Difference between revisions of "Skandha" - New World Encyclopedia
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− | In [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] | + | [[Image:Buddha_image_-_white_stone.jpg|thumb|right|A stone image of the Buddha.]] |
+ | In [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] doctrine and [[metaphysics]], the word '''skandha''' (Sanskrit: स्कान्धास) refers to the five "aggregate" elements that are said to comprise the psychophysical personality. These five aggregates are: form (rūpa)<ref>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.</ref>, feeling (vedanā)<ref>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." Correspondingly, 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."</ref>, perception (samjñā)<ref>In some [[sutra]]s, it is explicitly tied to all types of sensory experience: "These six classes of perception — perception of form, perception of sound, perception of smell, perception of taste, perception of tactile sensation, perception of ideas: this is called perception." [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.057.than.html Sattatthana Sutta] ''Samyutta Nikaya'' 22.57. Translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, 1997.</ref>, consciousness (Skt. ''visjñāna'', Pāli ''viññāṇa''), and reasoning (Skt. "vāsanā" or ''samskāra'').<ref>The [[Abhidhamma]] divides ''sankhāra'' into fifty mental factors consisting of all types of mental habits, thoughts, ideas, opinions, compulsions, and decisions triggered by an object(Bodhi, 2000a, p. 26).</ref> The term skandha can also mean "compund, mass, heap, bundle or tree trunk." <ref>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'')</ref> | ||
− | In the [[Theravada]] tradition, suffering (''dukkha'') arises when one identifies with or otherwise clings to an aggregate; | + | According to the teachings of the [[Buddha]], a proper understanding of the Skandhas is an important step towards the attainment of [[Nirvana]] (freedom from suffering). In the [[Theravada]] tradition of [[Buddhism]], suffering (''dukkha'') arises when one identifies with or otherwise clings to an aggregate; suffering is [[nirvana|extinguished]] therefore by relinquishing attachments to aggregates. In the [[Mahayana]] ([[Madhyamkia]]) tradition of Buddhism, [[nirvana|ultimate freedom]] is said to be realized by [[Prajnaparamita|deeply penetrating]] the intrinsically [[Shunyata|empty nature]] of all aggregates. |
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==Enumeration and Relationship== | ==Enumeration and Relationship== | ||
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In the [[Pali canon]], the aggregates are causally related as follows:<ref>See, for instance, [[Samyutta Nikaya|SN]] 35.93, "The Dyad (2)" (Bodhi, 2000b, pp. 1172-3).</ref> | In the [[Pali canon]], the aggregates are causally related as follows:<ref>See, for instance, [[Samyutta Nikaya|SN]] 35.93, "The Dyad (2)" (Bodhi, 2000b, pp. 1172-3).</ref> | ||
<table><tr><td> | <table><tr><td> | ||
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*From the contact of form and consciousness arise the three mental (''nāma'') aggregates of '''feeling''' (''vedanā''), '''perception''' (''saññā'') and '''mental formation''' (''sankhāra'').<ref>A mental aggregate arises either from conscious contact with form or from another mental aggregate (Bodhi, 2000a, pp. 78ff).</ref> | *From the contact of form and consciousness arise the three mental (''nāma'') aggregates of '''feeling''' (''vedanā''), '''perception''' (''saññā'') and '''mental formation''' (''sankhāra'').<ref>A mental aggregate arises either from conscious contact with form or from another mental aggregate (Bodhi, 2000a, pp. 78ff).</ref> | ||
− | In this scheme, physical form, the mental aggregates,<ref>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." 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)."</ref> and consciousness are mutually dependent.<ref>According to Bodhi (2000b), p. 48, based on suttas in SN 14, consciousness "can operate only in dependence 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) [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.065.than.html (Thanissaro, 1997a)], 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."</ref> | + | In this scheme, physical form, the mental aggregates,<ref>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." 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)."</ref> and consciousness are mutually dependent.<ref>According to Bodhi (2000b), p. 48, based on suttas in SN 14, consciousness "can operate only in dependence 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) [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.065.than.html (Thanissaro, 1997a)], 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."</ref> 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.<ref>Trungpa (2001), pp. 36-37.</ref> |
