I’ve heard and read of this controversy, but I can’t recall what the big disagreements were. Is there an overview of what the main points of disagreement were?
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I’m not aware of one, though seven of the disagreements are described in A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma, the translation of the Abhidhammatthasangaha by Dr. Rewata Dhamma and Bhikkhu Bodhi. To wit:
- Whether delusion-rooted cittas are prompted or unprompted.
It should be noted that no qualification in terms of prompted or unprompted is attached to the description of these two cittas rooted in delusion. The commentators offer different explanations for this omission. The Vibhāvinī-Ṭīkā and the Mahā-Ṭīkā to the Visuddhimagga maintain that the distinction in terms of prompting is omitted because neither alternative is applicable. They state that, since these two cittas lack natural acuteness, they cannot be described as unprompted; and, since there is no occasion when one deliberately tries to arouse them, they cannot be described as prompted. Ledi Sayādaw, however, rejects this position, holding these cittas to be exclusively unprompted. He contends: “Since these two cittas occur in beings naturally, by their own intrinsic nature, they need not be aroused by any inducement or expedient means. They always occur without trouble or difficulty. Therefore, they are exclusively unprompted, and this should be seen as the reason the distinction by way of prompting is not mentioned here.”
In the textbooks used in Thailand’s Abhidhamma schools, Ledi’s view has become the new orthodoxy. In fact I’ve seen some books that don’t so much as mention the older view.
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Whether rūpāvacara cittas are prompted or unprompted. This is actually a three-cornered contest between Sumangalasāmi, Ledi Sayadaw and the Rewata-Bodhi duo, but it’s a bit too long to quote.
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The referent of the term manodvāra.
Different commentaries express contrary opinions about the precise denotation of the mind door. The Vibhāvinī-Ṭīkā states that the bhavanga citta immediately preceding the mind-door adverting consciousness, that is, the arrest bhavanga (bhavanga-upaccheda), is the mind door. Other Abhidhamma commentaries identify the mind door as the bhavanga citta together with the mind-door adverting. However, Ledi Sayādaw and the commentary to the Vibhanga both state that the entire bhavanga without distinction is the mind door. Ācariya Anuruddha did not make any specifications but simply stated that the bhavanga is called “the mind door.”
- A hair-splitting difference of opinion on how to define ṭhiti.
The life-span of a citta is termed, in the Abhidhamma, a “mind-moment” (cittakkhaṇa). This is a temporal unit of such brief duration that, according to the commentators, in the time that it takes for lightning to flash or the eyes to blink, billions of mind-moments can elapse. Nevertheless, though seemingly infinitesimal, each mind-moment, in turn, consists of three sub-moments — arising (uppāda), presence (ṭhiti), and dissolution (bhanga). Within the breadth of a mind-moment, a citta arises, performs its momentary function, and then dissolves, conditioning the next citta in immediate succession. Thus, through the sequence of mind-moments, the flow of consciousness continues uninterrupted like the waters in a stream.
Some commentators, such as Ācariya Ānanda (author of the Mūla-Ṭīkā to the Abhidhamma Piṭaka), reject the sub-moment of presence in relation to mental phenomena, appealing for support to the Citta-Yamaka chapter of the Yamaka, which speaks only of the arising moment and dissolution moment of consciousness, but not of a presence moment. Ācariya Anuruddha, however, does not endorse this position, nor do his commentators. The Vibhāvinī points out that the sub-moment of presence is a stage in the occurrence of a dhamma separate from the stages of arising and dissolution, during which the dhamma “stands facing its own dissolution” (bhangābhimukhāvathā). Ledi Sayādaw regards the moment of presence as the midpoint between the two phases of arising and falling (udaya-vaya), just as, when a stone is thrown upwards, a moment is needed before it starts falling downwards. He also says that the presence moment can be taken to cover the entire life-span of a dhamma between the first point of its arising and the end of its falling away. Many commentators take the presence moment to be implied by the Buddha’s statement: “There are three conditioned characteristics of the conditioned: arising, passing away, and the alteration of that which stands” (Anguttara Nikāya 3:47/i, 152). Here, the presence moment is identified with “the alteration of that which stands” (ṭhitasa aññathatta).
- The nature of a gati-nimitta.
