If Buddhism denies a permanent self, how does it perceive identity? According to Buddhist texts, the entire universe, including the individual, is made up of different phenomena, which Buddhism classifies into different categories: what we conventionally call a “person” can be understood in terms of five aggregates, the sum of which must not be taken for a permanent entity, since beings are nothing but an amalgam of ever-changing phenomena. Although the aggregates are only a “convenient fiction,” the Buddha nevertheless made frequent use of the aggregate scheme when asked to explain the elements at work in the individual.
In this study Mathieu Boisvert presents a detailed analysis of the five aggregates (pañcakkhandhā) and establishes how the Therav<-a>da tradition views their interaction. He clarifies the fundamentals of Buddhist psychology by providing a rigorous examination of the nature and interrelation of each of the aggregates and by establishing, for the first time, how the function of each of these aggregates chains beings to the cycle of birth, death and rebirth — the theory of dependent origination (paticcasamuppāda). Boisvert contends that without a thorough understanding of the five aggregates, we cannot grasp the liberation process at work within the individual, who is, after all, simply an amalgam of the five aggregates.
The Five Aggregates represents an important and original contribution to Buddhist studies and will be of great interest to all scholars and students of Buddhism.
Authors
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references: p. 155-162
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 294.3/91
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 20
- General Note
- Includes index Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- ISBN
- 9780889208780 0889202575
- LCCN
- BQ7235
- LCCN Item number
- B64 1995eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaBNVSL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (xii, 166 p.)
- Published in
- Canada
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)jme00326944 (OCoLC)180704499 (CaOOCEL)402645
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaBNVSL
Table of Contents
- Table of Contents 4
- List of Tables 6
- Acknowledgements 8
- Foreword 10
- Abbreviations 12
- Introduction 14
- 1 The Concept of Khandha 28
- Etymology of the Term Khandha 29
- The Five Aggregates and the Dhammacakkappavattanasutta 30
- Pañcakkhandhā and Pañcupādānakkhandhā 33
- 2 The Rupakkhandha 44
- The Four Primary Material Elements (Mahādbhuta) 47
- The Secondary Material Elements (Upādārupa) 50
- The Three Divisions of Matter 53
- Further Classifications of Matter 56
- Implications of the Previous Classifications 59
- Correlation between the Rupakkhandha and the Paticcasamuppāda 61
- 3 The Vedanākkhandha 64
- The Eradication of Vedanā 66
- The State of Saññāvedayitanirodha 70
- The State of Vedanākkhaya 82
- Vedanā as Bifurcation Point 84
- Wholesome and Unwholesome Vedanā 86
- 4 The Saññākkhandha 90
- Unwholesome Saññā 92
- Wholesome Saññā 97
- Wholesome Saññā and the Saññākkhandha 99
- Correlation between Saññā and the Paticcasamuppāda 100
- 5 The Sankhārakkhandha 104
- Polysemy of the Term Sankhāra 104
- Sankhāra as Sankhata 106
- Sankhāra as Paccaya 108
- Sankhāra Used in the Compound Āyusankhāra 111
- Sankhāra Used in the Compounds Asankhāra and Sasankhāra 112
- General Meaning of the Term Sankhāra 115
- The Sankhārakkhandha 118
- Correlation between the Sankhārakkhandha and the Paticcasamuppāda 122
- 6 The Viññānakkhandha 126
- The Function of Viññāna 129
- Viññāna and Mano 132
- Viññāna as Rebirth and Death Consciousness 136
- Correlation between Viññāna and the Paticcasamuppāda 137
- 7 Interrelation of the Aggregates 140
- The Position of Viññāna in the Enumeration of the Pañcakkhandhā 141
- Correlation between Four Aggregates and the Paticcasamuppāda 143
- Inclusion of Saññā in the Paticcasamuppāda Formula 149
- Vipassanā and the Pañcakkhandhā 155
- Conclusion 160
- Glossary 164
- A 164
- B 164
- C 164
- D 164
- G 165
- H 165
- I 165
- J 165
- K 165
- L 165
- M 165
- N 165
- O 165
- P 165
- R 166
- S 166
- T 166
- U 166
- V 167
- Bibliography 168
- Index 176
- A 176
- B 176
- C 176
- D 176
- E 177
- F 177
- G 177
- H 177
- I 177
- K 177
- L 177
- M 177
- N 177
- O 178
- P 178
- R 178
- S 178
- T 178
- U 179
- V 179
- W 179