− | + | ''Eighteen Dhatus''<ref>The Pāli word ''dhātu'' is used in multiple contexts in the [[Pali canon|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" (''[[mahabhuta]]'').</ref>: <br>The eighteen dhatus are seen to function through the five aggregates. The eighteen dhatus can be arranged into six triads, where each triad is composed of a sense organ, a sense object and sense consciousness. In regards to the aggregates<ref>Bodhi (2000a), pp. 287-8.</ref>: | |
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**The first five <u>sense organs</u> (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body) are derivates of '''form'''. The sixth sense organ (mind) is part of '''consciousness'''. | **The first five <u>sense organs</u> (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body) are derivates of '''form'''. The sixth sense organ (mind) is part of '''consciousness'''. | ||
**The first five <u>sense objects</u> (visible forms, sound, smell, taste, touch) are also derivatives of '''form'''. The sixth sense object (mental object) includes '''form''', '''sensation''', '''perception''' and '''mental formations'''. | **The first five <u>sense objects</u> (visible forms, sound, smell, taste, touch) are also derivatives of '''form'''. The sixth sense object (mental object) includes '''form''', '''sensation''', '''perception''' and '''mental formations'''. | ||
**The <u>six sense consciousness</u> is the basis for '''consciousness'''. | **The <u>six sense consciousness</u> is the basis for '''consciousness'''. | ||
− | + | Contemporary writers (such as Trungpa Rinpoche and Red Pine) sometimes conceptualize the five aggregates as "one physical and four mental" aggregates. More traditional Buddhist literature (such as the [[Abhidhamma]]) speak of one physical aggregate (form), three mental factors (sensation, perception and mental formations) and consciousness. | |
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+ | See [[#References in Buddhist literature|Table 1]] for examples of definitional references to the aggregates in the Buddhist canon. | ||
+ | ==Role in Buddhist Metaphysics and Soteriology== | ||
In the [[Buddha]]'s first discourse, the ''Dhammacakkappavattana'' Sutta" ("The Setting in Motion the Wheel of Truth Discourse," [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn56/sn56.011.piya.html Samyutta Nikaya 56:11]), he mentions the role of the skandhas as follows: | In the [[Buddha]]'s first discourse, the ''Dhammacakkappavattana'' Sutta" ("The Setting in Motion the Wheel of Truth Discourse," [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn56/sn56.011.piya.html Samyutta Nikaya 56:11]), he mentions the role of the skandhas as follows: | ||
:"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."<ref> Translated from the Pali by Piyadassi Thera, 1999 [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn56/sn56.011.piya.html]. Boldface added.</ref> | :"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."<ref> Translated from the Pali by Piyadassi Thera, 1999 [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn56/sn56.011.piya.html]. Boldface added.</ref> | ||
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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. But how does one become aware of and then release one's own identification with (/ 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. | 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. But how does one become aware of and then release one's own identification with (/ 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. | ||
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+ | Bhikkhu Bodhi (2000b, p. 840) states that an examination of the aggregates has a "critical role" in understanding the Buddha's teachings, specifically in reference to the notions of: | ||
+ | #'''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). Thus, "since all four truths revolve around suffering, understanding the aggregates is essential for understanding the [[Four Noble Truths]] as a whole." | ||
+ | #'''Understanding the Cause of Future Suffering:''' The five aggregates are the substrata of human clinging and thus "contribute to the causal origination of future suffering." | ||
+ | #'''Understanding the Nature of Release (''[[nirvana]]''):''' The release of ''nirvana'' (Pali: ''nibbana'') can only be achieved once an individual ceases clinging to the five aggregates. | ||
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+ | Excerpts from the [[Pāli]] literature bear out Bhikkhu Bodhi's assessment of the importance of the doctrine of the ''skandhas''.<ref>In regards to how [[Theravada]] practitioners view the aggregates, [[Thanissaro Bhikkhu]] (2002) argues: | ||
