Is the Theravada system one of direct realism?

[RobertK]

This topic about sarupato is relevant:

Does anyone know where in the commentaries it is stated that dhammas exist "from their own side" (sarupato)?

Is there a sub forum to discuss the commentaries? Or is this the correct one to discuss them? Anyway, in A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma, Bhikkhu Bodhi writes: Where is this stated explicitly in the commentaries (or Abhidhamma, or Visuddhimagga, or any such orthodox work)? Thanks!

Zan quotes bhikkhu Bodhi

“It is the dhammas alone that possess ultimate reality: determinate existence “from their own side” (sarupato) independent of the minds conceptual processing of the data.”