Skandha

In Buddhist thought, the word skandha (Sanskrit: स्कान्धास) refers to the five "aggregate" elements that are said to comprise the psychophysical personality. These five aggregates are as follows: form (rūpa), feeling (vedanā), perception (samjñā), consciousness(Skt. visjñāna, Pāli viññāṇa), and reasoning (Skt. "vāsanā" or samskāra).

In the Theravada tradition, suffering (dukkha) arises when one identifies with or otherwise clings to an aggregate; hence, suffering is extinguished by relinquishing attachments to aggregates. The Mahayana tradition, building upon this notion, suggests that ultimate freedom is realized by deeply penetrating the intrinsically empty nature of all aggregates.

Outside of Buddhist religious terminology, "skandha" can mean "mass, heap, bundle or tree trunk," though these "mundane" usages will not be explored below.

Enumeration and Relationship

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 Soteriology

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:

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). Thus, "since all four truths revolve around suffering, understanding the aggregates is essential for understanding the Four Noble Truths as a whole."
2. 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."
3. 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.

Excerpts from the Pāli literature bear out Bhikkhu Bodhi's assessment of the importance of the doctrine of the skandhas. 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). 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.'

"...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.

As clinging disappears, so too do 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. 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, 2005, pp. 341-2.)

In this way, the Theravada understanding of the aggregates contributes to their overall cosmological scheme and to their particular understanding of enlightenment.

Theravada perspectives

In the Pali canon, the aggregates are causally related as follows:

