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Translations of

khandha
English: aggregate, mass, heap
Pali: khandha
Sanskrit: skandha
Chinese: 五蕴
(pinyin: wǔyùn)
Japanese: 五蘊
Vietnamese: Ngũ uẩn
Tibetan: ཕུང་པོ་ལྔ་
(phung po lnga)
Buddhism Glossary
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In Buddhist phenomenology and soteriology, the five skandhas (Sanskrit) or khandhas (Pāli) are five "aggregates" which categorize all individual experience, among which there is no "self" to be found. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Pali ( ISO 15919 / ALA-LC: Pāḷi is a Middle Indo-Aryan language or Prakrit of India. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities Vietnamese ( tiếng Việt, or less commonly Việt ngữ) formerly known under French colonization as Annamese ( see Annam) Tibetan refers to a group of languages spoken primarily by Tibetan peoples who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering South Asia as well as by overseas Several Buddhist terms and concepts lack direct translations into English that cover the breadth of the original term Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices Soteriology is the branch of theology that deals with Salvation. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical Pali ( ISO 15919 / ALA-LC: Pāḷi is a Middle Indo-Aryan language or Prakrit of India. In Buddhist philosophy, anatta ( Pāli) or anātman ( Sanskrit) refers to the notion of "not-self" A frequently postulated metaphysical corollary is that a "person" is made up of these five aggregates. Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science [1]

In the Theravada tradition, suffering arises when one identifies with or otherwise clings to an aggregate; hence, suffering is extinguished by relinquishing attachments to aggregates. History Origin of the school The Theravāda school is ultimately derived from the Vibhajjavāda (or 'doctrine of analysis' grouping which was a continuation Dukkha ( Pāli दुक्ख Sanskrit दुःख duḥkha; according to grammatical tradition derived from dus-kha "uneasy" Upādāna is a word used in both Buddhism and Hinduism In Buddhism, upādāna is a critical link in the arising of suffering The Mahayana tradition further puts forth that ultimate freedom is realized by deeply penetrating the intrinsically empty nature of all aggregates. Mahayana ( Sanskrit: mahāyāna, Devanagari: महायान 'Great Vehicle' is one of the two main existing schools of Buddhism and a term for In sramanic philosophy Nirvana (निर्वाण| Nirvāṇa; निब्बान Nibbāna; Prakrit: णिव्वाण " Perfection of Wisdom " is a translation of the Sanskrit term prajñā pāramitā ( Devanagari: प्रज्ञा पारमिता

Outside of Buddhist didactic contexts, "skandha" can mean mass, heap, pile, bundle or tree trunk. [2]

Contents

Definition

 The Five Aggregates (pañca khandha)
according to the Pali Canon.
 
 
form (rūpa)
  4 elements
(mahābhūta)		  
 
    ↓
    contact
(phassa)
    ↓ ↑
 
consciousness
(viññāna)
 
 
 
 
 
→
←
 
 
 
←
  mental factors (cetasika)  
 
feeling
(vedanā)
 
 
 
perception
(sañña)
 
 
 
formation
(saṅkhāra)
 
 
 
 
  • Form is derived from the Four Great Elements. Definitions In the Pali canon, the most basic elements are usually identified as four in number but on occasion a fifth and to an even lesser extent a sixth element Sparśa ( Sanskrit) or Phassa ( Pāli) is a Buddhist term meaning "contact" or "touching" or "sense impression" Vijñāna ( Sanskrit; Devanagari: विज्ञान or viññāṇa ( Pāli; Devanagari: विञ्ञाण Vedanā is a word in Sanskrit and Pāli traditionally translated as either "feeling" or "sensation Saṅkhāra ( Pali; Devanagari: सङ्खार or saṃskāra ( Sanskrit; Devanagari संस्कार is a term figuring prominently Definitions In the Pali canon, the most basic elements are usually identified as four in number but on occasion a fifth and to an even lesser extent a sixth element
  • Consciousness arises from other aggregates. Vijñāna ( Sanskrit; Devanagari: विज्ञान or viññāṇa ( Pāli; Devanagari: विञ्ञाण Nāmarūpa is a Dvandva compound in Sanskrit and Pali meaning "name ( nāma) and form ( rūpa)"
  • Mental Factors arise from the Contact of
    Consciousness and other aggregates. Sparśa ( Sanskrit) or Phassa ( Pāli) is a Buddhist term meaning "contact" or "touching" or "sense impression" Vijñāna ( Sanskrit; Devanagari: विज्ञान or viññāṇa ( Pāli; Devanagari: विञ्ञाण Nāmarūpa is a Dvandva compound in Sanskrit and Pali meaning "name ( nāma) and form ( rūpa)"
 Source: MN 109 (Thanissaro, 2001)  |  diagram details

Buddhist doctrine describes five aggregates:[3]

  1. "form" or "matter"[4] (Skt. , Pāli rūpa, Tib. gzugs):
    external and internal matter. Externally, rupa is the physical world. Internally, rupa includes the material body and the physical sense organs. [5]
  2. "sensation" or "feeling" (Skt. Vedanā is a word in Sanskrit and Pāli traditionally translated as either "feeling" or "sensation , Pāli vedanā, Tib. Vedanā is a word in Sanskrit and Pāli traditionally translated as either "feeling" or "sensation tshor-ba):
    sensing an object[6] as either pleasant or unpleasant or neutral. [7][8]
  3. "perception", "conception", "apperception", "cognition", or "discrimination" (Skt. samjñā, Pāli saññā, Tib. 'du-shes):
    registers whether an object is recognized or not (for instance, the sound of a bell or the shape of a tree).
  4. "mental formations", "volition", or "compositional factors" (Skt. Saṅkhāra ( Pali; Devanagari: सङ्खार or saṃskāra ( Sanskrit; Devanagari संस्कार is a term figuring prominently samskāra, Pāli saṅkhāra, Tib. Saṅkhāra ( Pali; Devanagari: सङ्खार or saṃskāra ( Sanskrit; Devanagari संस्कार is a term figuring prominently 'du-byed) :
    all types of mental habits, thoughts, ideas, opinions, compulsions, and decisions triggered by an object. [9]
  5. "consciousness" (Skt. Vijñāna ( Sanskrit; Devanagari: विज्ञान or viññāṇa ( Pāli; Devanagari: विञ्ञाण vijñāna, Pāli viññāṇa[10], Tib. Vijñāna ( Sanskrit; Devanagari: विज्ञान or viññāṇa ( Pāli; Devanagari: विञ्ञाण rnam-par-shes-pa):
(a) In the Nikayas: cognizance. Nikāya is a word of meaning 'collection' 'assemblage' 'class' or 'group' in both Pali and Sanskrit. [11][12]
(b) In the Abhidhamma: a series of rapidly changing interconnected discrete acts of cognizance. Origins According to the commentarial tradition In the commentaries of Theravada Buddhism it was held that the Abhidhamma was not a later addition to the tradition [13]
(c) In Mahayana sources: the base that supports all experience. Mahayana ( Sanskrit: mahāyāna, Devanagari: महायान 'Great Vehicle' is one of the two main existing schools of Buddhism and a term for [14]

See Table 1 for examples of definitional references to the aggregates in Buddhist primary sources. Buddhist texts can be categorized in a number of ways The Western terms "scripture" and "canonical" are applied to Buddhism in inconsistent ways by Western scholars

In the Pali Canon, the majority of discourses focusing on the five aggregates discusses them as a basis for understanding and achieving liberation from suffering, without describing relationships between the aggregates themselves. [15] Nonetheless, from some canonical discourses, a causal relationship between the five aggregates can be derived. [16] The following (illustrated in the figure to the right) exemplify such relational attributes:[17]

