Guide to Tipitaka

Pa¥¥hæna, made up of the words “pa and ¥hæna”, means a system of relations. The Great Treatise of Pa¥¥hæna arranges all conditioned things, (twenty-two Tikas and one hundred Dukas of the Mætikæ), under twenty-four kinds of relations, describes and classifies them into a complete system for understanding the mechanics of the universe of Dhamma. The whole work is divided into four great divisions, namely:

(i) Anuloma Pa¥¥hæna which studies the instances in which paccaya relations do exist between the dhammas.

(ii) Paccanøya Pa¥¥hæna which studies the instances in which paccaya relations do not exist between the dhammas.

(iii) Anuloma Paccanøya Pa¥¥hæna which studies the instances in which some of the paccaya relations do exist between the dhammas but the others do not.

(iv) Paccanøya Anuloma Pa¥¥hæna which studies the instances in which some of the paccaya relations do not exist between the dhammas, but the others do exist.

The twenty-four paccaya relations are applied to these four great divisions in the following six ways:

(i) Tika Pa¥¥hæna – The twenty-four paccayas are applied to the dhammas in their twenty-four Tika groups.

(ii) Duka Pa¥¥hæna – The twenty-four paccayas are applied to the dhammas in their one hundred Duka groups.

(iii) Duka-Tika Pa¥¥hæna – The twenty four paccayas are applied to the dhammas in their one hundred Dukas mixed with twenty-two Tika groups.

(iv) Tika-Duka Pa¥¥hæna – The twenty-four paccayas are applied to the dhammas in their twenty-two Tikas mixed with one hundred Duka groups.

(v) Tika-Tika Pa¥¥hæna – The twenty-four paccayas are applied to the dhammas in the twenty-two Tika groups mixed with one another.

(vi) Duka-Duka Pa¥¥hæna – The twenty-four paccayas are applied to the dhammas in their one hundred Duka groups mixed with one another.

The four pa¥¥hænas of the four great divisions when permuted with the six pa¥¥hænas of the six ways result in twenty-four treatises which constitute the gigantic compilation of abstract Abhidhamma known as the Mahæpakæra¼a or as the commentary and sub-commentary name it “Anantanaya Samanta Pa¥¥hæna” to denote its profundity and fathomless depth.