An intellectual basis for the establishment and development of Mahāyāna Buddhism was offered by the Sarvāstivādas, one of the most influential sects of Indian Buddhism. Noteworthily, among several other principles, Mahāyāna Buddhists also adopted the system of elements (dharmas), a fundamental theory of the Sarvāstivādas, albeit with some modifications and new interpretations. As a possible approach to the study of the relationships between Mahāyāna Buddhism and Sarvāstivāda thought, this paper attends to the validity of this characteristic of basic knowledge and investigates it in terms of the theory of elements. The principal portion of the paper is devoted to the investigation of the system of elements elucidated in the Pañcaskandhaka (PSk), a work of Vasubandhu that presents an overview of the Yogācāra structure of elements. Previous studies have indicated that the PSk deviates from traditional Yogācāra theory by offering Sarvāstivāda concepts for certain doctrinal features. By comparing the framework described in the PSk to the traditional Yogācāra system of elements in expounded the Abhidharmasamuccaya, this paper first demonstrates the deviations denoted in the PSk. Subsequently, it investigates the authorial intentions underlying those divergences. Finally, the paper reveals Vasubandhu’s efforts to refine the Yogācāra system of elements on the basis of Sarvāstivāda theories.