In this scheme, form, the mental aggregates,[26] and consciousness are mutually dependent. [27]

Other Buddhist literature has described the aggregates as arising in a linear or progressive fashion, from form to feeling to perception to mental formations to consciousness. [28]

Theravadin perspectives

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Bhikkhu Bodhi (2000b, p. Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices The History of Buddhism spans the 6th century BCE to the present starting with the birth of the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama. Several Buddhist terms and concepts lack direct translations into English that cover the breadth of the original term Several Buddhist terms and concepts lack direct translations into English that cover the breadth of the original term A number of noted individuals have been Buddhists. Historical Buddhist thinkers and founders of schools Individuals are grouped by nationality except in cases where the The Schools of Buddhism. Buddhism is classified in various ways Buddhist texts can be categorized in a number of ways The Western terms "scripture" and "canonical" are applied to Buddhism in inconsistent ways by Western scholars Bhikkhu Bodhi (b 1944 NYC) born Jeffrey Block, is an American Buddhist monk, ordained in Sri Lanka and currently teaching in the 840) states that an examination of the aggregates has a "critical role" in the Buddha's teaching for multiple reasons, including:

  1. Understanding the Four Noble Truths: The five aggregates are the "ultimate referent" in the Buddha's elaboration on suffering (dukkha) in his First Noble Truth (see excerpted quote below) and "since all four truths revolve around suffering, understanding the aggregates is essential for understanding the Four Noble Truths as a whole. Dukkha ( Pāli दुक्ख Sanskrit दुःख duḥkha; according to grammatical tradition derived from dus-kha "uneasy" Background Why the Buddha is said to have taught in this way is illuminated by the social context of the time in which he lived "
  2. Future Suffering's Cause: The five aggregates are the substrata for clinging and thus "contribute to the causal origination of future suffering. "
  3. Release: Clinging to the five aggregates must be removed in order to achieve release.

Below, excerpts from the Pāli literature will bear out Bhikkhu Bodhi's assessment. Pali ( ISO 15919 / ALA-LC: Pāḷi is a Middle Indo-Aryan language or Prakrit of India. [29]

Suffering's ultimate referent

In the Buddha's first discourse, the "Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta" ("The Setting in Motion the Wheel of Truth Discourse," SN 56:11 [3]), he provides a classic elaboration on the first of his Four Noble Truths, "The Truth of Suffering" (Dukkhasacca):

"The Noble Truth of Suffering (dukkha), monks, is this: Birth is suffering, aging is suffering, sickness is suffering, death is suffering, association with the unpleasant is suffering, dissociation from the pleasant is suffering, not to receive what one desires is suffering — in brief the five aggregates subject to grasping are suffering. Siddhārtha Gautama ( Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual Teacher from Ancient India and the founder The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta is the Buddha 's first discourse after he reached Enlightenment. The Samyutta Nikaya (Saṃyutta Nikāya SN, "Connected Discourses" or "Kindred Sayings" is a Buddhist scripture the third of the five Nikayas Background Why the Buddha is said to have taught in this way is illuminated by the social context of the time in which he lived In Buddhism, Jāti (the Sanskrit and Pāli word for "birth" refers to the arising of a new living entity in saṃsāra. Jarāmaraṇa is Sanskrit and Pāli for "old age and decay" ( jarā) and "dying and death" ( maraṇa) Jarāmaraṇa is Sanskrit and Pāli for "old age and decay" ( jarā) and "dying and death" ( maraṇa) Upādāna is a word used in both Buddhism and Hinduism In Buddhism, upādāna is a critical link in the arising of suffering " [Boldface added. ] (Trans. from the Pali by Piyadassi Thera, 1999 [4]. )

According to Thanissaro (2002):

"Prior to the Buddha, the Pali word khandha had very ordinary meanings: A khandha could be a pile, a bundle, a heap, a mass. It could also be the trunk of a tree. In his first sermon, though, the Buddha gave it a new, psychological meaning, introducing the term 'clinging-khandhas' to summarize his analysis of the truth of stress and suffering. Throughout the remainder of his teaching career, he referred to these psychological khandhas time and again. "[5]

In what way are the aggregates suffering? For this we can turn to Khandhavagga suttas.

Future suffering's cause

The Samyutta Nikaya contains a book entitled the "Khandhavagga" ("The Book of Aggregates") compiling over a hundred suttas related to the five aggregates. The Samyutta Nikaya (Saṃyutta Nikāya SN, "Connected Discourses" or "Kindred Sayings" is a Buddhist scripture the third of the five Nikayas Typical of these suttas is the "Upadaparitassana Sutta" ("Agitation through Clinging Discourse," SN 22:7), which states in part:

". . . [T]he instructed noble disciple . . . does not regard form [or other aggregates] as self, or self as possessing form, or form as in self, or self as in form. That form of his changes and alters. Despite the change and alteration of form, his consciousness does not become preoccupied with the change of form. . . . [T]hrough non-clinging he does not become agitated. " (Trans. by Bodhi, 2000b, pp. 865-866. )

Put another way, if we were to self-identify with an aggregate then we would cling (upadana)[30] to such; and, given that all aggregates are impermanent (anicca), it would then be likely that at some level we would experience agitation (paritassati) or loss or grief or stress or suffering (see dukkha). Upādāna is a word used in both Buddhism and Hinduism In Buddhism, upādāna is a critical link in the arising of suffering Impermanence ( Sanskrit: अनित्य anitya; Pāli: अनिच्चा anicca; Tibetan: མི་​རྟག་​པ་ Dukkha ( Pāli दुक्ख Sanskrit दुःख duḥkha; according to grammatical tradition derived from dus-kha "uneasy" Therefore, if we want to be free of suffering, it is wise to experience the aggregates clearly, without clinging or craving (tanha), as apart from any notion of self (anatta). Meaning In the Pali Canon, several discourses explicitly refer to three types of craving * craving for "sensuality" or "sensual pleasures" In Buddhist philosophy, anatta ( Pāli) or anātman ( Sanskrit) refers to the notion of "not-self"

Many of the suttas in the Khandhavagga express the aggregates in the context of the following sequence:

  1. An uninstructed worldling (assutavā puthujjana)
    1. regards: form as self; self as possessing form; form as in self; self as in form. [31]
    2. lives obsessed by the notions: I am form; and/or, form is mine
    3. this form changes
    4. with the changes of form, there arises dukkha
  2. An instructed noble disciple (sutavā ariyasāvaka) does not regard form as self, etc. , and thus, when form changes, dukkha does not arise.

(Note that, in each of the suttas where the above formula is used, subsequent verses replace "form" with each of the other aggregates: sensation, perception, mental formations and consciousness. )
Example of Aggregate-Clinging

To give a simplistic example, if one believes "this body is mine" or "I exist within this body," then as their body ages, becomes ill and approaches death, such a person will likely experience longing for youth or health or eternal life, will likely dread aging and sickness and death, and will likely spend much time and energy lost in fears, fantasies and ultimately futile activities.

In the Nikayas, such is likened to shooting oneself with a second arrow, where the first arrow is a physical phenomenon (such as, in this case, a bodily manifestation associated with aging or illness or dying) and the second is the mental anguish of the undisciplined mind associated with the physical phenomenon (see the Sallatha Sutta[32]).

