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The five skandhas (Sanskrit) or five khandhas (Pāli) are the five "aggregates" which constitute individual experience according to Buddhist phenomenology. Moreover, in Buddhism, a "person" is made up of the five skandhas, beyond which there is no "self."

Suffering arises when one identifies with or otherwise clings to an aggregate; hence, suffering is extinguished by relinquishing attachment to aggregates.

Outside of Buddhist contexts, "skandha" can mean heap, bundle or tree trunk.

Definition

Buddhist doctrine describes one physical and four mental skandhas, which conveys the relative experience of the world by an individual. The five skandhas are:

  1. "form" or "matter" (sa., pi. rūpa):
    includes both external and internal matter. Externally, rupa is the physical world. Internally, rupa includes the material body and the physical sense organs.See, for instance, Bodhi (2000b), p. 48.
  2. "sensation" or "feeling" (sa., pi. vedanā):
    sensing pleasant, unpleasant or neutral (neither-pleasant-nor-unpleasant). Generally considered not to include "emotions."
  3. "perception" or "cognition" (sa. samjñā, pi. saññā):
    registers whether sense data is recognized or not (for instance, the sound of a bell or the shape of a tree). From samyutta-ñana, conditioned knowledge. It is ordinarily conditioned by ones past sankhara, and therefore conveys a coloured image of reality. In the practice of vipassana, sañña is changed into pañña, the understanding of reality as it is. It becomes anicca-sañña, dukkha-sañña, anatta-sañña, asubha-sañña--that is, the perception of impermanence, suffering, egolessness, and of the illusory nature of physical beauty.
  4. "mental formations" or "volition" (sa. samskāra, pi. sankhāra) :
    all types of mental habits, thoughts, ideas, opinions, compulsions, and decisions that arose after having samjñā. Samskāras are the source of karma.
  5. "consciousness" (sa. vijñāna, pi. viññāṇaAccording to the Visuddhimagga XIV.82, the Pali terms viññāṇa, citta and mano are synonymous (Buddhaghosa, 1999, p. 453).):
    conscious base that support all experience. (ie not asleep, knocked out or unconscious). Alternately, the Abhidhamma envisions consciousness as series of rapildy interconnected discrete acts of cognizance.Bodhi (2000a), p. 29.

See Table 1 for examples of definitional references to the aggregates in Buddhist primary sources.

The aggregates are causally relatedWhile some non-Nikaya Buddhist references might appear to give the impression that the aggregates are related in a linear causal chain from rupa through the nama aggregates to vinnana (see, for instance, Fremantle & Trungpa, 2003, pp. xix-xx), a close reading of these texts reveals that they actually support the model presented in this article or at least do not contradict it. as follows:

  • The four "Great Elements" (mahābhūta: earth, wind, fire and water) give rise to form (rūpa).

  • Through the contact (phassa) of an external object, a sense organ and consciousness (viññāṇa),Contact (phassa) is the convergence of an internal sense faculty (such as the ear), an external object (such as a sound) and the related consciousness (such as "ear-consciousness"). 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. form (rūpa) gives rise to the three "name" (nāma) aggregates of feeling, perception and mental formation.

  • "Name-and-form"Bodhi (2000b), pp. 47-48, states Ñāṇamoli translated nāmarūpa as "mentality-materiality," which Bodhi assesses to be "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)." (nāmarūpa) have a mutually dependent relationship with consciousness (viññāṇa).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) *rom name-&-form as a requisite condition comes consciousness, from consciousness as a requisite condition comes name-&-form."


This can be represented figuratively as:

consciousness
consciousness

form

feeling
perception
formation

consciousness
consciousness

Theravada perspectives

Bhikkhu Bodhi (2000b, p. 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."
  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 must be removed from the five aggregates in order to achieve release.

Below, excerpts from the Pāli literature will bear out Bhikkhu Bodhi's assessment.In regards to how Theravada practioners view the aggregates, Bodhi (2000b, p. 840) cautions:

"*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.... For the Buddha, investigation into the nature of personal existence always remains subordinate to the liberative thrust of the Dhamma...."

Likewise, Thanissaro Bhikkhu (2002) underlines:

"The 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.

