Discussions about the antarābhava in the Mahāvibhāṣā

Abstract

In Buddhism some schools accept the concept antarābhava, while the others do not. The most comprehensive discussions about this concept are found in the Mahāvibhāṣā. The present paper is a summary of the discussions. Among them, the most interesting topic is whether the antarābhava exists or not. It can be judged as the starting point for the later development of the concept. For several related important concepts are proposed there. Incidentally, the explanations of this concept in the Abhidharmakośa are extracted from the exhaustive discussions in the Mahāvibhāṣā.