Summary: The Indriyayamaka is the tenth and final book of the Yamaka. It applies the paired-question method to the twenty-two faculties (indriya). It provides the definitive logical mapping of how these directive forces relate to the physical bases they depend on, as well as to different individuals and stages of spiritual attainment. (Yam 10)
Canonical locus
The Indriyayamaka concludes the text with an analysis of controlling powers, testing whether the base of a faculty is equivalent to the faculty itself. (Yam 10)
Yam 10.1 (ya10.1.1:3.1)
Cakkhu cakkhundriyaṁ?
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"Is the eye [always] the eye-faculty?"
Analysis: Bases vs. Controlling Powers
The book's analysis is vast, mapping the twenty-two faculties through the Pavattivāra and Pariññāvāra. Rather than asserting tautologies, it tests the boundaries of related terms. For example, by asking "Is the eye always the eye-faculty?", the text forces the distinction between the physical eye as a mere base and the eye as a "controlling faculty" that governs the domain of seeing. (Yam 10)
It specifically details how the spiritual faculties (faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, wisdom) develop into the supramundane faculties of the noble ones. By the end of this book, the Yamaka has completed a logically exhaustive survey of the entire Abhidhamma system—from the basic roots to the highest spiritual attainments. (Yam 10)
Textual notes
- This book is a primary source for the Abhidhamma's theory of spiritual development and the logical necessity of each noble attainment.
- Its conclusion marks the end of the Yamaka's project of bidirectional verification.