+ | :"The [Pāli] canon depicts the Buddha as saying that he taught only two topics: suffering and the end of suffering ([[SN]] 22.86[http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.086.than.html]). 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.</ref> | ||
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+ | According to the ''Mahasunnata Sutta'' ("The Greater Discourse on Emptiness," MN 122): | ||
+ | :"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.) | ||
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+ | In the Buddha's second discourse, the ''Anattalakkhana Sutta'' ("The Characteristic of Nonself," SN 22:59), the Buddha instructs: | ||
+ | :"Monks, form is nonself. 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.] | ||
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+ | :"...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, 2005, pp. 341-2.) | ||
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+ | In this way, the Theravada understanding of the aggregates contributes to their overall cosmological scheme and to their particular understanding of enlightenment. | ||
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+ | ==Theravada perspectives== | ||
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+ | In Theravada Buddhism, the Twelve Nidanas describe twelve phenomenal links by which suffering is perpetuated between and within lives. It is through the five skandhas that clinging (''upadana'') occurs,<ref>For instance, see the ''Samadhi Sutta'' (SN 22:5).[http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.005.than.html]</ref> a pivotal link in this endless chain of suffering. To this end, Bodhi notes that "the teaching on the five aggregates concentrates on experience in its lived immediacy in the continuum from birth to death."<ref>Bodhi (2000b, pp. 839-840).</ref> | ||
The Samyutta Nikaya contains a book entitled the "Khandhavagga" ("The Book of Aggregates"), which compiles over a hundred suttas related to the five aggregates. Typical of the materials in this collection is the ''Upadaparitassana Sutta'' ("Agitation through Clinging Discourse," SN 22:7), which states in part: | The Samyutta Nikaya contains a book entitled the "Khandhavagga" ("The Book of Aggregates"), which compiles over a hundred suttas related to the five aggregates. Typical of the materials in this collection is the ''Upadaparitassana Sutta'' ("Agitation through Clinging Discourse," SN 22:7), which states in part: | ||
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##this form ''changes'' | ##this form ''changes'' | ||
##with the changes of form, there ''arises'' dukkha | ##with the changes of form, there ''arises'' dukkha | ||
− | #An instructed noble disciple (sutavā ariyasāvaka) does ''not'' regard form as self, etc., and thus, when form changes, dukkha does not arise.<ref>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.</ref> | + | #An instructed noble disciple (sutavā ariyasāvaka) does ''not'' regard form as self, etc., and thus, when form changes, dukkha does not arise.<ref>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.</ref> |
==Mahayana perspectives== | ==Mahayana perspectives== | ||
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:''After this penetration, he overcame all pain.''<ref>Nhat Hanh (1988), p. 1. See also Red Pine (2004), p. 2, and Suzuki (1960), p. 26.</ref><ref>Suzuki (1960), p. 29, notes that the last sentence of this first stanza ("After this penetration, he overcame all pain") is unique to Hsuan-chuang's translation and is omitted in other versions of the Heart Sutra.</ref> | :''After this penetration, he overcame all pain.''<ref>Nhat Hanh (1988), p. 1. See also Red Pine (2004), p. 2, and Suzuki (1960), p. 26.</ref><ref>Suzuki (1960), p. 29, notes that the last sentence of this first stanza ("After this penetration, he overcame all pain") is unique to Hsuan-chuang's translation and is omitted in other versions of the Heart Sutra.</ref> | ||
− | From its very first verse, the Heart Sutra introduces an alternative to the practice and | + | From its very first verse, the Heart Sutra introduces an alternative to the practice and view of the Theravada school with respect to the aggregates. First, whereas Theravada meditation practice generally uses change-penetrating (''vipassana'') meditation, in Mahayana the non-dualistic [[prajnaparamita]] practice is invoked. Second, when "emptiness of self" is mentioned in Theravada texts, , the English word "self" is a translation of the Pali word ''"atta"'' (Sanskrit, ''"[[atman]]"''); in the Heart Sutra, the English word "self" is a translation of the Sanskrit word ''"sva-[[bhava]]"''.<ref>''"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).</ref> According to Red Pine, "the 'self' (''sva'') ... was more generalized in its application than 'ego' (''[[atman (Buddhism)|atman]]'') and referred not only to ''beings'' but to ''any inherent substance'' that could be identified as existing in time or space as a permanent or independent entity"<ref>Red Pine (2004), p. 68.</ref> [Italics added]. |
