International Abhidhamma Divas:
The Prime Minister of India addressed a ceremony in celebration of International Abhidhamma Divas and recognition of Pali as classical language in New Delhi.
- Abhidhamma Divas commemorates the day when Lord Buddha descended from the celestial realm, Tāvatiṃsa-devaloka, to Sankassiya (now Sankisa Basantapur) in Uttar Pradesh.
- The Asokan Elephant Pillar, a historical marker at the site, marks this significant event.
- According to Theravāda Buddhist texts, Lord Buddha spent three months teaching the Abhidhamma to the deities in Tāvatiṃsa, including his mother.
- The celebration of Abhidhamma Divas coincides with the end of the first Rainy Retreat (Vassa) and the Pavāraņā festival, a time when monks and nuns conclude their retreat period with a ceremony.
- This year International Abhidhamma Divas was hosted by the Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC).
- The Abhidhamma adopts a specialized and analytical approach to explore reality.
- It offers a detailed framework for understanding the nature of existence, addressing the processes of birth, death, and mental phenomena in a precise and abstract manner.
- The four ultimate realities in the Abhidhamma are: “citta” (consciousness), “cetasika” (mental factors), “rūpa” (materiality), and “nibbāna” (final liberation).
