The Concept of Manopavicāra in Vasubandhu’s Exposition of Pratītyasamutpāda in Chapter Three of the Abhidharmakośabhāṣya

Abstract

This paper examines the concept of manopavicāra, found within the exposition of dependent arising (pratītyasamutpāda) in chapter three of the Commentary on the Treasury of Abhidharma (Abhidharmakośabhāṣya) of Vasubandhu. According to Vasubandhu, the feeling (vedanā) link in the chain of dependent arising consists of body-related feeling and mind-related feeling. Mind-related feeling is divided into eighteen manopavicāras. Manopavicāras are the three modalities of feeling: satisfaction, dissatisfaction, equanimity. They are said to rely on the objects or to direct the mind toward the objects, which, in the case of the meditations (samāpatti) of the formless realm, are not the objects of the senses but the objects of mind. The article will explore the definitions, characteristics, and functions of mental evaluations, their distribution in the three realms of existence, and its rationale.