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The first book, in the accepted order of
precedence, of the Abhidhamma Pitaka. It deals with more or less the same topics
as the Nikāyas, differing only in methods of treatment; the chief subject is
that of ethics, the enquiry thereinto being conducted from a psychological
standpoint. The book enumerates and defines a number of categories of terms
occurring in the Nikāyas.
There is in existence a commentary on
the book, written by Buddhaghosa and called the Atthasālinī. King Vijayabāhu I,
of Ceylon translated the Dhammasangani into Sinhalese (Cv.lx.17), but this
translation is now lost. The work has been translated into English. The text is
published by the P.T.S. (1885), and the translation (by Mrs. Rhys Davids) is
published by the R.A.S., under the title of A Buddhist Manual of Psychological
Ethics.
The Dhammasangani appears to have been
also called Dhammasangaha (DA.i.17).

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