On the other hand, one with a disciplined mind who is able to see this body as a set of aggregates will be free of such fear, frustration and time-consuming escapism. [33]

But how does one become aware of and then let go of ones own identification with or clinging to the aggregates? Below is an excerpt from the classic Satipatthana Sutta that shows how traditional mindfulness practices can awaken understanding, release and wisdom. The Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta and the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta are two of the most popular discourses in the Pali Canon, embraced by both Theravada and Vipassanā ( Pāli) or vipaśyanā (विपश्यना Sanskrit) means Insight into the impermanent nature or Anicca, [34]

Release through aggregate-contemplation

In the classic Theravada meditation reference, the "Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta" ("The Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse," MN 10), the Buddha provides four bases for establishing mindfulness: body (kaya), sensations (vedana), mind (citta) and mental objects (dhamma). The Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta and the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta are two of the most popular discourses in the Pali Canon, embraced by both Theravada and When discussing mental objects as a basis for meditation, the Buddha identifies five objects, including the aggregates. Regarding meditation on the aggregates, the Buddha states:

"How, monks, does a monk live contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the five aggregates of clinging?
"Herein, monks, a monk thinks, 'Thus is material form; thus is the arising of material form; and thus is the disappearance of material form. Thus is feeling; thus is the arising of feeling; and thus is the disappearance of feeling. Thus is perception; thus is the arising of perception; and thus is the disappearance of perception. Thus are formations; thus is the arising of formations; and thus is the disappearance of formations. Thus is consciousness; thus is the arising of consciousness; and thus is the disappearance of consciousness. '[35]
". . . Or his mindfulness is established with the thought, 'Mental objects exist,' to the extent necessary just for knowledge and mindfulness, and he lives detached, and clings to nothing in the world. Thus also, monks, a monk lives contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the five aggregates of clinging. " (Nyanasatta, trans. , 1994. )

Thus, through mindfulness contemplation, one sees an "aggregate as an aggregate" -- sees it arising and dissipating. Such clear seeing creates a space between the aggregate and clinging, a space that will prevent or enervate the arising and propagation of clinging, thereby diminishing future suffering. [36]

As clinging disappears, so too notions of a separate "self. " In the Mahasunnata Sutta ("The Greater Discourse on Emptiness," MN 122), after reiterating the aforementioned aggregate-contemplation instructions (for instance, "Thus is form; thus is the arising of form; and, thus is the disappearance of form"), the Buddha states:

"When he [a monk] abides contemplating rise and fall in these five aggregates affected by clinging, the conceit 'I am' based on these five aggregates affected by clinging is abandoned in him. . . . " (Nanamoli & Bodhi, 2001, p. 975. )

In a complementary fashion, in the Buddha's second discourse, the Anattalakkhana Sutta ("The Characteristic of Nonself," SN 22:59), the Buddha instructs:

"Monks, form is nonself. The Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta ( Pali, "Not-Self Characteristic Discourse" also known as the Pañcavaggiya Sutta (Pali "Group of For if, monks, form were self, this form would not lead to affliction, and it would be possible to [manipulate] form [in the following manner]: 'Let my form be thus; let my form not be thus. . . . ' [Identical statements are made regarding feeling, perception, volitional formations and consciousness. ]
". . . Seeing thus [for instance, through contemplation], monks, the instructed noble disciple becomes disenchanted with form [and the other aggregates]. . . . Being disenchanted, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion [his mind] is liberated. " (Bodhi, 2005a, pp. 341-2. )

As seen below, the Mahayana tradition continues this use of the aggregates to achieve self-liberation.

Mahayanist perspectives

In one of Mahayana Buddhism's most famous declarations, the aggregates are referenced:

"Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. "[37]

What does this mean? To what degree is it a departure from the aforementioned Theravada perspective? Moreover, more generally, how are the aggregates used in the Mahayana literature? These questions are addressed below. Buddhist texts can be categorized in a number of ways The Western terms "scripture" and "canonical" are applied to Buddhism in inconsistent ways by Western scholars

The intrinsic emptiness of all things

The Sanskrit version[38] of the classic "Prajnaparamita Hridaya Sutra" ("Heart Sutra") begins:

The noble Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, Arya avalokiteshvaro bodhisattvo
while practicing the deep practice of Prajnaparamita     gambhiran prajna-paramita caryan caramano
looked upon the Five Skandhas, vyaavalokayati sma panca skandhas
. The Heart of Perfect Wisdom Sutra or Heart Sutra or Essence of Wisdom Sutra ( Sanskrit: प्रज्ञापारमिताहृदयसूत्र Avalokiteśvara ( Nepali: अवलोकितेश्वर, lit In the Buddhist context a bodhisattva (बोधिसत्त्व bodhisattva;; Vietnamese Bồ Tát; बोधिसत्त bodhisatta " Perfection of Wisdom " is a translation of the Sanskrit term prajñā pāramitā ( Devanagari: प्रज्ञा पारमिता . . seeing they were empty of self-existence. . . . [39] tansh . . . svabhava shunyan pashyati sma. . . . [40]

From its very first lines, this version of the Heart Sutra introduces an alternative practice and worldview to the Theravada perspective of the aggregates:

In other words, whereas the Sutta Pitaka typically instructs one to apprehend the aggregates without clinging or self-identification, Prajnaparamita leads one to apprehend the aggregates as having no intrinsic reality. The Sutta Pitaka (suttapiṭaka or Suttanta Pitaka cf Sanskrit सूत्र पिटक Sutra Pitaka) is the second of the three divisions of the Tipitaka or Upādāna is a word used in both Buddhism and Hinduism In Buddhism, upādāna is a critical link in the arising of suffering In Buddhist philosophy, anatta ( Pāli) or anātman ( Sanskrit) refers to the notion of "not-self" " Perfection of Wisdom " is a translation of the Sanskrit term prajñā pāramitā ( Devanagari: प्रज्ञा पारमिता [46]

In the Heart Sutra's second verse, after rising from his aggregate meditation, Avalokiteshvara declares:

"Form is emptiness, emptiness is form,
form does not differ from emptiness, emptiness does not differ from form.
The same is true with feelings, perceptions, mental formations and consciousness. "[37]

Thich Nhat Hanh interprets this statement as:

"Form is the wave and emptiness is the water. Nhat Hanh ( Vietnamese: Nhất Hạnh; tʰǐk ɲɜ̌t hɐ̂ʔɲ (born October 11 1926 in central Vietnam) is an expatriate . . . [W]ave is water, water is wave. . . . [T]hese five [aggregates] contain each other. Because one exists, everything exists. "[47]

Red Pine comments:

"That form is empty was one of the Buddha's earliest and most frequent pronouncements. But in the light of Prajnaparamita, form is not simply empty, it is so completely empty, it is emptiness itself, which turns out to be the same as form itself. . . . All separations are delusions. But if each of the skandhas is one with emptiness, and emptiness is one with each of the skandhas, then everything occupies the same indivisible space, which is emptiness. . . . Everything is empty, and empty is everything. [48]

Tangibility and transcendence

Commenting on the Heart Sutra, D.T. Suzuki notes:

"When the sutra says that the five Skandhas have the character of emptiness . The Heart of Perfect Wisdom Sutra or Heart Sutra or Essence of Wisdom Sutra ( Sanskrit: प्रज्ञापारमिताहृदयसूत्र . . , the sense is: no limiting qualities are to be attributed to the Absolute; while it is immanent in all concrete and particular objects, it is not in itself definable. "[49]

That is, from the Mahayana perspective, the aggregates convey the relative (or conventional) experience of the world by an individual, although Absolute truth is realized through them. In Buddhist context samvriti refers to the conventional, as opposed to absolute truth or reality. In Buddhist context paramartha refers to the absolute, as opposed to merely conventional truth or reality.

The tathagatagarbha sutras, on occasion, speak of the ineffable skandhas of the Buddha (beyond the nature of worldly skandhas and beyond worldly understanding), and in the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra the Buddha tells of how the Buddha's skandhas are in fact eternal and unchanging. In Mahayana and Tantric Buddhism, the Tathāgatagarbha (如來藏 doctrine (often essentially the same as the Buddha nature concept teaches Mahayana and the Nirvana Sutra Sasaki (1999 in a review of Shimoda (1997 conveys a key premise of Shimoda's work namely that the origins of Mahayana Buddhism The Buddha's skandhas are said to be incomprehensible to unawakened vision.

