Points of Controversy

by Caroline A.F. Rhys Davids (Translator)

Please PTS members must order directly from the PTS. This translation of Kathavatthu by S. Z. Aung and Mrs. C. A. F. Rhys Davids, was originally published in 1915. It is a scholarly critical edition that provides notes, indexes, diagrams and other aids to understanding the reasons and order of secessions of the myriad schools of Buddhism. Mrs. Rhys Davids' prefatory notes in this translation are a very useful introduction and guide to this fifth book of the Abhidhamma. There are alternate listings of the points of controversy discussed in the Kathavatthu in the Table of Contents of the translation according Canonical Order-Grouped under Subjects of Discourse-Grouped According to the Dissentient Schools. There are diagrams of the secessions of various schools of Buddhism according to three different sources. I. Quotations from the Canon II. Subjects III. Pali Words Discussed The PTS Pali edition is Kathavatthu

Genres: Buddhism

Hardcover

About the author

Caroline Augusta Foley Rhys Davids (1857–1942) was a British writer and translator. She made a contribution to economics before becoming widely known as an editor, translator, and interpreter of Buddhist texts in the Pāli language. She was honorary secretary of the Pāli Text Society from 1907, and its president from 1923 to 1942.

Reviews

[Marian · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Kathavatthu (Points of Controversy) is part of the Abhidhamma Pitaka (Basket of Higher Teachings). It was supposedly written during the Third Buddhist Council (Asoka's reign) and is a clear snapshot of Buddhism and it's sects, 200 years after the Buddha's death, contrasting the orthodox to the heterodox views, in the form of recorded debates. Certainly an interesting read for anyone interested in the different interpretations of the Dhamma in the early years of Buddhism.