Understanding the Five Aggregates in Buddhism.

The five aggregates  constitute a human being: body or form, emotion, perception, mental form or thought process, and consciousness. The understanding of the five aggregates is not limited to scholars, almost any Buddhist can explain the aggregates in the same way. The five aggregates, proposed at the beginning of the period in the commentaries on early Buddhist scriptures, are now the foundation for the Mahayana Buddhist philosophy  .

The  Buddha's enlightenment showed him that death has no words that can be described. At the same time, he discovers that  the path to enlightenment  can be described, although it involves a new perspective and conceptualization of the problem of suffering and tension.

Because the old concept was a poor tool for teaching the path, he had to invent new concepts and expand the words that were available to include these concepts so others could understand.

One of the new concepts in the Buddha 's  teaching  is the Five Aggregates (The Skandhas: Five-Clinging Aggregates). In his first sermon, the Buddha gave a new meaning, the Five Aggregates, to summarize His analysis of the truth of tension and suffering.

Throughout the rest of his teaching career, the Buddha mentioned the five aggregates. Their importance in the  teachings of Buddhism  has been evident to all generations of Buddhists since.

What are the five aggregates?

The catechesis of the five aggregates provides a rational and comprehensive approach to understanding  the universal truth of non-self . In the book " Buddhist Summary, " it is concluded that self is a convenient term for a set of personal and spiritual experiences, such as emotions, ideas, habits, attitudes.

When we perceive a feeling, whatever it is, as soon as we perceive something, in reality, the five aggregates are moved. Whether we are thinking, talking, moving, experiencing pain, feeling itchy or neutral, then that is the five aggregates.

When we absorb into  meditation , the  five aggregates  will move. When we reach some state of consciousness, we often hear of the transcendental call. Any experience that we can do, in any field, in any form, where and whenever we do, these are still assemblies that are being operated.

Thus, there is nothing absolute beyond the five aggregates. This is the great discovery of the Buddha.

The five aggregates are:

1. Form (rúpa - rupa)
2. Feeling (feeling - vedana)
3. Perception (perception-sanna)
4. Spiritual formation (sankhara)
5. Consciousness (Consciousness - vinnana)

They are called the five aggregates when they work together to create a mental state. As  the  Heart Sutra says,  Bodhisattvas  use the wisdom of the Prajna to see the emptiness of the five aggregates.

Impermanence  is one of the characteristics of  emptiness , and the aggregates are also governed by the principle of impermanence. Therefore, each aggregate undergoes constant changes. Aggregates are not static things, they are dynamic processes.

By  understanding the five aggregates , we gain the wisdom of selflessness. The world we experience is not built upon or around the idea of ​​"self", but through processes without human beings.

By eliminating the idea of ​​self, we can look at happiness and suffering, praise and blame, all are calm. In this way, we will no longer have to suffer the imbalance of joy and fear again.

Five Factors of Human Creation

Formation (Rupa - Rupa)

Materialism consists of four basic attributes: solidity, liquidness, heat and motion. These attributes are not simply earth, water, fire and wind, in Buddhism there are many more.

Hardness is an extension factor. Because these objects occupy space, when we see an object it is expanding in space. Expansion factor is solid, as well as liquid.

When we see part of the water we are actually seeing solid. The hardness of the stone and the softness of the glue, the quality of the lightweight in everything is solid qualities. They are states of matter.

Circulation is a cohesive element, which holds matter particles together. The pressure in the liquid was so strong that they merged as soon as they were separated. When a solid is separated, the particles can not recombine unless they are converted to liquid.

This is done by increasing their temperature, such as when we are welding the metal. The object that we see is the extension or limited form, which can be achieved through cohesion.

The elements of heat help preserve the vitality of all sentient beings. When we say that a cold object means that the object's heat is less than our body heat. It is relative.

Motion is a factor of movement and is also relative. To determine whether an object is moving or not, we need a point that we consider fixed to be able to measure the motion. But because there is no permanent object in the universe,  stability is also part of the movement .

These principles always exist, resulting in other phenomena and qualities. We have five senses to recognize this aggregate: Eyes seen, ears to hear, nose to smell, tongue to taste, and body or skin feel when touched.

Feeling (Vedana)

Feelings can be pleasant, uncomfortable or neutral and they arise from contact. Contact like seeing something, hearing something ... creating ideas or thoughts, and we will have a sense of that idea or thought. Unable to prevent the sensation of arising.

Emotion varies from person to person. We do not always feel the same way about the same thing. Our emotions depend on our experience and how we process information. Not everyone treats the information in the same way, nor does it have the same conclusion. Our senses may change over time.

The Perception (Sanna)

This synthesis is called awareness or recognition of both matter and spirit through contact with the senses. When we are aware of an object or idea, our perception recognizes its distinction with other objects or ideas.

This distinction makes us familiar with the object or idea when we feel it in the future. Perception is the permission of the brain and they can deceive us, but they also change over time.

An interesting example of misconception, the farmer, after sowing seeds, set up a dummy to protect the seed from the birds; others passed by it as a person standing on it. his field. It is the illusion of perception, which can be very difficult to eradicate in the mind, but it can also change.

Spiritual formation (Sankhara)

This synthesis includes all the mental factors except sensation and cognition. These elements are called  concepts  (volitional). Contact with the senses creates the need to choose the action and action we choose depending on our thought process, which is the result of our personal experiences and development. we.

Consciousness (Consciousness - Vinnana)

This is the most important element of the five aggregates, because it is where the mental factors end. Without consciousness there can be no spiritual elements, they are interrelated, interdependent, and coexist.

Eyes and objects are physical elements, so they are not enough to create experiences. Only the co-presence of consciousness together with the eye and the new visual object creates experience.

The mind is not material, it is related to thoughts and ideas. Forms are only seen through the eye, not through the ears, but the hearing is not the task of the eye ... Thoughts and ideas belong to the mind. The senses can not think, they can not understand the idea, choose action and come to the conclusion.

Consciousness is created through the interaction of the senses. Thoughts and thoughts originate in the mind, in Buddhism is called consciousness. The five aggregates are not eternal , they change and they change as we experience life.

According to the teachings of Buddhism, man is a virtuous person with both positive and negative potential. We should choose good potential for nurturing, character, character and direction. It is the potential of every human being to attain perfect wisdom and complete enlightenment (see also  Buddha Tanh ). Buddhism teaches that each person is the architect for his destiny, and we will reap what we cultivate. END=NAM MO SAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=THICH CHAN TANH.THE MIND OF ENLIGHTENMENT.VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=GOLDEN LOTUS MONASTERY=AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.26/5/2018.