Vajrayanist perspectives

The Vajrayana tradition further develops the aggregates in terms of mahamudra epistemology and tantric reifications. Mahamudra (Sanskrit Mahāmudrā, Tibetan Chagchen, Wylie phyag chen, contraction of Chagya Chenpo, Wylie phyag rgya chen po) literally means Vajrayana Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayana, Mantranaya, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and

The truth of our insubstantiality

Referring to mahamudra teachings, Chogyam Trungpa (Trungpa, 2001, pp. Chögyam Trungpa (February 1939 &ndash April 4, 1987) was a Buddhist Meditation master scholar teacher poet artist and a Trungpa 10-12; and, Trungpa, 2002, pp. 124, 133-4) identifies the form aggregate as the "solidification" of ignorance (Pali, avijja; Skt. Root of suffering Avidyā plays a key role in Buddhism and Buddhist doctrine and is the primary cause of suffering in {{IAST|saṃsāra}}. , avidya), allowing one to have the illusion of "possessing" ever dynamic and spacious wisdom (Pali, vijja; Skt. vidya), and thus being the basis for the creation of a dualistic relationship between "self" and "other. "[50]

According to Trungpa Rinpoche (1976, pp. 20-22), the five skandhas are "a set of Buddhist concepts which describe experience as a five-step process" and that "the whole development of the five skandhas. . . is an attempt on our part to shield ourselves from the truth of our insubstantiality," while "the practice of meditation is to see the transparency of this shield. " (ibid, p. 23)

Bardo deity manifestations

Trungpa Rinpoche writes (2001, p. 38):

"[S]ome of the details of tantric iconography are developed from abhidharma [that is, in this context, detailed analysis of the aggregates]. Vajrayana Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayana, Mantranaya, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and Different colors and feelings of this particular consciousness, that particular emotion, are manifested in a particular deity wearing such-and-such a costume, of certain particular colors, holding certain particular sceptres in his hand. Those details are very closely connected with the individualities of particular psychological processes. "

Perhaps it is in this sense that the Tibetan Book of the Dead (Fremantle & Trungpa, 2003) makes the following associations between the aggregates and tantric deities during the bardo after death:

Relation to other Buddhist concepts

Other fundamental Buddhist concepts associated with the five skandhas include:

aggregate external
sense base		 internal
sense base		 ultimate
reality
form visible form,
sound, smell,
taste, touch		 eye,
ear, nose,
tongue, body		 28
material
phenomena
mental
objects
(dhamma)
sensation   52
mental
factors
perception
formation
  Nibbāna
conscious-
ness
(vinnana)		   mind
(mana)		 conscious-
ness
(citta)
The mapping between the aggregates, the sense bases (see next entry) and the ultimate realities is represented in the chart to the right. [52]
While the benefit of meditating on the aggregates is overcoming wrong views of the self (since the self is typically identified with one or more of the aggregates), the benefit of meditation on the six sense bases is to overcome craving (through restraint and insight into sense objects that lead to contact, feeling and subsequent craving). In Buddhist philosophy, anatta ( Pāli) or anātman ( Sanskrit) refers to the notion of "not-self" Meaning In the Pali Canon, several discourses explicitly refer to three types of craving * craving for "sensuality" or "sensual pleasures" [53]

References in Buddhist literature

The table below briefly cites Buddhist primary sources that characterize different aspects of the aggregates. Buddhist texts can be categorized in a number of ways The Western terms "scripture" and "canonical" are applied to Buddhism in inconsistent ways by Western scholars This table is by no means exhaustive.

Table 1. Some references to the aggregates in Buddhist primary sources. [59]
(Abbreviations: MN = Majjhima Nikaya; SN = Samyutta Nikaya; Vism = Visuddhimagga. The Majjhima Nikaya (-nikāya "Collection of Middle-length Discourses" is a Buddhist scripture the second of the five Nikayas or collections in the The Samyutta Nikaya (Saṃyutta Nikāya SN, "Connected Discourses" or "Kindred Sayings" is a Buddhist scripture the third of the five Nikayas Summary It is composed of four parts which discuss 1 Sila (discipline 2 Samadhi (meditative concentration 3 The land of wisdom )

aggregate description source
rūpa
It is the four Great Elements (mahābhūta) -- earth, water, fire, wind -- and their derivatives. Definitions In the Pali canon, the most basic elements are usually identified as four in number but on occasion a fifth and to an even lesser extent a sixth element SN 22. 56[60]
It is afflicted with cold, heat, hunger, thirst, flies, mosquitoes, wind, sun, reptiles. [61] SN 22. 79[62]
The cause, the condition and the delineation are the four Great Elements. [63] MN 109[64]
There are 24 kinds of "derived" forms (upādāya rūpam). [65] Vism XIV. 36ff
vedanā
It is feeling born of contact (phassa) with eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind. Sparśa ( Sanskrit) or Phassa ( Pāli) is a Buddhist term meaning "contact" or "touching" or "sense impression" SN 22. 56
It feels pleasure, pain, neither-pleasure-nor-pain. SN 22. 79
The cause, the condition and the delineation are contact (phassa). Sparśa ( Sanskrit) or Phassa ( Pāli) is a Buddhist term meaning "contact" or "touching" or "sense impression" MN 109
As individual experience, can be analyzed as bodily pleasure, bodily pain, mental joy, mental grief, equanimity. Vism XIV. 127
saññā
It is perception of form, sound, smell, taste, tactile sensation, mental phenomena. SN 22. 56
It perceives blue, yellow, red, white. SN 22. 79
The cause, the condition and the delineation are contact (phassa). Sparśa ( Sanskrit) or Phassa ( Pāli) is a Buddhist term meaning "contact" or "touching" or "sense impression" MN 109
Functions to make a "sign" for perceiving in the future that "this is the same. " Vism XIV. 130
saṅkhāra
It is volition regarding form, sound, smell, taste, tactile sensation, mental phenomena. SN 22. 56
It constructs constructed forms, feelings, perceptions, volitional formation, consciousness. SN 22. 79
The cause, the condition and the delineation are contact (phassa). Sparśa ( Sanskrit) or Phassa ( Pāli) is a Buddhist term meaning "contact" or "touching" or "sense impression" MN 109
Characterized by "forming," functions to "accumulate," manifests as "intervening. " Vism XIV. 132
viññāṇa
It is eye-, ear-, nose-, tongue-, body-, mind-consciousness. SN 22. 56
It cognizes what is sour, bitter, pungent, sweet, sharp, mild, salty, bland. [66] SN 22. 79
The cause, the condition and the delineation are name-and-form (nāmarūpa). Nāmarūpa is a Dvandva compound in Sanskrit and Pali meaning "name ( nāma) and form ( rūpa)" [67] MN 109
There are 89 kinds of consciousness. [68] Vism XIV. 82ff