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''.<ref>While Red Pine (2004) contextualizes the Prajnaparamita texts as a historical ''reaction'' to some early Buddhist Abhidhammas, some interpretations of the Theravada Abhidhamma are actually ''consistent'' with the prajnaparamita notion of "emptiness."</ref> | 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''.<ref>While Red Pine (2004) contextualizes the Prajnaparamita texts as a historical ''reaction'' to some early Buddhist Abhidhammas, some interpretations of the Theravada Abhidhamma are actually ''consistent'' with the prajnaparamita notion of "emptiness."</ref> | ||
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:"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.<ref>Red Pine (2004), pp. 75, 77.</ref> | :"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.<ref>Red Pine (2004), pp. 75, 77.</ref> | ||
− | == | + | ==Vajrayana perspectives== |
− | The Vajrayana tradition further develops the Buddhist understanding of the skandhas in terms of [[mahamudra]] epistemology and [[Vajrayana|tantric]] reifications. | + | The [[Vajrayana]] tradition of Buddhism further develops the Buddhist understanding of the skandhas in terms of [[mahamudra]] epistemology and [[Vajrayana|tantric]] reifications. |
===The truth of our insubstantiality=== | ===The truth of our insubstantiality=== | ||
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===Bardo deity manifestations=== | ===Bardo deity manifestations=== | ||
− | One of the major developments of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition was a profound exploration of the metaphysical and cosmological nature of reincarnation (''[[samsara]]''). One element of these discoveries was the description of various deities and interim states (''[[bardo]]s'') that exist between incarnations, all of which came to be depicted in their unique iconographic tradition. Intriguingly, some Tibetan Lamas postulate a connection between this iconography and their particular perspective on the aggregates. | + | One of the major developments of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition was a profound exploration of the metaphysical and cosmological nature of reincarnation (''[[samsara]]''). One element of these discoveries was the description of various deities and interim states (''[[bardo]]s'') that exist between incarnations, all of which came to be depicted in their unique iconographic tradition. Intriguingly, some Tibetan Lamas postulate a connection between this iconography and their particular perspective on the aggregates. 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: |
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* "The blue light of the skandha of '''consciousness''' in its basic purity, the wisdom of the [[dharmadhatu|dharmadhātu]], luminous, clear, sharp and brilliant, will come towards you from the heart of [[Vairocana]] and his consort, and pierce you so that your eyes cannot bear it." (p. 63) | * "The blue light of the skandha of '''consciousness''' in its basic purity, the wisdom of the [[dharmadhatu|dharmadhātu]], luminous, clear, sharp and brilliant, will come towards you from the heart of [[Vairocana]] and his consort, and pierce you so that your eyes cannot bear it." (p. 63) | ||
* "The white light of the skandha of '''form''' in its basic purity, the mirror-like wisdom, dazzling white, luminous and clear, will come towards you from the heart of [[Vajrasattva]] and his consort and pierce you so that your eyes cannot bear to look at it." (p. 66) | * "The white light of the skandha of '''form''' in its basic purity, the mirror-like wisdom, dazzling white, luminous and clear, will come towards you from the heart of [[Vajrasattva]] and his consort and pierce you so that your eyes cannot bear to look at it." (p. 66) |
Revision as of 20:59, 15 February 2007
In Buddhist doctrine and metaphysics, the word skandha (Sanskrit: स्कान्धास) refers to the five "aggregate" elements that are said to comprise the psychophysical personality. These five aggregates are: form (rūpa)[1], feeling (vedanā)[2], perception (samjñā)[3], consciousness (Skt. visjñāna, Pāli viññāṇa), and reasoning (Skt. "vāsanā" or samskāra).[4] The term skandha can also mean "compund, mass, heap, bundle or tree trunk." [5]
According to the teachings of the Buddha, a proper understanding of the Skandhas is an important step towards the attainment of Nirvana (freedom from suffering). In the Theravada tradition of Buddhism, suffering (dukkha) arises when one identifies with or otherwise clings to an aggregate; suffering is extinguished therefore by relinquishing attachments to aggregates. In the Mahayana (Madhyamkia) tradition of Buddhism, ultimate freedom is said to be realized by deeply penetrating the intrinsically empty nature of all aggregates.
