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This sutta provides a succinct definition of the five khandhas. |
Pāḷi |
English |
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Kiñca, bhikkhave, rūpaṃ vadetha? 'Ruppatī·ti{1} kho, bhikkhave, tasmā 'rūpa·nti vuccati. Kena ruppati? Sītena-pi ruppati, uṇhena-pi ruppati, jighacchāya-pi ruppati, pipāsāya-pi ruppati, ḍaṃsa-makasa-vātātapa-sarīsapa-samphassena-pi ruppati. 'Ruppatī·ti kho, bhikkhave, tasmā 'rūpa·nti vuccati.
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And why, bhikkhus, do you call it 'Rūpa'? 'It is oppressed',{1} bhikkhus, that is why it is called 'Rūpa'. Oppressed by what? Oppressed by cold, oppressed by heat, oppressed by hunger, oppressed by thirst, oppressed by the contact with gadflies, mosquitoes, wind, sun and creeping things. 'It is oppressed', bhikkhus, that is why it is called 'Rūpa'.
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Kiñca, bhikkhave, vedanaṃ vadetha? 'Vedayatī·ti kho, bhikkhave, tasmā 'vedanā·ti vuccati. Kiñca vedayati? Sukham-pi vedayati, dukkham-pi vedayati, adukkham-asukham-pi vedayati. 'Vedayatī·ti kho, bhikkhave, tasmā 'vedanā·ti vuccati.
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And why, bhikkhus, do you call it 'Vedanā'? 'It feels', bhikkhus, that is why it is called 'Vedanā'. And what does it feel? It feels sukha, it feels dukkha, it feels adukkham-asukha. 'It feels', bhikkhus, that is why it is called 'Vedanā'.
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Kiñca, bhikkhave, saññaṃ vadetha? 'Sañjānātī·ti kho, bhikkhave, tasmā 'saññā·ti vuccati. Kiñca sañjānāti? Nīlam-pi sañjānāti, pītakam-pi sañjānāti, lohitakam-pi sañjānāti, odātam-pi sañjānāti. 'Sañjānātī·ti kho, bhikkhave, tasmā 'saññā·ti vuccati.
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And why, bhikkhus do you call it 'Saññā'? 'It recognizes', bhikkhus, that is why it is called 'Saññā'. And what does it recognize? It recognizes blue, it recognizes yellow, it recognizes red, it recognizes white. 'It recognizes', bhikkhus, that is why it is called 'Saññā'.
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Kiñca, bhikkhave, saṅkhāre vadetha? 'Saṅkhatam-abhisaṅkharontī·ti kho, bhikkhave, tasmā 'saṅkhārā·ti vuccati. Kiñca saṅkhatam-abhisaṅkharonti? Rūpaṃ rūpattāya saṅkhatam-abhisaṅkharonti, vedanaṃ vedanattāya saṅkhatam-abhisaṅkharonti, saññaṃ saññattāya saṅkhatam-abhisaṅkharonti, saṅkhāre saṅkhārattāya saṅkhatam-abhisaṅkharonti, viññāṇaṃ viññāṇattāya saṅkhatam-abhisaṅkharonti. 'Saṅkhatam-abhisaṅkharontī·ti kho, bhikkhave, tasmā 'saṅkhārā·ti vuccati.
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And why, bhikkhus, do you call them 'Saṅkhāras'? 'They fabricate fabricated things', bhikkhus, that is why they are called 'Saṅkhāras'. And which fabricated things do they fabricate? They fabricate Rūpa as a fabricated thing for the state of having form,{3} they fabricate Vedanā as a fabricated thing for the state of being sensitive, they fabricate Saññā as a fabricated thing for state of being perceptive, they fabricate Saṅkhāras as fabricated things for the state of being fabricated, they fabricate Viññāṇa as a fabricated thing for the state of being conscious. 'They fabricate fabricated things', bhikkhus, that is why they are called 'Saṅkhāras'.
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Kiñca, bhikkhave, viññāṇaṃ vadetha? 'Vijānātī·ti kho, bhikkhave, tasmā 'viññāṇa·nti vuccati. Kiñca vijānāti? Ambilam-pi vijānāti, tittakam-pi vijānāti, kaṭukam-pi vijānāti, madhuram-pi vijānāti, khārikam-pi vijānāti, akhārikam-pi vijānāti, loṇikam-pi vijānāti, aloṇikam-pi vijānāti. 'Vijānātī·ti kho, bhikkhave, tasmā 'viññāṇa·nti vuccati.
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And why, bhikkhus do you call it 'Viññāṇa'? 'It cognizes', bhikkhus, that is why it is called 'Viññāṇa'. And what does it cognize? It cognizes sour, it cognizes bitter, it cognizes pungent, it cognizes sweet, it cognizes alkaline, it cognizes non-alkaline, it cognizes salty, it cognizes bland.{2} 'It cognizes', bhikkhus, that is why it is called 'Viññāṇa'.
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 Notes1. oppressed: ruppati. Each of the five khandhas' name in this sutta is derived from a verb. Here, it seems the derivation is not strictly etymological, which gives to the explanation a subtly humoristic connotation. 2. it cognizes sour... bland: this definition of Viññāṇa is somewhat similar to that of Saññā. It might be helpful to consider that in this case, Saññā would rather recognize the taste of rice or apple while Viññāṇa would simply cognize the 'raw materials' on the basis of which the former would perform its recognition, with the support of what has been learnt from past experience. 3. They fabricate Rūpa as a fabricated thing for the state of having form: Rūpaṃ rūpattāya saṅkhatam-abhisaṅkharonti Bhikkhu Bodhi translates: 'They construct conditioned form as form'. Thanissaro Bhikkhu: 'For the sake of form-ness, they fabricate form as a fabricated thing.' with the support of Thanissaro Bhikkhu's translation and Connected Discourses of the Buddha by Bhikkhu Bodhi. ———oOo——— Published as a gift of Dhamma, to be distributed free of charge. Any copies or derivatives of this work must cite their original source. |