Difference between revisions of "Skandha" - New World Encyclopedia
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==Theravada and Mahayana perspectives== | ==Theravada and Mahayana perspectives== | ||
− | In Theravada Buddhism, the [[Pāli Canon]] bears out the importance of the doctrine of the ''skandhas'' | + | In [[Theravada]] Buddhism, the [[Pāli Canon]] bears out the importance of the doctrine of the ''skandhas.'' In regards to how [[Theravada]] practitioners view the aggregates, Thanissaro Bhikkhu (2002) argues: |
− | <blockquote>"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?"</blockquote> | + | <blockquote>"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?"</blockquote> |
− | 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. It is through the five skandhas that clinging ''(upadana)'' occurs.<ref>''Samadhi Sutta'' (SN 22:5).[http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.005.than.html]</ref> | + | |
+ | 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. It is through the five skandhas that clinging ''(upadana)'' occurs.<ref>''Samadhi Sutta'' (SN 22:5).[http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.005.than.html]. </ref> | ||
Additionally, 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: | Additionally, 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: | ||
− | <blockquote>"…The 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."<ref>Trans. by Bodhi, 2000b, | + | <blockquote>"…The 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."<ref>Trans. by Bodhi, 2000b, 865-866.</ref></blockquote> |
Many of the suttas in the Khandhavagga express the aggregates in the context of the following sequence: | Many of the suttas in the Khandhavagga express the aggregates in the context of the following sequence: | ||
− | #An uninstructed worldling (assutavā puthujjana) | + | #An uninstructed worldling ''(assutavā puthujjana)'' |
##''regards'' form ''as'' self; self as ''possessing'' form; form as ''in'' self; self as ''in'' form. | ##''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 | ##lives ''obsessed'' by the notions: I am form; and/or, form is mine | ||
##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> |
In contrast, [[Mahayana]] Buddhism emphasizes the intrinsic emptiness of all things including Skandhas. The classic "Prajnaparamita Hridaya Sutra" ("[[Heart Sutra]]") begins: | In contrast, [[Mahayana]] Buddhism emphasizes the intrinsic emptiness of all things including Skandhas. The classic "Prajnaparamita Hridaya Sutra" ("[[Heart Sutra]]") begins: | ||
Line 67: | Line 68: | ||
:''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 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 | + | 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> | ||
Revision as of 12:06, 19 October 2008
The Five Aggregates (pañca khandha) according to the Pali Canon. |
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Source: MN 109 (Thanissaro, 2001) | diagram details |
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 "compound, 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 (Madhyamika) tradition of Buddhism, ultimate freedom is said to be realized by deeply penetrating the intrinsically empty nature of all aggregates. These doctrinal developments arose out of Buddhist metaphysics, which denies the existence of any eternal soul (atman) outside of this aggregation.
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] In regards to these aggregates:
Traditional Buddhist literature (such as the Abhidhamma) speaks of one physical aggregate (form), three mental factors (sensation, perception and mental formations) and consciousness. Contemporary writers (such as Trungpa Rinpoche and Red Pine) sometimes conceptualize the five aggregates as "one physical and four mental" aggregates. (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,"[15], he mentions the role of the skandhas as follows:
According to Thanissaro (2002):
The Buddha taught that self-identifying with an aggregate would, by necessity, lead to clinging (upadana)[18] 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[19]). Conversely, it is said that 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. The way in which one becomes aware of one's own identification with (thus clinging to) the aggregates is found in Buddhist mindfulness practices that are said to awaken understanding, release and wisdom. Bhikkhu Bodhi (2000b, 840) states that an examination of the aggregates has a "critical role" in understanding the Buddha's teachings: The five aggregates are the "ultimate referent" in the Buddha's elaboration on suffering (dukkha). Thus, "since all four truths revolve around suffering, understanding the aggregates is essential for understanding the Four Noble Truths as a whole." Understanding the Nature of Release (nirvana) can only be achieved once an individual ceases clinging to the five aggregates. According to the Mahasunnata Sutta ("The Greater Discourse on Emptiness," MN 122):
Theravada and Mahayana perspectivesIn Theravada Buddhism, the Pāli Canon bears out the importance of the doctrine of the skandhas. In regards to how Theravada practitioners view the aggregates, Thanissaro Bhikkhu (2002) argues:
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. It is through the five skandhas that clinging (upadana) occurs.[21] Additionally, 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:
In contrast, Mahayana 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[32], 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." [33] 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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