Suggested topics for essay-
1.Trace the events that led to the formation of the Mahāsānghika school and outline some of its important Buddhological doctrines.
2.Discuss the karma doctrine of the Sāmmitīya.
3.Explain the Path of insight (darśana-mārga)and the Path of cultivation (bhāvanā-mārga).
4.Briefly outline the seven works of Sarvāstivāda scholasticism.
5.Give a historical survey of the Sarvāstivādin-s in North west India.
6.The Sautrāntika are those who take the sūtra-s as the authority, not the sāstra-s (Abhidharma texts). Explain.
7.Given the doctrine that all dharma-s are equally existent in the three periods of time, how do the ‘four great masters of Sarvāstivāda’ explain the fact of temporal distinction?
8.Discuss the doctrine of the ‘one-taste skandha-s’ (eka-rasa-skandha-s)of the Samkrāntivāda.
9.Given the Buddhist teachings of ‘No-soul’ (nairātmya) and momentariness (ksanikavāda), how do the Vātsīputrīya-s explain the fact of the continued existence of karmic efficacy and the process of transmigration?
10. Choose a topic of your own choice pertaining to the survey of the Abhidharma schools.