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Thanissaro (2002) maintains that, according to the Pali Canon, the Buddha never defined a "person" in terms of the aggregates (Pali: khandha) per se. In Buddhist philosophy, anatta ( Pāli) or anātman ( Sanskrit) refers to the notion of "not-self" Ātman (आत्मन् or Atta ( Pāli) literally means "self" but is sometimes translated as " Soul " or " Ego " The doctrine of pratītyasamutpāda (Sanskrit paticcasamuppāda; rten The Schools of Buddhism. Buddhism is classified in various ways According to the Buddhist tradition all phenomena other than Nirvana, ( sankhara) are marked by three characteristics sometimes referred to as the Dharma seals Thanissaro Bhikkhu (Geoffrey DeGraff (1949 -) is an American Buddhist monk of the Thai forest Kammatthana tradition Siddhārtha Gautama ( Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual Teacher from Ancient India and the founder Thanissaro nevertheless notes that, contrary to what is actually said in the Canon, such a notion is expressed by some modern scholars as if it were pan-Buddhist. Thanissaro further writes:
    This understanding of the khandhas isn't confined to scholars. Almost any modern Buddhist meditation teacher would explain the khandhas in a similar way. And it isn't a modern innovation. It was first proposed at the beginning of the common era in the commentaries to the early Buddhist canons — both the Theravadin and the Sarvastivadin, which formed the basis for Mahayana scholasticism.
  2. ^ Thanissaro (2002). Also see, for example, Thanissaro (2005) where khandha is translated as "mass" in the phrase dukkhakkhandha (which Thanissaro translates as "mass of stress") and Thanissaro (1998) where khandha is translated as "aggregate" but in terms of bundling the Noble Eightfold Path into the categories of virtue (silakkhandha), concentration (samadhikkhandha) and wisdom (pannakkhandha).
  3. ^ Contemporary writers (such as Trungpa Rinpoche and Red Pine) sometimes conceptualize the five aggregates as "one physical and four mental" aggregates. Chögyam Trungpa (February 1939 &ndash April 4, 1987) was a Buddhist Meditation master scholar teacher poet artist and a Trungpa More traditional Buddhist literature (such as the Abhidhamma) might speak of one physical aggregate (form), three mental factors (sensation, perception and mental formations) and consciousness. Origins According to the commentarial tradition In the commentaries of Theravada Buddhism it was held that the Abhidhamma was not a later addition to the tradition
  4. ^ In Rawson (1991: p. 11), the first skandha is defined as: "name and form (Sanskrit nāma-rūpa, Tibetan gzugs). . . ". In the Pali literature, nāma-rūpa traditionally refers to the first four aggregates, as opposed to the fifth aggregate, consciousness. Pali literature is concerned mainly with Theravada Buddhism, of which Pali is the traditional language Nāmarūpa is a Dvandva compound in Sanskrit and Pali meaning "name ( nāma) and form ( rūpa)"
  5. ^ External and internal manifestations of rupa are described, for instance, in Bodhi (2000b), p. 48.
  6. ^ In these definitions, "object" refers to either a cognized form (what Western epistemologists might refer to as "sense data") or a mental expression, such as a cognized memory.
  7. ^ The Pali canon universally identifies that vedana involves the sensing or feeling of something as pleasant or unpleasant or neutral (see, for instance, SN 22). When contemporary authors elaborate on vedana, they define it similarly (see, for instance, Nhat Hanh, 1999, p. Nhat Hanh ( Vietnamese: Nhất Hạnh; tʰǐk ɲɜ̌t hɐ̂ʔɲ (born October 11 1926 in central Vietnam) is an expatriate 178; Trungpa, 2001, p. 21; and, Trungpa, 2002, p. 126). The one exception is in Trungpa (1976), pp. 20-23, where he states that the "strategies or impluses" of "indifference, passion and aggression" are "part of the third stage [aggregate]," "guided by perception. " (This section of Trungpa, 1976, is anthologized in Trungpa, 1999, pp. 55-58. )
  8. ^ Generally, vedanā is considered to not include "emotions. " For example, Bodhi (2000a), p. 80, writes: "The Pali word vedanā does not signify emotion (which appears to be a complex phenomenon involving a variety of concomitant mental factors), but the bare affective quality of an experience, which may be either pleasant, painful or neutral. " Perhaps somewhat similarly, Trungpa (1999), p. 58, writes: "Consciousness [the fifth aggregate] consists of emotions and irregular thought patterns. . . . " And Trungpa (2001), p. 32, notes: "In this case 'feeling' is not quite our ordinary notion of feeling. It is not the feeling we take so seriously as, for instance, when we say, 'He hurt my feelings. ' This kind of feeling that we take so seriously belongs to the fourth and fifth skandhas of concept and consciousness. "
  9. ^ The Theravada Abhidhamma divides saṅkhāra into fifty mental factors (Bodhi, 2000a, p. Origins According to the commentarial tradition In the commentaries of Theravada Buddhism it was held that the Abhidhamma was not a later addition to the tradition 26). Trungpa (2001), pp. 47ff, following the Sarvastivada Abhidharma studied in Mahayana Buddhism, states that there are fifty-one "general types" of samskara.
  10. ^ According to the Visuddhimagga XIV. 82, the Pali terms viññāṇa, citta and mano are synonymous (Buddhaghosa, 1999, p. 453). However, Trungpa (2001, p. 73) distinguishes between viññāṇa and citta, stating that viññāṇa (consciousness) is "articulated and intelligent" while citta (mind) is a "simple instinctive function . . . . very direct, simple and subtle at the same time. "
  11. ^ See, for instance, SN 22. The Samyutta Nikaya (Saṃyutta Nikāya SN, "Connected Discourses" or "Kindred Sayings" is a Buddhist scripture the third of the five Nikayas 79, "Being Devoured" (Bodhi, 2000b, p. 915).
  12. ^ In commenting on the use of "consciousness" in SN 22. 3[1], Bodhi (2000b), pp. 1046-7, n. 18, states:

    "The passage confirms the privileged status of consciousness among the five aggregates. While all the aggregates are conditioned phenomena marked by the three characteristics, consciousness serves as the connecting thread of personal continuity through the sequence of rebirths. According to the Buddhist tradition all phenomena other than Nirvana, ( sankhara) are marked by three characteristics sometimes referred to as the Dharma seals In Philosophy, personal identity refers to the essence of a self-conscious person that which makes him or her unique . . . The other four aggregates serve as the 'stations for consciousness' (vinnanatthitiyo: see [SN] 22:53-54). Even consciousness, however, is not a self-identical entity but a sequence of dependently arisen occasions of cognizing; see MN I 256-60. "