If the object of the rebirth consciousness is a kamma, then it is necessarily past and must be a mental object apprehended at the mind door. If the object is a sign of kamma, then it can be apprehended at any of the six doors and may be either past or present. In the case of the sign of destiny as object, different teachers advance conflicting interpretations. Some commentators, including the author of the Vibhāvinī-Ṭīkā, hold that the sign of destiny is necessarily a present visible form apprehended at the mind door. They interpret Ācariya Anuruddha’s statement in the text as meaning: “When the object is a sign of kamma, it may be perceived at any of the six doors and may be present or past; when it is a sign of destiny, it is perceived at the sixth door, that is, the mind door, and is present.” Other commentators, including Ledi Sayādaw, reject this interpretation as forced and too narrow. They argue that Ācariya Anuruddha must be taken at his word as holding the wider view that the sign of destiny can be past or present and may appear at any of the six doors. Ledi Sayādaw asserts that, when the Abhidhamma texts commonly speak of the sign of destiny as a present visible object appearing at the mind door, this is said by way of its usual manifestation but does not mean that it does not become manifest in other ways, for example, as the groans of those in hell or as celestial music or fragrance, etc.
- Whether the scope of the base-object-prenascence support condition should be limited to the heart-base arisen at the seventeenth mind-moment preceding the death consciousness, on an occasion when the last javana process takes the heart-base as object.
Ledi Sayādaw argues at length in the Paramatthadīpanī against this narrow interpretation.
- Where may a once-returner return to?
Ledi Sayādaw points out that the Commentaries offer two conflicting interpretations of the expression “this world” (imaṁ lokaṁ), to which the once-returner may return one more time. According to one interpretation, it is the human world to which he may return from a celestial realm; according to the other, it is the sense-sphere world to which he may return from a Brahma-realm. Ledi Sayādaw maintains that, in spite of the commentarial support for the former interpretation, the second seems better supported by the canonical texts.
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Do you mean the Visuddhimagga-mahāṭīkā (Paramatthamañjūsā)?
If so, the Sayadaw was familiar with the text and made use of it, but not uncritically. For example, in the Paramatthadīpanī he quotes from it nineteen times, seven times assenting to what it says and twelve times dissenting. Some of the dissents are where Sumangalasāmi is actually quoting from the Mahāṭīkā.
For example, in his 175th criticism Ledi starts by giving his own definition of mahābhūta:
Salakkhaṇato sasambhārato ca mahantāni hutvā bhavanti pātubhavantīti mahābhūtāni. Tāni hi attano sabhāvatopi mahantāni eva hutvā pātubhavanti upādārūpāni upādāyāti.
He then quotes the definition given in both the Vibhāvanī and the Mahāṭīkā:
[175] Vibhāvaniyaṃ pana mahāṭīkāyañca:
‘‘Sasambhāradhātuvasenāti’’ vuttaṃ.
Only to reject it:
Taṃ anupapannaṃ!
Na hi sasambhāravatthuvaseneva tesaṃ ayaṃ vohāro pavattoti sakkā vattuṃ. Na ca salakkhaṇato mahattena vinā tesaṃ sasambhārato mahattaṃ nāma sambhavatīti. Tasmā yaṃ tesaṃ indriyānindriyabaddhasantānesu pathavipabbatādivasena samudde macchakacchapādivasena sasambhārato mahattaṃ. Taṃpi salakkhaṇamahattamūlakamevāti daṭṭhabbaṃ. Mahābhūtātivā loke visaṃvāda kaṭṭhena māyākārāvā āvisanagahaṇesu acinteyyaṭṭhānaṭṭhena yakkhādayo vā vañcakaṭṭhena yakkhiniyo vā vuccanti. Tenevaṭṭhena tehi sadisattā imānipi mahābhūtāviyāti mahābhūtāni.
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If you want to find all 19, remove the inflectional ending from mahāṭīkāyaṃ and just search for mahāṭīk.
Papañcasūdanī Commentary to the Majjhimanikāya translated by N.A. Jayawickrama and edited by Toshiichi Endo was recently made available as a free PDF download.
I am not very familiar with the commentaries literature or the structure/names, but the book seems to contain MN-a 1, 2, and 3. MN-a 2 and 3 are in the “Need” list.
That looks great! But just to clarify, it looks like it is only the commentary to the first five suttas.
I think it contains the commentaries for the first three suttas of the MN. The heading numbers are not the sutta numbers. Sections 1 and 2 are in the introduction, and sections 3, 4, and 5 are translations.
Oh, you’re right. I wasn’t paying attention. And I read your MN1, 2, 3 as the three volumes that the MN is traditionally published in.
Still, it’s a valuable resource. Thanks!
