BUDDHISM – THE FIVE AGGREGATES

The Five Aggregates were among Buddha's central ideas.

The Five Aggregates describe our sensory apparatus. They are manifest form, sensation, perception or feeling, concepts (mental formations), and consciousness.

These days, the Five Aggregates are simple enough for a child to understand, but the ideas or words for such phenomenon didn't exist in Buddha's time. These days, we all know that there's an image which reflects on a retina and sends a signal to the brain. He had to describe it first, before he could explain how we could correct dukkha, and create sukkha in the system.

The idea behind the Aggregates is for example: 1. a visual object, 2. the light waves, 3. the contact with the eye, 4. the neurological signal, and 5. the recognition by the mind.

The words for phenomena like the aggregates didn't exist in those times, light and sound waves, and neurological signals were unheard of.

The present translations of Buddha's Aggregates stretch our understanding beyond common sense... into the realms of philosophy.

Even the word aggregates is not easy to understand, i think these days it would be considered as a process, maybe the modern word would be the components.

A fiurther confusion is that the aggregates are nearly always presented in the context of "the aggregates of clinging".

Pali Tipitaka, First Noble Truth
"And how, monks, in short, is clinging to the five aggregates suffering? It is as follows – clinging to the aggregate of matter is suffering, clinging to the aggregate of sensation is suffering, clinging to the aggregate of perception is suffering, clinging to the aggregate of reaction is suffering, clinging to the aggregate of consciousness is suffering. This, monks, in short, is called suffering because of clinging to these five aggregates."

'Clinging' severely limits their interpretation and their potential as a universal theory.

Clinging is an extremely advanced form of attachment and addiction. Dukkha refers to wheels not running smoothly. Even the smallest, first sign of repetition is a sign of Karma.

The Five Aggregates are Dukkha.

The Aggregates apply to all of our senses. These are, seeing, hearing, smell, taste, touch or body, and thought or mind (which is considered as a sixth sense). They describe how we experience the world.

The comnection between the aggregates and each of the six senses is absolutely central to Buddhism. The Second and Third Noble Truths show this clearly.

For example this, from the Pali Tipitaka, Second Noble Truth. Bold print is mine to enable speed reading. (All the translations in the references are almost identical.)

"The sensation arising from the eye-contact in the world [of mind and matter] is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The sensation arising from the ear-contact … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The sensation arising from the nose-contact … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The sensation arising from the tongue-contact … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The sensation arising from the body-contact … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The sensation arising from the mind-contact in the world [of mind and matter] is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established."

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