  13. ^ This conception of consciousness is found in the Theravada Abhidhamma (Bodhi, 2000a, p. Origins According to the commentarial tradition In the commentaries of Theravada Buddhism it was held that the Abhidhamma was not a later addition to the tradition 29).
  14. ^ While not necessarily contradicted by the Nikayas, this is a particularly Mahayana statement. Nikāya is a word of meaning 'collection' 'assemblage' 'class' or 'group' in both Pali and Sanskrit. Mahayana ( Sanskrit: mahāyāna, Devanagari: महायान 'Great Vehicle' is one of the two main existing schools of Buddhism and a term for For instance, Nhat Hanh (1999, pp. 180-1) states: "Consciousness here means store consciousness, which is at the base of everything we are, the ground of all of our mental formations. The Eight Consciousnesses ( Sanskrit: Aṣṭavijñāna, from aṣṭa "eight" and vijñāna "consciousness" " Similarly, Trungpa (2001, pp. 73-4) states that consciousness "is the finally developed state of being that contains all the previous elements. . . . [C]onsciousness constitutes an immediately available source of occupation for the momentum of the skandhas to feed on. "
  15. ^ See, for instance, in the Samyutta Nikaya's Khandha-saṃyutta's discourses SN 22. The Samyutta Nikaya (Saṃyutta Nikāya SN, "Connected Discourses" or "Kindred Sayings" is a Buddhist scripture the third of the five Nikayas The Samyutta Nikaya (Saṃyutta Nikāya SN, "Connected Discourses" or "Kindred Sayings" is a Buddhist scripture the third of the five Nikayas 1 through 22. 55 (Bodhi, 2000b, pp. 853-94).
  16. ^ This is in reference to discourses particularly focusing on the five aggregates, as in the Khandha-saṃyutta (SN, ch. 22). Individual aggregates are provided an overlapping but somewhat different relationship in terms of "dependent origination" (Pali: paticca-samuppāda) and other canonical frameworks; for related information, see the "Relation to other Buddhist concepts" section below.
  17. ^ See, for instance, MN 109 "The Great Full-moon Night Discourse" (Thanissaro, 2001b), SN 22. The Majjhima Nikaya (-nikāya "Collection of Middle-length Discourses" is a Buddhist scripture the second of the five Nikayas or collections in the The Samyutta Nikaya (Saṃyutta Nikāya SN, "Connected Discourses" or "Kindred Sayings" is a Buddhist scripture the third of the five Nikayas 56 "Phases of the Clinging Aggregates" (Bodhi, 2000b, pp. 895-97) and SN 35. 93, "The Dyad (2)" (Bodhi, 2000b, pp. 1172-3).
  18. ^ For instance, see MN 109: ""Monk, the four great existents (earth, water, fire, & wind) are the cause, the four great existents the condition, for the delineation of the aggregate of form" (Thanissaro, 2001b). Also see SN 22. 56: "The four great elements and the form derived from the four great elements: this is called form" (Bodhi, 2000b, p. 895). For more information regarding "the four great elements," see the "Mahābhūta". Definitions In the Pali canon, the most basic elements are usually identified as four in number but on occasion a fifth and to an even lesser extent a sixth element
  19. ^ See, for instance, SN 35. 93: "In dependence on the eye and forms there arises eye-consciousness. . . . " (Bodhi, 2000b, p. 1172); and, MN 148: "Bhikkhus, dependent on the eye and forms, eye-consciousness arises. . . " (Ñāṇamoli & Bodhi, 2001, p. 1134, para. 28).
  20. ^ See, for instance, SN 35. 93: "The meeting, the encounter, the concurrence of these three things [eye, form and eye-consciousness] is called eye-contact. . . . " (Bodhi, 2000b, p. 1172).
  21. ^ In addition to referring to the five form-derived sense faculties (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body), their associated objects and consciousness, phassa also pertains to these aspects of mentality (nama): mind, mind objects and mind-consciousness. In the Abhidhamma (e. Origins According to the commentarial tradition In the commentaries of Theravada Buddhism it was held that the Abhidhamma was not a later addition to the tradition g. , see Bodhi, 2000a, p. 78), phassa is a mental factor, the means by which consciousness "touches" an object.
  22. ^ Traditional Buddhist texts do not directly address Western philosophy's so-called mind-body problem since in Buddhism the exploration of the aggregates is not primarily to ascertain ultimate empirical reality but to obtain ultimate release from suffering. Philosophy of mind is the branch of Philosophy that studies the nature of the Mind, Mental events Mental functions mental properties
  23. ^ See, for instance, MN 109: "Contact is the cause, contact the condition, for the delineation of the aggregate of feeling. Contact is the cause, contact the condition, for the delineation of the aggregate of perception. Contact is the cause, contact the condition, for the delineation of the aggregate of fabrications" (Thanissaro, 2001b). Also see SN 22. 56: "With the arising of contact there is the arising of feeling. . . . With the arising of contact there is the arising of perception. . . . With the arising of contact there is the arising of volitional formations. . . . " (Bodhi, 2000b, p. 896).
  24. ^ A mental aggregate arises either from conscious contact with form or from another mental aggregate (Bodhi, 2000a, pp. 78ff).
  25. ^ See, for instance, SN 35. 93: "In dependence on the mind and mental phenomena there arises mind-consciousness" (Bodhi, 2000b, p. 1172). More broadly, see, for instance, SN 22. 56: "With the arising of name-and-form [nāmarūpa] there is the arising of consciousness" (Bodhi, 2000b, p. Nāmarūpa is a Dvandva compound in Sanskrit and Pali meaning "name ( nāma) and form ( rūpa)" 897); and, MN 109: "Name-&-form is the cause, name-&-form the condition, for the delineation of the aggregate of consciousness" (Thanissaro, 2001b). In the Canon, nāmarūpa often refers to the four aggregates other than consciousness (e. g. , cf. the relationship between consciousness and nāmarūpa in DN 15 [Thanissaro, 1997a] and MN 38). The Digha Nikaya (dīghanikāya "Collection of Long Discourses" is a Buddhist scripture the first of the five Nikayas or collections The Majjhima Nikaya (-nikāya "Collection of Middle-length Discourses" is a Buddhist scripture the second of the five Nikayas or collections in the
  26. ^ a b Form and the mental aggregates together are technically referred to as nāmarūpa, which is variously defined as "name-and-form," "materiality-mentality" and "matter-mind. Nāmarūpa is a Dvandva compound in Sanskrit and Pali meaning "name ( nāma) and form ( rūpa)" " Bodhi (2000b), pp. 47-48, mentions that Ñāṇamoli translated nāmarūpa as "mentality-materiality," which Bodhi assesses to be "[i]n some respects . . . doctrinally more accurate, but it is also unwieldy. . . . " Bodhi goes on to note that, "in the Nikāyas, nāmarūpa does not include consciousness (viññāṇa). "
  27. ^ According to Bodhi (2000b), p. 48, based on suttas in SN 14, consciousness "can operate only in dependenece on a physical body (rūpa) and in conjunction with its constellation of concomitants (nāma); conversely, only when consciousness is present can a compound of material elements function as a sentient body and the mental concomitants participate in cognition. " Also, for example, see the Nagara Sutta ("The City," SN 12:65) (Thanissaro, 1997b), where the Buddha in part states: "[F]rom name-&-form as a requisite condition comes consciousness, from consciousness as a requisite condition comes name-&-form. "
  28. ^ For an example of this unidirectional, linear causal model, see Trungpa (2001), pp. 36-37, where, in part, he states: "The first flash is the form and the next, feeling. As you flash further and further, the content becomes more and more involved. When you flash perception, that contains feeling and form; when you flash consciousness that contatins all the other four. "
  29. ^ In regards to how Theravada practitioners view the aggregates, Bodhi (2000b, p. History Origin of the school The Theravāda school is ultimately derived from the Vibhajjavāda (or 'doctrine of analysis' grouping which was a continuation 840) cautions:
    "[T]he analysis into the aggregates undertaken in the Nikayas is not pursued with the aim of reaching an objective, scientific understanding of the human being along the lines pursued by physiology and psychology. Nikāya is a word of meaning 'collection' 'assemblage' 'class' or 'group' in both Pali and Sanskrit. . . . For the Buddha, investigation into the nature of personal existence always remains subordinate to the liberative thrust of the Dhamma. Dhamma ( Pāli: धम्म or Dharma (धर्म in Buddhism has two primary meanings the teachings of the Buddha which lead to enlightenment . . . "