I have updated the list with a new translation of MNA 1, 2, and 3 made by N.A. Jayawikrama and Toshiichi Endo. They translated only the first three discourses: MNA 01 Mūlapariyāya Sutta, MNA 02 Sabbāsava Sutta, and MNA 03 Dhammadāyāda Sutta. The book’s name seems to imply that all the Middle Length Discourses commentary is contained, but we find there only the ancient commentary to the first three suttas.
This book was made available for free here, but the link is not accessible except through Google Cache. The download is also no more accessible there, but it was reuploaded in Classical Theravada by RobertK.
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The book page is still available on the HKU Centre of Buddhist Studies website. You must of found a link from a older version of the site; it was recently updated and restructured.
Here is a working link for the book Papañcasūdanī Commentary to the Majjhimanikāya (Free eBook) - HKU Centre of Buddhist Studies
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Dear Dhamma friends,
Finally, major edits are done.
- Several books did not have the correct name. Corrected.
- Added publishing year wherever possible, up to my abilities. Sometimes it is not written in the book, so I had to search it online or at least provide the year when my document was last modified (in rare cases).
- Nina Van Gorkom’s draft of Paramatthamanjusa (Visuddhimagga Tika) is added after I have switched her Velthuis Pali into the proper Pali font
- Abhidhammatthasangaha Tika translation by R.P. Wijeratne and R. Gethin is now available to me, hence it is updated
- grammatical corrections
- duplicates and unrelated additional details are removed; partial texts are removed if a complete text is also included & available
- links are embedded in the text to safe space
- Thupavamsa has the first edition for free (from archive.org) and its second edition is paid. The information is properly updated in the list.
- And quite a few more minor mistakes as well are corrected.
- My present attempts to work on MNA and DNA are also mentioned in the Planned section.
The files in the archive.org link are also updated.
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Hi, venerable Sarana! I need Apadāna-aṭṭhakathā (Theri-apadana commentary) in English. I found Therapadana Commentary in English through your sharing links but not Theri-apadana Can you please help me with this? 
Please see new updates to Saṃyutta Nikāya Commentary.
One is an anthology from SN 18, SN 22, and SN 56. I am thankful for the information to the author Mr. Son Tu and our friend RobertK.
Likewise I am thankful to Giuliano Giustarini for allowing me to add his translation of Commentary & Subcommentary of SN 22.1 Nakulapitā Sutta.
Both documents are available also in the archive.org link.
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Dear Emma,
Theri Apadana Commentary is not available to me in English translation. I worry that the translation is not available at all yet.
You may like to read this short paper on it:
The Female Past in Early Indian Buddhism, The Shared Narrative of the Seven Sisters in the Theri-Apadana - Alice Collett (PRT 209-226, Religions of S Asia 5.1), UK,Lord Mayor’s Walk York-2011 (18p).pdf
Available for purchase here.
Or for free (?!) uploaded apparently by herself alone here.
She has academia.edu account with quite a few articles:
It seems she also wrote a book: Lives of Early Buddhist Nuns: Biographies as History by Alice Collett (2016-02-07), potentially available from Amazon. I don’t have that book yet but hope to get it soon. Thank you for leading me to this precious source.
If you are interested in a particular story in Theri Apadana Commentary, let me know. I have the Burmese translation of this Commentary and can read it fairly easily. (Interestingly, I have also Sinhalese Atthakatha translation but with surprise I found that Theri Apadana is not translated (!?) despite it being hailed as the complete translation, funded by the former Sri Lankan president. I found that even the Thera version is not complete - last chapter, Ch56, is left from the translation. And even more interesting is that I have actually two Burmese translations of Theri Apadana, each from a different translator ). I can read the story you would like to know and write a summary for you. Or provide a detailed translation of your chosen one story if you tell me why is it important for you. 
Let me know by PM please.
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Dear Venerable Sarana,
Thank you very much for responding to my post. I am absolutely thrilled by your message offering assistance with my research project focusing on the Theri-apadana 
Your offer is both fantastic and unexpected, and I am genuinely grateful for your willingness to help. 
I sent you an email.
I am looking forward to hearing from you soon and am excited about the further conversations. 
with Metta,
Best regards,
Emma
Lives of Early Buddhist Nuns: Biographies as History by Alice Collett is an exemplary work.Her detailed study, especially on the Theri-apadana, showcases her expertise in the field. Collett’s style of referencing and in-depth analysis makes this book a must-read for anyone interested in early Buddhist history and women’s roles in it. 
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Dear Venerable Sarana,
Can you please write “Therī-apadānadīpanī” in the Bermese language, only?
Best regards,
Theriapadana Dipani - ထေရီအပဒါနဒီပနီ