The text is divided into the following chapters. === 1: The Exposition on the Elements (
dhātu-nirdeśa) === The first chapter of the work outlines the various conditioned and unconditioned factors (dharmas) that constitute sentient existence. This chapter mainly goes over the
five aggregates, the
sense fields, and the
"eighteen dhātus". It also analyses which of the elements are pure or impure. === 2: The Exposition on the Faculties (
indriya-nirdeśa) === The second chapter examines three interconnected topics, starting with the twenty-two sense faculties (indriya), which govern specific aspects of sentient life. These include the six sense faculties, the male and female sex faculties, the faculty of life force, five feeling faculties (e.g., pleasure and equanimity), five spiritual faculties (e.g., faith and wisdom), and three pure faculties related to spiritual attainment. Vasubandhu also discusses the
Vaibhāṣika list of seventy-five factors, categorized into matter (
rūpa), mind (citta), mental factors (
caitasika), conditioned factors dissociated from mind (cittaviprayuktasaṃskāras), and unconditioned factors (asaṃskṛta). This chapter further explores the simultaneous arising of conditioned factors, focusing on the interaction between mind moments (citta) and their accompanying thought concomitants. This leads into a broader discussion of causality, where Vasubandhu identifies the various types of causes (hetu), results (phala), and conditions (pratyaya). Finally, the chapter explains how conscious events (cittas) succeed one another in causal sequence.
3: The Exposition on the World (loka-nirdeśa) The third chapter addresses
Buddhist cosmology, describing the threefold world where sentient beings reside: the realms of desire (kāma-dhātu), realm of form (rūpya-dhātu), and the formless realm (arūpya-dhātu). Vasubandhu also explains the intermediate state (
antarabhava) between death and rebirth and elaborates on dependent origination (
pratītya-samutpāda), which accounts for cyclic existence without an enduring self (atman). He also depicts the receptacle world (bhājana-loka), detailing its physical structure—
Mount Sumeru, continents, and oceans—and its
cosmogony, temporal cosmology of
kalpas and dissolution.
4: The Exposition on Karma (karma-nirdeśa) Chapter four of the Kośa is devoted to a study of action i.e.
karma. This chapter explores the metaphysics of action, focusing on its most basic form, particularly bodily action. Debates on this topic include the
Pudgalavādin view that action is movement, the
Sarvāstivāda claim that it is shape, and Vasubandhu's
Sautrāntika position that it is intention (
cetanā) directed toward the body. The chapter distinguishes between informative actions, observable by others, and non-informative actions, internal to the agent, with mental action playing a crucial role in karmic retribution (vipaka). It also includes the Buddhist classification of ten virtuous and non-virtuous paths of action (karmapatha), concluding with a discussion of the effects of actions, though deferring details of their processes to later sections.
5: The Exposition on the Underlying Tendencies (anuśaya-nirdeśa) This chapter centers on latent dispositions or proclivities (anuśaya), the dormant state of mental afflictions (
kleśa). These are subconscious dispositions that remain inactive until specific causes and conditions trigger them into active defilements, termed “envelopments” (paryavasthāna). Their importance in the Buddhist path lies in their role in motivating karma, which sustains
saṃsāric existence. Six primary proclivities are identified: attachment (
rāga), hostility (
pratigha), ignorance (
avidyā), conceit (
māna), doubt (
vicikitsā), and afflicted views (
dṛṣṭi). A major debate covered in this chapter is that between the Sarvāstivāda and Sautrāntika positions on defilement. The Sarvāstivādins view the proclivities (anuśaya) as ultimately existent factors (dharmas) that transform into active defilements, treating "proclivity" and "envelopment" as synonymous. In contrast, Vasubandhu’s Sautrāntika perspective denies their ultimate existence, interpreting proclivities as forces (śākti) within the mind stream that lead to afflictions through transformation. Vasubandhu likens proclivities to seeds (bīja) that mature into fruits (phala). This discussion extends to the nature of past and future dharmas, with Sarvāstivāda asserting their existence and Sautrāntika rejecting unnecessary ontological entities.
6: The Exposition on Paths and Persons (mārgapudgala-nirdeśa) The sixth chapter describes the
path to liberation, structured around the
four noble truths and the schema of the
five paths. Vasubandhu addresses concerns such as why the first truth emphasizes
suffering and not pleasure. He also provides definitions of
conventional and ultimate truths. Meditative practices, including
mindfulness of breathing, the loathsomeness of the body, and the
four foundations of mindfulness, are explained and categorized under the path of preparation (prayogamārga). The subsequent paths are the path of insight (darśanamārga), the path of cultivation (bhāvanāmārga), and the path of no further training (aśaikṣamārga), correlating with levels of defilement purification and the stages of attainment:
stream-enterer, once-returner, non-returner, and
arhat. Additionally, the thirty-seven factors conducive to awakening (
bodhipakṣikadharma) are discussed in this chapter.
7: The Exposition on Wisdom (jñāna-nirdeśa) The seventh chapter outlines the ten types of knowledge (
jñāna) attained by those at advanced spiritual levels. These include knowledge of factors (dharmajñāna), subsequent knowledge (anvayajñāna), mundane conventional knowledge (lokasaṃvṛtijñāna), knowledge of others’ minds (paracittajñāna), and knowledge of the four noble truths (suffering, its origin, cessation, and the path). Advanced forms include knowledge of exhaustion (kṣayajñāna) and non-arising (anutpādajñāna), unique to arhats, representing certainty in the completion of tasks related to the truths. The chapter differentiates these types of knowledge from right view (
samyagdṛṣṭi) and receptivity (kṣānti), while also exploring their qualities and characteristics.
8: The Exposition on Meditative Attainment (samāpatti-nirdeśa) The eighth chapter delves into meditative attainments (samāpatti), offering a detailed analysis of absorptions (
samādhi). It describes the qualities of the four meditations (
dhyāna) of the form realm, the four formless perception spheres (āyatana), and the attainment of cessation (
nirodhasamāpatti). Vasubandhu highlights three key types of samādhi: the samādhi of emptiness (
śūnyatā), leading to the realization of selflessness; the samādhi of signlessness (
animitta), focusing on the nirvana free of characteristics; and the samādhi of wishlessness (
apraṇihita), fostering detachment from all phenomena. The chapter also explores the four immeasurables (
brahmavihāra)—loving-kindness (
maitrī), compassion (
karuṇā), joy (
muditā), and equanimity (
upekṣā)—alongside three additional frameworks of concentration: the eight liberations (vimokṣa), the eight spheres of mastery (abhivāyatana), and the ten totality spheres (kṛtsnāyatana).
9: The Refutation of the View of a Self (atmavāda-pratiṣedha) This additional concluding treatise critiques notions of individuality, targeting two key perspectives. The first is the
Pudgalavāda view, which posits the existence of a person (pudgala) distinct yet not separate from the
five aggregates. Vasubandhu challenges this with arguments from reason and scripture, particularly addressing the school’s fire-and-fuel analogy. The second critique targets the concept of an enduring self (
ātman), upheld in various forms by all six orthodox Indian schools. Vasubandhu addresses objections from putative Hindu philosophers, tackling issues such as the
no-self doctrine's compatibility with memory, agency (e.g., walking), and the differentiation of individual consciousness streams. ==The Text and its Translations==