Abhidhamma Study: Dhamma-dhatu [Presented by Dr.Tep Sastri @SD/JTN/Mult]
Allow me to give a beginner's thought about dhamma-dhatu, the 17th item in the list of 18 elements.
Now, recalling from the introduction to the CMA, page 3:
The ultimate reality consists of "elementary constituents" called "dhammas", which are consciousness(121 cittas), mental factors (52 cetasikas: phassa, vedana, sanna, cetana, ekaggata, jivitindriya, manasika, vitakka, vicara, adhimokkha, viriya, piti, chanda, 14 unwholesome factors, and 25 beautiful factors), 28 matters (the four 'great elements' plus their 24 derivatives), and Nibbana.
So dhammadhatu is the remainder of the ultimate realities after we subtract consciousness. As such, dhammadhatu means the collection of several following sabhaava dhammas: 52 cetasikas, 28 matters and Nibbana.
Putting the book away for a moment, in my own words dhammadhatu seems to be an essence(sabhaava) of a phenomenon (or reality) that arises as a mind-object to be experienced by the consciousness in a given moment. Thus it must not be a thought which is fabricated by the mind that is associated with ignorance, since the essence of the reality is lost or obscured by ignorance.
Back to the book I searched the CMA further and found this:
CMA page 25: Ultimate realities .. are things that exist by reason of their own intrinsic nature (sabhaava). These are the dhammas: the final, irreducible components of existence, the ultimate entities which result from a correctly performed analysis of experience. Such existence admit of no further reduction, but are themselves the final terms of analysis, the true constituents of the complex manifold of experience. [end of quote]
Yet, there is something very vague in the above elaboration!
I hope someone among us is willing to give a thought to expand or extend the above discussion in order to make it convincingly clear.
*********************
Love Buddha's dhamma,yawares/sirikanya