Dharmas: Irreducible Elements of Experience

Abhidharma psychology advances beyond gross analysis to examine dharmas—the fundamental building blocks of experience that cannot be further reduced. These include primary consciousnesses, mental factors (cetasikas) like intention, attention, and emotion, and physical elements. Patanjali's psychology presupposes this level of analysis: when yoga masters the mind through systematic practice, they're actually refining their relationship to these irreducible elements. Each dharma arises and passes instantly, yet strings of dharmas create the appearance of continuous objects and self. Understanding dharmas reveals that what appears solid—a thought, an emotion, a bodily sensation—is actually a rapidly sequencing constellation of impersonal, conditioned events. This insight fundamentally alters psychological transformation: rather than trying to change a "self," practitioners recognize they're working with impersonal mental and physical elements following lawful patterns. This shift from entity-based to element-based psychology enables the precise, systematic mastery that both Patanjali and Abhidharma systems promise.