Classification lists (matika / matrka) in early Buddhism

The aim of the present article is to analyze the role, significance and specific usage of the matika principle in early Buddhism. A matika / matrka is a traditional classification list, or a list of doctrinal terms; such lists played an important role in the construction of Buddhist texts and early Buddhist teaching. Upon a close reading of Vinaya Pitaka, Sutta Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka, the author identifies the patterns of the genesis of the principal matikas within the Pali canon and traces some of the more subtle changes in the attitude toward the matikas in early Buddhist religious and philosophical traditions. The article is divided into five parts dealing, respectively, with 1) the principal meanings of the term matika, 2) the role and significance of matikas in early Buddhist tradition, 3) the methods of composing matikas in early Buddhism, 4) the analysis of the principal Buddhist matikas, 5) the place matikas occupy within the Pali abhidhamma. The overview of the traditional approaches to composing and laying down classification lists in early Buddhism, undertaken here by the author, prepares the ground for further study of the matikas belonging to various genres. It can be shown that matikas are a dominant feature of early Buddhist doctrinal texts, largely responsible for the mechanism of their transmission.