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 *), 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." added. (Trans. from the Pali by Piyadassi Thera, 1999 *.)

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."*

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. Typical of these suttas is the "Upadaparitassana Sutta" ("Agitation through Clinging Discourse," SN 22:7), which states in part:

"...instructed noble disciple ... does not regard form *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) 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). 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).

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.
    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 forumla is used, subsequent verses replace "form" with each of the other aggregates: sensation, perception, volition 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 and fantasies.

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 SuttaOn-line translations of the Sallatha Sutta ("The Arrow" or "The Dart," SN 36.6) include Thanissaro (1997c) and Nyanaponika (1998).).

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.For a more body-specific meditation method for developing detachment from bodily forms, see Patikulamanasikara.

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.Unlike the Satipatthana Sutta, the classic Anapanasati Sutta ("Mindfulness of Breathing Discourse," MN 118) does not directly reference the aggregates. 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.' 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.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out focusing on inconstancy.'" (Thanissaro, trans., 2006.)

In regards to this instruction, the Visuddhimagga (Buddhaghosa, 1999, pp. 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...." added.

Impermanence (anicca) is a characteristic common to all aggregates. This impermanence will lead to suffering (dukkha) if we identify with the aggregate. To avoid such suffering, the suttas instruct us to see the aggregates as the selfless (anatta) objects they are.

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). 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.'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.

"...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 empty notions of 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 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 form [in the following manner: 'Let my form be thus; let my form not be thus....' statements are made regarding feeling, perception, volitional formations and consciousness.

"...Seeing thus instance, through contemplation, monks, the instructed noble disciple becomes disenchanted with form the other aggregates.... Being disenchanted, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion mind is liberated." (Bodhi, 2005, pp. 341-2.)

As seen below, the Mahayana tradition continues this use of the aggregates to achieve self-liberation, first by asserting that "form is emptiness" (which is akin to "form is nonself") and then turning it back on itself with "emptiness is form."

Mahayana perspectives

Emptiness' Equivalence

The Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra contains an extended elucidation on the emptiness of the five aggregates. In this sutra, Avalokitesvara pithily declares:

"Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. The same applies to sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness."

We can see in sutra form, an expounding of the Buddha's doctrine of Anatman (No-self, No-I). Here the doctrine of the Five Skandha supports the concept of Anatman. For if there is "No-self", "No-I", then what experiences? The answer lies in the five skandha.

The Truth of our Insubstantiality

According to Chogyam Trungpa (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)

Appendices

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.Bodhi, 2000b, pp. 841, 914-5; Buddhaghosa, 1999, pp. 443-64; Thanissaro, 1997b, 2001a & 2001b.
(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 22.56Available on-line at Thanissaro (1997b).
It is afflicted with cold, heat, hunger, thirst, flies, mosquitoes, wind, sun, reptiles.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). SN 22.79Available on-line at Thanissaro (2001a).
The cause, the condition and the delineation are the four Great Elements.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. MN 109Available on-line at Thanissaro (2001b).
There are 24 kinds of "derived" forms (upādāya rūpam).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
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.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). SN 22.79
The cause, the condition and the delineation are name-and-form (nāmarūpa).Consistent with MN 109's distinguishing between vinnāna and nāmarūpa, Bodhi (2000b, p. 48; also see Bodhi, 2005, 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...).... *n the Nikāyas, nāmarūpa does not include consciousness (vinnāna). Consciousness is its condition, and the two are mutually dependent...." MN 109
There are 89 kinds of consciousness.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). Vism XIV.82ff

Relation to other Buddhist concepts

Other fundamental Buddhist concepts associated with the five skandhas include:

  • Samsara: It is through the five skandhas that the world (samsara) is experienced, and nothing is experienced apart from the five skandhas.

  • Twelve Nidanas / Dependent Origination: It is through the five skandhas that clinging (upadana) occurs,For instance, see the Samadhi Sutta (SN 22:5).* a pivotal link in the endless chain of suffering.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."

  • Eighteen DhatusThe 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). : The eighteen dhatus function through the five skandha. The dhatus make up the triads of: sense organ, sense object and sense consciousness.

References

See also

Notes

Bibliography

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