9.11 Of Past, Future, and Present (KV9.11)

Controverted Point: That a past or future experience is actually possessed.

Theravādin: But is not the past extinct, departed, changed, come to an end, finished? And is not the future unborn, not yet become, not come into being, not produced, not brought to pass, not manifested? How then can you call either something that is actually possessed?

Is one who possesses a present material or bodily aggregate also in possession of a past and a future bodily aggregate? Then must you admit three bodily aggregates. Similarly, if he is actually in possession of five past and five future, as well as five present bodily and mental aggregates, you must admit fifteen aggregates … .

A similar argument applies to the organs and objects of sense, to the eighteen elements, to the twenty-two controlling powers.

Andhaka: But are there not those who, meditating on the eight stages of emancipation, can induce the four Jhānas at their pleasure, can acquire the four serial grades? Surely then it is right to say that one can have actual present possession of past and future things?

The Points of Controversy, an English translation of the Pali Abhidhamma Kathāvatthu. Translated by Shwe Zan Aung and C.A.F. Rhys Davids. First published by Pali Text Society, 1915.

This SuttaCentral edition was prepared by Manfred Wierich and Ven. Vimala and proofread by Josephine Tobin. Some changes were introduced:

Abbreviations, i.e., those of cited works and the participants in the controversies, were expanded.

Cross-references were linked.

Some typographic changes were introduced, among others, i.e.: the phonetic symbol “ŋ” was changed to the Pāli diacritical letter “ṃ”, “ô” to “o”, single quotes to double quotes, and “:—” to “:”.

Letter-spacing with fixed spaces was replaced with bold font.

The corrigenda were merged into the text. Some could not be resolved, though.

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