Form (rupa) arises from experientially irreducible physical/physiological phenomena. Form – in terms of an external object (such as a sound) and its associated sense organ (such as the ear) – gives rise to consciousness (viññāṇa). From the contact of form and consciousness arise the three mental (nāma) aggregates of feeling (vedanā), perception (saññā) and mental formation (sankhāra). In this scheme, physical form, the mental aggregates, and consciousness are mutually dependent. Twelve Nidanas / Dependent Origination: 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, 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." Eighteen Dhatus: 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: The first five sense organs (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body) are derivates of form. The sixth sense organ (mind) is part of consciousness. The first five sense objects (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 six sense consciousness is the basis for consciousness. 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. In 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: "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." 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."[4] The Buddha taught that self-identifing with an aggregate would, by necessity, lead to clinging (upadana) 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). 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. 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: "...[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." Many of the suttas in the Khandhavagga express the aggregates in the context of the following sequence: An uninstructed worldling (assutavā puthujjana) regards form as self; self as possessing form; form as in self; self as in form. lives obsessed by the notions: I am form; and/or, form is mine this form changes 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. Mahayana perspectives Mahayana Buddhism emphasizes the intrinsic emptiness of all things including Skandhas. The classic "Prajnaparamita Hridaya Sutra" ("Heart Sutra") begins: The Bodhisattva Avalokita, while moving in the deep course of Perfect Understanding, shed light on the five skandhas and found them equally empty [of self]. After this penetration, he overcame all pain. From its very first verse, the Heart Sutra introduces an alternative to the practice and worldview of the Theravada school with respect to the aggregates. First, whereas Theravada meditation practices relating to the aggregates generally use change-penetrating (vipassana) meditation, here the non-dualistic prajnaparamita practice is invoked. Second, in Theravada texts, when "emptiness of self" is mentioned, 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". 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." (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. In the Heart Sutra's second verse, after rising from his meditation on the aggregates, Avalokiteshvara (the bodhisattva of compassion) 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." Red Pine interprets this statement as follows: "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. Vajrayana perspectives The Vajrayana tradition further develops the Buddhist understanding of the skandhas in terms of mahamudra epistemology and tantric reifications. The truth of our insubstantiality Referring 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." 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 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 (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. For example, 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]. 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 scepters 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: "The blue light of the skandha of consciousness in its basic purity, the wisdom of the 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 yellow light of the skandha of feeling in its basic purity, the wisdom of equality, brilliant yellow, adorned with discs of light, luminous and clear, unbearable to the eyes, will come towards you from the heart of Ratnasambhava and his consort and pierce your heart so that your eyes cannot bear to look at it." (p. 68) "The red light of the skandha of perception in its basic purity, the wisdom of discrimination, brilliant red, adorned with discs of light, luminous and clear, sharp and bright, will come from the heart of Amitābha and his consort and pierce your heart so that your eyes cannot bear to look at it. Do not be afraid of it." (p. 70) "The green light of the skandha of concept [samskara] in its basic purity, the action-accomplishing wisdom, brilliant green, luminous and clear, sharp and terrifying, adorned with discs of light, will come from the heart of Amoghasiddhi and his consort and pierce your heart so that your eyes cannot bear to look at it. Do not be afraid of it. It is the spontaneous play of your own mind, so rest in the supreme state free from activity and care, in which there is no near or far, love or hate." (p. 73) References in Buddhist literature The table below briefly cites Buddhist primary sources that characterize different aspects of the aggregates. This table is by no means exhaustive. Table 1. Some references to the aggregates in Buddhist primary sources. (Abbreviations: MN = Majjhima Nikaya; SN = Samyutta Nikaya; Vism = Visuddhimagga.) aggregate description source rūpa It is the four Great Elements (mahābhūta) — earth, water, fire, wind — and their derivatives. SN 22.56 It is afflicted with cold, heat, hunger, thirst, flies, mosquitoes, wind, sun, reptiles. SN 22.79 The cause, the condition and the delineation are the four Great Elements. MN 109 There are 24 kinds of "derived" forms (upādāya rūpam). Vism XIV.36ff vedanā It is feeling born of contact (phassa) with eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind. SN 22.56 It feels pleasure, pain, neither-pleasure-nor-pain. SN 22.79 The cause, the condition and the delineation are contact (phassa). 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). MN 109 Functions to make a "sign" for perceiving in the future that "this is the same." Vism XIV.130 sankhāra It is volition regarding form, sound, smell, taste, tactile sensation, mental phenomena. SN 22.56 It constructs contructed forms, feelings, perceptions, volitional formation, consciousness. SN 22.79 The cause, the condition and the delineation are contact (phassa). 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. SN 22.79 The cause, the condition and the delineation are name-and-form (nāmarūpa). MN 109 There are 89 kinds of consciousness. Vism XIV.82ff References ISBN links support NWE through referral fees Notes Bibliography Bodhi, Bhikkhu (ed.) (2000a). A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma: The Abhidhammattha Sangaha of Ācariya Anuruddha. Seattle, WA: BPS Pariyatti Editions. ISBN 1-928706-02-9. Bodhi, Bhikkhu (trans.) (2000b). The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya. Boston: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-331-1. Bodhi, Bhikkhu (ed.) (2005). In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pāli Canon.Boston: Wisdom Pubs. ISBN 0-86171-491-1. Buddhaghosa, Bhadantācariya (trans. from Pāli by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli) (1999). The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga. Seattle, WA: BPS Pariyatti Editions. ISBN 1-928706-00-2. Fremantle, Francesca & Trungpa, Chõgyam (2003). The Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Great Liberation Through Hearing in the Bardo. Boston: Shambhala Publications. ISBN 1-59030-059-9. Ñāṇamoli, Bhikkhu (trans.) (1998). Mindfulness of Breathing (Ānāpānasati): Buddhist texts from the Pāli Canon and Extracts from the Pāli Commentaries. Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society. ISBN 955-24-0167-4. Ñāṇamoli, Bhikkhu (trans.) & Bodhi, Bhikkhu (ed.) (2001). The Middle-Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikāya. Boston: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-072-X. Nhât Hanh, Thich (1988). The Heart of Understanding: Commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra. Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press. ISBN 0-938077-11-2. Nhât Hanh, Thich (1999). The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching. NY: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-0369-2. Nyanaponika Thera (trans.) (1998). Sallatha Sutta: The Dart. Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn36/sn36.006.nypo.html. Nyanasatta Thera (trans.) (1994). Satipatthana Sutta: The Foundations of Mindfulness. Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.010.nysa.html. Piyadassi Thera (trans.) (1999). Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta: Setting in Motion the Wheel of Truth. Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn56/sn56.011.piya.html. Rawson, Philip (1991). Sacred Tibet. London, Thames and Hudson Ltd. Red Pine (2004). The Heart Sutra. Emeryville, CA: Shoemaker & Hoard. ISBN 1-59376-009-4. Soma Thera (trans.) (2003). The Way of Mindfulness. Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society. ISBN 955-24-0256-5. Suzuki, Daisetz Teitaro (1960). Manual of Zen Buddhism. NY: Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-3065-8. Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997a). Nagara Sutta: The City. Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.065.than.html. Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997b). Parivatta Sutta: The (Fourfold) Round [SN 22.56]. Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.056.than.html. Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997c). Sallatha Sutta: The Arrow [SN 36.6]. Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn36/sn36.006.than.html. Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1998). Culavedalla Sutta: The Shorter Set of Questions-and-Answers" [MN 44]. Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.044.than.html. Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2001a). Khajjaniya Sutta: Chewed Up [SN 22.79]. Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.079.than.html. Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2001b). Maha-punnama Sutta: The Great Full-moon Night Discourse [MN 109]. Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.109.than.html. Thanissaro Bhikkhu (2002). Five Piles of Bricks: The Khandhas as Burden & Path. Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/khandha.html. Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2005). Maha-dukkhakkhandha Sutta: The Great Mass of Stress [MN 13]. Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.013.than.html. Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2006). Anapanasati Sutta: Mindfulness of Breathing [MN 118]. Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.118.than.html. Trungpa, Chögyam (1976). The Myth of Freedom and the Way of Meditation. Boulder: Shambhala. ISBN 0-87773-084-9. Trungpa, Chögyam (1999). The Essential Chögyam Trungpa. Boston: Shambhala. ISBN 1-57062-466-6. Trungpa, Chögyam (2001). Glimpses of Abhidharma. Boston: Shambhala. ISBN 1-57062-764-9. Trungpa, Chögyam (2002). Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism. Boston: Shambhala. ISBN 1-57062-957-9. External links Theravada: Khandavagga suttas (a selection), translated primarily by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Mahayana: The Five Aggregates (Skandhas), article about the five skandhas, by Charles Patton. The Five Skandhas, table showing the five skandhas, prepared by Alan Fox (Dept. of Philosophy, U. of Delaware). Tantric: A View on Buddhism: Mind and Mental Factors, web page including description of the Five Aggregates. Credits New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. 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