. e. , that is, the time of writing the canon itself, or the time of creating that Sinhalese commentary on which Buddhaghos relied ^[3] . Moreover, the structure of the book and several of the heresies listed at the beginning are of more ancient origin than the rest of the text. The first section deals with the non-existence of an unchanging personality ( scarecrow ), while the second concerns the refutation of several allegations about the nature of the arhat .

A characteristic feature of the text is the presence of a large number of quotes, primarily from the Vinaya and Sutta-pitak , including nine tests of Khuddak-Nikai , as well as from Dhammasangani and Vibhanga , sometimes with slight differences from modern texts ^[4] .