SAMMATIYA

ancient Buddhist school or group of schools in India that held a distinctive theory concerning the pudgala, or person. They believed that though an individual does not exist independently from the five skandhas, or components that make up his personality, he is at the same time something greater than the mere sum of his parts. The Sammatiya were severely criticized by other Buddhists who considered the theory close to the rejected theory of atmani.e., the supreme universal self. The school apparently had popular support, for the Chinese pilgrim Hsan-tsang described it in the 7th century as one of the four main Buddhist sects of that time. Its members were also known as Pudgalavadins (Teachers of the Pudgala). It had several subschools; the Vatsiputriyas (presumably named after their teacher, Vatsiputra) are in some accounts referred to as the parent branch of which the Sammatiyas are an offshoot.