Enumeration and Relationship
In the Pali canon, the aggregates are causally related as follows:[6]
In this scheme, physical form, the mental aggregates,[11] and consciousness are mutually dependent.[12] 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.[13]
Eighteen Dhatus[14]:
Contemporary writers (such as Trungpa Rinpoche and Red Pine) sometimes conceptualize the five aggregates as "one physical and four mental" aggregates. More traditional Buddhist literature (such as the Abhidhamma) speak of one physical aggregate (form), three mental factors (sensation, perception and mental formations) and consciousness. See Table 1 for examples of definitional references to the aggregates in the Buddhist canon. Role in Buddhist Metaphysics and SoteriologyIn the Buddha's first discourse, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta" ("The Setting in Motion the Wheel of Truth Discourse," Samyutta Nikaya 56:11), he mentions the role of the skandhas as follows:
According to Thanissaro (2002):
The Buddha taught that self-identifing with an aggregate would, by necessity, lead to clinging (upadana)[17] to that element; and, given that all aggregates are impermanent (anicca), it is invariable that this attachment would eventually yield agitation (paritassati), loss, grief, stress or suffering. Therefore, to be free of suffering required the wisdom to experience the aggregates clearly, without clinging or craving (tanha), and without associating them with any notion of self (anatta). For 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 of aging, 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[18]). 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. But how does one become aware of and then release one's own identification with (/ 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. Bhikkhu Bodhi (2000b, p. 840) states that an examination of the aggregates has a "critical role" in understanding the Buddha's teachings, specifically in reference to the notions of:
Excerpts from the Pāli literature bear out Bhikkhu Bodhi's assessment of the importance of the doctrine of the skandhas.[19] According to the Mahasunnata Sutta ("The Greater Discourse on Emptiness," MN 122):
In the Buddha's second discourse, the Anattalakkhana Sutta ("The Characteristic of Nonself," SN 22:59), the Buddha instructs:
In this way, the Theravada understanding of the aggregates contributes to their overall cosmological scheme and to their particular understanding of enlightenment. Theravada perspectivesIn Theravada Buddhism, the Twelve Nidanas describe twelve phenomenal links by which suffering is perpetuated between and within lives. It is through the five skandhas that clinging (upadana) occurs,[20] a pivotal link in this endless chain of suffering. To this end, Bodhi notes that "the teaching on the five aggregates concentrates on experience in its lived immediacy in the continuum from birth to death."[21] The Samyutta Nikaya contains a book entitled the "Khandhavagga" ("The Book of Aggregates"), which compiles over a hundred suttas related to the five aggregates. Typical of the materials in this collection is the Upadaparitassana Sutta ("Agitation through Clinging Discourse," SN 22:7), which states in part:
Many of the suttas in the Khandhavagga express the aggregates in the context of the following sequence:
Mahayana perspectivesMahayana Buddhism emphasizes the intrinsic emptiness of all things including Skandhas. The classic "Prajnaparamita Hridaya Sutra" ("Heart Sutra") begins:
From its very first verse, the Heart Sutra introduces an alternative to the practice and view of the Theravada school with respect to the aggregates. First, whereas Theravada meditation practice generally uses change-penetrating (vipassana) meditation, in Mahayana the non-dualistic prajnaparamita practice is invoked. Second, when "emptiness of self" is mentioned in Theravada texts, , the English word "self" is a translation of the Pali word "atta" (Sanskrit, "atman"); in the Heart Sutra, the English word "self" is a translation of the Sanskrit word "sva-bhava".[26] According to Red Pine, "the 'self' (sva) ... was more generalized in its application than 'ego' (atman) and referred not only to beings but to any inherent substance that could be identified as existing in time or space as a permanent or independent entity"[27] [Italics added]. 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.[28] In the Heart Sutra's second verse, after rising from his meditation on the aggregates, Avalokiteshvara (the bodhisattva of compassion) declares:
Red Pine interprets this statement as follows:
Vajrayana perspectivesThe Vajrayana tradition of Buddhism further develops the Buddhist understanding of the skandhas in terms of mahamudra epistemology and tantric reifications. The truth of our insubstantialityReferring to mahamudra teachings, Chogyam Trungpa identifies the form aggregate as the "solidification" of ignorance (Pali, avijja; Skt., 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."[31] 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) In this way, the illusory (or at least impermanent) nature of the all bodily experiences, and the means of penetrating these illusions (tantric meditation) are emphasized. Bardo deity manifestationsOne of the major developments of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition was a profound exploration of the metaphysical and cosmological nature of reincarnation (samsara). One element of these discoveries was the description of various deities and interim states (bardos) that exist between incarnations, all of which came to be depicted in their unique iconographic tradition. Intriguingly, some Tibetan Lamas postulate a connection between this iconography and their particular perspective on the aggregates. 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:
References in Buddhist literatureThe table below briefly cites Buddhist primary sources that characterize different aspects of the aggregates. This table is by no means exhaustive.
References
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