The Analysis of Five Aggregates (pancakkhandha)

The idea of soul is properly to be born in a mind of anybody as a wrong view if he has not realized the causality. That depends on five aggregates namely experience of the physical world, experience of feeling, experience of formation, experience of perception accordingly, making decision on the mundane existence based on understanding and consciousness developed thereby. The soul develops on five aggregates for the experience of existence is received by the being in the five states. With related to five aggregates the person sees, experiences and experincer. By that he develops the soul view. 

“Yehi koci bhikkhave samaNA vA brahmaNA vA anekavihitaM attAnaM samanupassmAnA samanupassanti sabbe te paJcUpAdanakkhandhe samanupassanti etesaM vA aJJataraM”

=O monks! Those recluses and Brahmins, who hold the various forms of soul, do so related to five aggregates or related to one of them.

(ßamanupassanAsutta, SN)

There to the being to the knowledge of reality the Buddha teaches the analysis of five aggregates (PaJcakkhandha vibhaAga). Any wrong view that we perceived with hold can be dispelled when the whole is analyzed constituent parts. The five aggregates are:

1.  ®Upakkhandha

2.  VedanAkkhandha

3.   SaJJAkkhandha

4.  ßaMkhArakkhandha

5.  ViJJAnakkhandha      

Lectured on 02.01.2006

When we look at these forms they appear to be profound terms of philosophical significance. Yet they represent aspects of human life which we can observe in our day today life. In the KhajjanIyasutta of SN the five aggregates are analyzed with definition as follows.

1.  ®uppatI’ti kho bikkhave tasmA rUpanti vuccati.

= O monks! That which changes due to outer causes is called form 

The analytical aspect of personality changes in many ways due to outer causes. From early childhood of human being we identify such changes as growth. For growing of a person nutriments are necessary. We received these nutriments through food, water, air and medicine. Due to them the process of them rakes place. This is the change outer causes.

2.  VedayitI’ti kho bhikkhave tasmA vedayiti vuccati

= O monks! The process of feeling as happy, unhappy and neutral is called feeling. 

Beings feel through five sense doors. Feeling through eye is called sight or vision. The feeling through ear is called sound. The feeling through nose is called odors or smell. The feeling through tongue is called taste and feeling through body is called contact. Although beings feel sensory experiences in different ways the experience is called feeling is common to all. It is because of feeling we are encouraged to find the data of sensory experience to satisfy our thirst for feeling. This is called contact of food (phassahara) in Buddhist philosophy.

3.  ßaJjAnAtI’ti kho bhikkhave tasmA saJJati vuccati.

= O monks! Identification of objects is called perception.

Depending on feeling we develop perception (yam vedeti taM saJjAnAti). This process of identification depending on feelings is called perception.

4.  ßaMkhatamabhisantarontI’ti kho bhikkhave tasmA saMkhAro’ti

= O monks! The process of forming psychological formation is called formation.

When we get sense data in sensory experience they came to be edited within human mind. Such decision or mental formations are called samkhAra. In physical sense formations are habits; in psychological sense formations are decisions.

5.  VijAnAtI’ti kho bhikkhave tasmA viJJAnanti vuccati

= The deepest level of mindism which are vedanA,saJJA and saMkhAra depends is called consciousness.

This is the quiet long standing existence of mental function in the personality of the being. When we carefully observe this analysis of five aggregates, it becomes clear that it is nothing but on examination of human personality. When we observe with understanding it also becomes clear that the concept of person is nothing but the experience of five aggregates as.

·    This is mine (etam mama)

·    This am I (eso aham asmi)

·    This is my soul ( eso me attA)

Except the Buddha no any other religious philosopher has analyzed the personality of the individual like this. The Buddhist philosophy of impermanence is based on five aggregates.

