“… over the years I have found the writings of the Indian Buddhist scholar Sthiramati—such as his commentary on Vasubandhu’s Summary of the Five Heaps—to be among the most detailed sources on the topic of mind and mental factors. This is one of the main reasons that Vasubandhu’s root text and Sthiramati’s commentary, which appear in Part Two of this book, were chosen for translation.

A primary aim of this book is to examine the importance of Abhidharma literature, which seems to be largely unappreciated by contemporary Western Buddhist practitioners, particularly those who are drawn to any of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Often viewed as little more than a dry and uninspiring catalog of lists and definitions, this material is in fact a repository of the fundamental concepts and ideas that inform all of the major Buddhist philosophical schools and traditions. Great Mahayana figures like Nagarjuna and Asan.ga should properly be seen as presenting a critical analysis of the early realist tendencies in Buddhist thought, rather than positing views that reject the very framework on which all Buddhist philosophical theories are constructed. On a more practical level, Abhidharma literature contains the subject matter that allows one to investigate and learn with minute precision every aspect of the three Buddhist trainings of morality, one-pointed concentration, and wisdom.

While there are several English and French translations of Vasubandhu’s Summary of the Five Heaps, Sthiramati’s commentary on this root text has not been available in English before now. It is hoped that his explanations will be a useful contribution to the body of Buddhist writings available to Western readers.”

—Artemus B. Engle, from the Preface to The Inner Science of Buddhist Practice