    Likewise, Thanissaro Bhikkhu (2002) underlines:
    "The [Pāli] canon depicts the Buddha as saying that he taught only two topics: suffering and the end of suffering (SN 22. Thanissaro Bhikkhu (Geoffrey DeGraff (1949 -) is an American Buddhist monk of the Thai forest Kammatthana tradition 86[2]). A survey of the Pali discourses shows him using the concept of the khandhas to answer the primary questions related to those topics: What is suffering? How is it caused? What can be done to bring those causes to an end?"
    In other words, Theravada practitioners do not see the notion of the aggregates as providing an absolute truth about ultimate reality or as a map of the mind, but instead as providing a tool for understanding how our method of apprehending sensory experiences and the self can lead to either our own suffering or to our own liberation.
  30. ^ Note that, in Buddhism, one clings to (guards) something they have (or mistakenly believe they have) whereas one craves (searches) for that which they lack. (See the articles on upadana and tanha for references. Upādāna is a word used in both Buddhism and Hinduism In Buddhism, upādāna is a critical link in the arising of suffering Meaning In the Pali Canon, several discourses explicitly refer to three types of craving * craving for "sensuality" or "sensual pleasures" ) Thus, the notion of the "clinging aggregates" refers to things with which we identify or which we think we can possess. When, instead, one desires such, it is technically craving, not clinging.
  31. ^ In the Sutta Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka, there are four types of clinging: (1) clinging to sensual pleasure; (2) clinging to wrong views; (3) clinging to rites and ceremonies; and, (4) clinging to a doctrine of self. Upādāna is a word used in both Buddhism and Hinduism In Buddhism, upādāna is a critical link in the arising of suffering (For references, see the article on upadana. Upādāna is a word used in both Buddhism and Hinduism In Buddhism, upādāna is a critical link in the arising of suffering ) By definition, the fourth type of clinging (clinging to a doctrine of self) involves having one or more of twenty possible identity views (sakkayaditthi). The twenty identity views are beliefs in:
    • form is self, is possessed by self, is in self; contains self.
    • sensation is self, is possessed by self, is in self; contains self.
    • perception is self, is possessed by self, is in self; contains self.
    • mental formation is self, is possessed by self, is in self; contains self.
    • consciousness is self, is possessed by self, is in self; contains self.
    In other words, references to "clinging" in terms of the aggregates generally refer to "'clinging to a doctrine of self. "
  32. ^ On-line translations of the Sallatha Sutta ("The Arrow" or "The Dart," SN 36. 6) include Thanissaro (1997e) and Nyanaponika (1998).
  33. ^ For a more body-specific meditation method for developing detachment from bodily forms, see Patikulamanasikara. Paṭikkūlamanasikāra (variant paṭikūlamanasikāra) is a Pāli term that is generally translated as "reflections on repulsiveness
  34. ^ Unlike the Satipatthana Sutta, the classic Anapanasati Sutta ("Mindfulness of Breathing Discourse," MN 118) does not directly reference the aggregates. The Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta and the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta are two of the most popular discourses in the Pali Canon, embraced by both Theravada and The Anapanasati Sutta ( Pāli: "Breath-Mindfulness Discourse" is a discourse ( Sutta) that details the Buddha 's instruction However, the Pali literature includes works that interpret the Anapanasati Sutta in light of the aggregates.
    In the Patisambhidāmagga: The Khuddaka Nikaya's book, the Patisambhidāmagga ("The Path of Analysis"), includes an analysis of the following meditative instruction (first tetrad, third instruction) from the Anapanasati Sutta:
    "He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to the entire body. The Khuddaka Nikaya (-nikāya "Minor Collection" is the last of the five Nikayas or collections in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three ' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to the entire body. '" (Thanissaro, trans. , 2006. )
    Regarding this instruction, the Patisambhidāmagga (Ñāṇamoli, 1998, p. 75) analyzes the word "body" (kaya) as follows:
    "Body: There are two bodies - the mentality-body and the materiality body.
    "Feeling, perception, volition, sense-impression, attention -- mentality and the mentality of the body -- and those (things) which are called the mental formations -- this is the mentality body.
    "The four great primaries and the materiality derived from the four great primaries -- in-breath and out-breath and the sign for the binding (of mindfulness) -- and those (things) which are called the bodily formations -- this is the materiality body. "
    In other words, the Patisambhidāmagga frames the practice of the Anapanasati Sutta's third step as a contemplation of the five aggregates.
    In the Visuddhimagga: The Visuddhimagga's analysis of the Anapanasatti Sutta includes an analysis of the following meditative instruction (fourth tetrad, first instruction) from the Anapanasati Sutta:
    "He trains himself, 'I will breathe in focusing on inconstancy. Summary It is composed of four parts which discuss 1 Sila (discipline 2 Samadhi (meditative concentration 3 The land of wisdom ' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out focusing on inconstancy. '" (Thanissaro, trans. , 2006. )
    In regards to this instruction, the Visuddhimagga (Buddhaghosa, 1999, pp. Bhadantācariya Buddhaghosa was a 5th century Indian Theravadin Buddhist commentator and scholar 282-3; see also Ñāṇamoli, 1998, p. 40) advises one to apprehend "inconstancy" (or "impermanence") as meaning the following:
    "Herein, the five aggregates are 'the impermanent'. Why? Because their essence is rise and fall and change. 'Impermanence' is the rise and fall and change in those same aggregates, or it is their non-existence after having been. . . . " [Boldface added. ]
    Impermanence (anicca) is a characteristic common to all aggregates. Impermanence ( Sanskrit: अनित्य anitya; Pāli: अनिच्चा anicca; Tibetan: མི་​རྟག་​པ་ This impermanence will lead to suffering (dukkha) if we identify with the aggregate. Dukkha ( Pāli दुक्ख Sanskrit दुःख duḥkha; according to grammatical tradition derived from dus-kha "uneasy" To avoid such suffering, the suttas instruct us to see the aggregates as the selfless (anatta) objects they are. In Buddhist philosophy, anatta ( Pāli) or anātman ( Sanskrit) refers to the notion of "not-self"
  35. ^ Bodhi (2000b, pp. 743, n. 58) points out that this formula for aggregate-contemplation can also be found in SN 12. 21, 12. 23, 22. 78, 22. 89 and 22. 101, as well as MN 122.
  36. ^ That meditation creates a space between the aggregates (including clinging) is a readily accessible meditation experience. Upādāna is a word used in both Buddhism and Hinduism In Buddhism, upādāna is a critical link in the arising of suffering For a published authoritative statement regarding this experience, see, for example, Trungpa (2001), pp. 85-86, where in response to a student's query he replies: "By meditating you are slowing down the process. When it has slowed down, the skandhas are no longer pushed against one another. There is space there, already there. "
  37. ^ a b Nhat Hanh (1988), p. 1. Again, also see Red Pine (2004), p. 2, and Suzuki (1960), p. 26.
  38. ^ According to Nattier (1992), the Heart Sutra was originally composed in Chinese and later back-translated into Sanskrit. Thereafter, it became popular in India and later Tibet. As indicated in an endnote further below, elements in this translation are not present in Chinese versions of this sutra.
  39. ^ Red Pine (2005), p. 2. See also Nhat Hanh (1988), p. 1, and Suzuki (1960), p. 26. Nhat Hanh (1988) adds to this first verse the sentence: "After this penetration, he overcame all pain. " Suzuki (1960), p. 29, notes that this additional sentence is unique to Hsuan-chuang's translation and is omitted in other versions of the Heart Sutra.
  40. ^ Sanskrit text based on Red Pine (2005), pp. 41, 50, 56, 67.