This analysis of five aggregates further with an epistemological basis for Buddhist ethical to be mindful. The Buddhist practice aims at the realization of liberation (nibbAna). ñibbAna means the given up of all fetters that produce rebirth and thereby ceasing the cycle of existence. A person genuinely enters this path of liberation with determination, when he realizes that these five aggregates are not to be taken as essenceful.

One who enters the order first realizes the impermanency of five aggregates. He decided it with his intelligence (saddhahati adhimuccati), such a person is called saddhAnusAri. Then when he develops his mind with insight (vipassanA bhAvanA) he begins to experience the impermanence slightly with wisdom. This person is called dhamminusAri when the insight on five aggregates comes to be realized more and he is to see the reality as it is (yathAbhUtaM sammapaJJA daTThabbaM). When he is seeing so that learnt (well understood) disciple (sutavA ariyasAvako) gets discuss I five aggregates (nibbindati) with that he does not attach (virajjati) with detachment he get freedom (virAgA vimuccati), when he is free he receives the knowledge as “I am free” (vimuttasmim vimuttamIti nAnaM hoti). The Buddhist practice proceeds towards its aim with the knowledge of insight. The only subject is that insight is the five aggregates. With realization of five aggregates with the insight the concept of soul disappears and the idea of soullessness or the reality as it is developed with this, there occurs the alliteration of the first fetter. That is the belief in self and in a self (sakkAyadiTThi kAya) means five aggregates. Sat means taking the five aggregates as eternal. Here the soul view related to the form completely disappears. The five skkAyadiTThi is twenty fold.

Lectured on 05.01.2006

The twenty-fold soul views are born with related to the five aggregates. They are as follows

1.   rUpo attA

2.   rUpi mayaM attA

3.   rUpasmi attA

4.   attasmi rUpaM

5.   vedanA attA

6.   vedanAmayaM attA

7.   vedanAyaM attA

8.   attasmi vedanA

9.   saJJA attA

10. saJJAyA mayaM attA

11. saJJAyaM attA

12. attasmi saJJA

13. saMkhAro attA

14. saMkhAra mayaM attA

15. saMkhArasmi attA

16. attasmi saMkhAraM

17. viJJAnA attA

18. viJJAna mayaM attA

19. viJJAnasmi attA

20. attasmi viJJAnaM

The eradication of soul view occurs at the stage of sotApanna which leads the individual directly to ñibbAna there from. This indicates the relationship of analysis of the five aggregates to the path of purity. In the ßIlasutta of SN it is further says that Venerable ßAriputta explains to venerable MahAkoTThita that even for the realization of others four steps that are sakadAgAmi, anAgAmi and arahant. Insight should be developed with related to the five aggregates considering them as impermanence, unsatisfactory and soulless. For the practice of the insight (vipassanA or vidarsanA) completely a clear knowledge on five aggregates is necessary. The analysis of five aggregates is one significant factor which makes Buddhism different from other India religions in particular from all other religions in common.

The Buddhist analysis of grasping of five aggregates (paJcUpAdAnakkhandha) gives the necessary wisdom (paJJA sampatti) for liberation and they are significant in moral and physical sense. A person gets full established in the path of ñibbAna firmly attainment stream entry (sotApanna). The SotApannasutta of SN explains how the person who attains this ate understands the nature of five aggregates.

 “Yato kho bhikkhave ariyasAvako imesaM paJcannaM upAdAnakkhandhAnaM samudayaJca, atthaGgamaJca, assAdaJca, AdinavaJca, nissaraNaJca yathAbhUtaM pajAnAti.  ayaM vuccati bhikkhave ariyasAvako sotApanno avinipAtadhammo nAyato sambodhparAyAno”

=O monks! From which the noble disciples see arising, ceasing good reflection, ill-reflection and renunciation of this five aggregates of grasping, this is called O monk! The noble disciples, the stream enterer, one who has the nature of not falling back into samsara and one who is definitely destined to the full enlightenment.  

This shows the significance of Buddhist analysis of five aggregates in Buddhist philosophy and in Buddhist path of practice.