Skandha

Lore & Background

The five aggregates are form (rūpa), sensations (vedanā), perceptions (saṃjñā), mental formations (saṃskāra), and consciousness (vijñāna). In classical Buddhist doctrine, dukkha arises when one identifies with or clings to the aggregates, and suffering is extinguished by relinquishing attachments to them. All Buddhist traditions hold that the aggregates do not constitute a 'self'. The term appears in Vedic literature, and the Pali equivalent khandha appears extensively in the Pali canon. The Buddha teaches in the Pali Canon the five aggregates as matter, sensory experience, recognition, constructing activities, and discernment. The 14th Dalai Lama subscribes to the interpretation that the aggregates explain a sentient being's person and personality.

Reader's Guide

The skandha doctrine is a form of anti-realism about everyday reality including persons, presenting an alternative to substantialist views of the self. It asserts that everything perceived, each person and personality, is an 'aggregate, heap' of composite entities without essence. The five aggregates give rise to a sense of personality but are dukkha, impermanent, and without an enduring self or essence. Each aggregate is an object of grasping, at the root of self-identification as 'I, me, myself'. Realizing the real nature of skandhas, both in terms of impermanence and non-self, is necessary for nirvana. This 'emptiness from personality' can be found in descriptions of the enlightened, perfected state of Arhat and Tathagata. The use of the skandhas concept to explain the self is unique to Buddhism among major Indian religions and responds to Sarvastivada teachings. In some early Buddhist texts, the individual is considered unreal but the skandha are considered real; however, the skandha too are considered unreal and nonsubstantial in numerous other Buddhist Nikaya and Āgama texts.

Did You Know?

• The five aggregates are also called the five heaps of clinging (Pañcupādānakkhandhā).
• The 14th Dalai Lama subscribes to the interpretation that the aggregates explain a sentient being's person and personality.
• In Mahayana philosophy, the aggregates are expressed as being empty of intrinsic, independent existence.
• The Pali equivalent word khandha appears extensively in the Pali canon.