  41. ^ For further analysis of this difference, see Perfection of Wisdom#Teachings. " Perfection of Wisdom " is a translation of the Sanskrit term prajñā pāramitā ( Devanagari: प्रज्ञा पारमिता
  42. ^ Regarding the term sabhāva (Pali; Skt: svabhāva) in the Pali Canon, Gal (2003), p. 7, writes:
    To judge from the suttas, the term sabhāva was never employed by the Buddha and it is rare in the Pali Canon in general. Only in the post-canonical period does it become a standard concept, when it is extensively used in the commentarial descriptions of the dhammas [conditioned mental and physical processes] and in the sub-commentarial exegesis. Dhamma ( Pāli: धम्म or Dharma (धर्म in Buddhism has two primary meanings the teachings of the Buddha which lead to enlightenment The term sabhāva, though, does occur on various occasions in five canonical or para-canonical texts: the Paṭisambhidāmagga, the Peṭakopadesa, the Nettippakaraṇa, the Milindapañha and the Buddhavaṃsa. The Patisambhidamagga (paṭisambhidā- Pali for "path of discrimination" sometimes called just Patisambhida for short is a Buddhist scripture part of the The Petakopadesa (peṭakopadesa is a Buddhist scripture sometimes included in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism The Nettipakarana ( Pali: -pakaraṇa) Nettippakarana or just Netti is a Buddhist scripture sometimes included in the Khuddaka Nikaya of The Buddhavamsa (-vaṃsa abbrev Bv is a Buddhist scripture part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism.
    Gal (p. 10) speculates that the use of the term sabhāva in the Paṭisambhidāmagga might be the earliest occurrence in Pali literature and quotes (p. 7, esply. n. 28) from this text (Paṭis. II 178) the application of the phrase sabhāvena suññaṃ (Pali for "empty of sabhāva") to each of the aggregates — at least superficially similar to an application of svabhāva in the Prajnaparamita Hridaya Sutra ("Heart Sutra") cited in this article.
  43. ^ Note that Chinese versions of the Heart Sutra do not contain the notion of svabhava.
  44. ^ "Svabhava" has also been translated as "self-nature" (Suzuki, 1960, p. 26), "separate self" (Nhat Hanh, 1988, p. 16) and "self-existence" (Red Pine, 2004, p. 67).
  45. ^ Red Pine (2004), p. 68.
  46. ^ While Red Pine (2004) contextualizes the Prajnaparamita texts as a historical reaction to some early Buddhist Abhidhammas, some interpretations of the Theravada Abhidhamma are consistent with the prajnaparamita notion of "emptiness. "
  47. ^ Nhat Hanh (1988), p. 15.
  48. ^ Red Pine (2004), pp. 75, 77.
  49. ^ Suzuki (1960), p. 29, n. 4.
  50. ^ This type of analysis of the aggregates (where ignorance conditions the five aggregates) might be akin to that described by the Twelve Nidanas. The Twelve Nidānas (from Pali nidāna "cause foundation source or origin" are the best-known application of the Buddhist concept of
  51. ^ Bodhi (2000a), p. 6.
  52. ^ Chart is based on Bodhi (2000a), p. 288.
  53. ^ Bodhi (2000b), pp. 1125-26; and, Bodhi (2005b). Bodhi conceptuatlizes the six sense bases as providing a "vertical" view of experience while the aggregates provide a "horizontal" (temporal) view (e. g. , see Bodhi, 2000b, pp. 1122-23).
  54. ^ Put another way, it is through the five skandhas that clinging occurs. See, for instance, the Samadhi Sutta (SN 22:5) (Thanissaro, 2006b).
  55. ^ The apparent distinctions between the nidana model and the khandha model are reduced when, instead of using the twelve-nidana model of the Samyutta Nikaya, chapter 12 (e.g., Thanissaro, 1997d), one compares the nine-nidana model of the Maha-nidana Sutta (DN 15) (Thanissaro, 1997a) where consciousness conditions name-and-form and name-and-form conditions consciousness. The Samyutta Nikaya (Saṃyutta Nikāya SN, "Connected Discourses" or "Kindred Sayings" is a Buddhist scripture the third of the five Nikayas The Digha Nikaya (dīghanikāya "Collection of Long Discourses" is a Buddhist scripture the first of the five Nikayas or collections
  56. ^ Bodhi (2000b, pp. 839-840) writes: "Whereas the teaching on dependent origination is intended to disclose the dynamic pattern running through everyday experience that propels the round of rebirth and death forward from life to life, the teaching on the five aggregates concentrates on experience in its lived immediacy in the continuum from birth to death. " Perhaps in a similar vein, Bodhi (2000b, pp. 762-3, n. 132) notes elsewhere that, according to the Samyutta Nikaya's subcommentary: "There are two kinds of origin, momentary origin (khanika-samudaya) and origin through conditions (paccaya-samudaya). A bhikkhu who sees one sees the other. "
  57. ^ The Pāli word dhātu is used in multiple contexts in the Pāli canon. For instance, Bodhi (2000b), pp. 527-8, identifies four different ways that dhātu is used including in terms of the "eighteen elements" and in terms of "the four primary elements" (catudhātu). Definitions In the Pali canon, the most basic elements are usually identified as four in number but on occasion a fifth and to an even lesser extent a sixth element
  58. ^ Bodhi (2000a), pp. 287-8.
  59. ^ Bodhi, 2000b, pp. 841, 914-5; Buddhaghosa, 1999, pp. 443-64; Thanissaro, 1997c, 2001a & 2001b.
  60. ^ Available on-line at Thanissaro (1997c).
  61. ^ Bodhi (2000b, p. 1070, n. 110) points out and Thanissaro (2001a, nn. 1 and 2) suggests that this definition is at least in part "word play" related to the homophonic (non-etymological) correspondence between the Pāli words for "form" (rūpa) and "afflicted" (ruppati).
  62. ^ Available on-line at Thanissaro (2001a).
  63. ^ Bodhi (2000b, pp. 743-4, n. 58, pp. 1064-5, n. 81) refers to MN 109's identification of the aggregates' causes/conditions as "proximate" or "synchronic" conditions, while the causes/conditions identified in other suttas, such as SN 22.5, are "collective distal" or "diachronic" conditions.
  64. ^ Available on-line at Thanissaro (2001b).
  65. ^ The Visuddhimagga XIV. 36-72 (Buddhaghosa, 1999, pp. 443-450; also see Bodhi, 2000a, p. 236) defines the 24 derived forms as:
    • eye, ear, nose, tongue, body
    • visible things, sound, odor, taste
    • feminine characteristics, masculine characteristics
    • life faculty (gives vitality to other matter)
    • heart-basis (blood-borne physical basis for mind and consciousness)
    • bodily intimation (movements), vocal intimation (speech utterances)
    • space element (empty and delimiting region between material objects)
    • matter's lightness, malleability, wieldiness
    • matter's growth, continuity, decay, impermanence
    • physical nutriment
  66. ^ Regarding SN 22. 79's typifying perception (saññā) through visual colors and consciousness (viññāṇa) through assorted tastes, Bodhi (2000b, p. 1072, n. 114) mentions tha the Samyutta Nikaya's subcommentary states that perception grasps appearances and shapes while consciousness "can grasp particular distinctions in an object even when there is no appearance and shape. " Similarly, in the Visuddhimagga (Buddhaghosa, 1999, pp. 435-6), there is an extended analogy about a child, an adult villager and an expert "money-changer" seeing a heap of coins; the child's experience is analogous to perception, the villager's experience to consciousness, and the money-changer's experience to understanding (paňňā). In the Pali Canon In the Pali Canon, paññā is defined in a variety of overlapping ways frequently centering on concentrated insight
  67. ^ Consistent with MN 109's distinguishing between vinnāna and nāmarūpa, Bodhi (2000b, p. 48; also see Bodhi, 2005a, p. 447, n. 19) states: "Nāma is the assemblage of mental factors involved in cognition: feeling, perception, volition, contact and attention (vedanā, sanna, cetanā, phassa, manasikāra. . . ). . . . [I]n the Nikāyas, nāmarūpa does not include consciousness (vinnāna). Consciousness is its condition, and the two are mutually dependent. . . . "
  68. ^ Of the 89 kinds of consciousness, 54 are of the "sense sphere" (related to the five physical senses as well as craving for sensual pleasure), 15 of the "fine-material sphere" (related to the meditative absorptions based on material objects), 12 of the "immaterial sphere" (related to the immaterial meditative absorptions), and eight are supramundane (related to the realization of Nibbāna) (Bodhi, 2000a, pp. 28-31).

Bibliography

External links

Dictionary

skandha

-noun

  1. (in Buddhism) Any of the five types of attribute that constitute the personality of an individual
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