Abstract
This paper aims to clarify some particulars of early Abhidharma Buddhism based on a consideration of the synonyms of atman. Vasubandhu states in the Abhidharmakosabhasya that the atman is equated with pudgala, jiva, sattva, etc. In the early stage of Abhidharma Buddhism, these terms represented the person as a provisional designation and as being distinct from the atman. After that, in the Jnanaprasthana, they became synonymous with atman under the influence of the Pudgalavadins. This identification of the atman and those terms should be thought of as a surprising change in the history of Buddhist thought which denied the atman. Moreover, this identification also influenced Mahayana Buddhism.
