An introduction to Panca Khandha (Five Aggregates)

1. Panca Khandha
(Five
Aggregates)

2. Five Aggregates - Panca
Khandha
The Buddha taught that the human
being is made up of five
aggregates (Panca Khandha) -
Nama (feeling; perception; mental
formations; consciousness)
and
Rupa (matter)

3. Five Aggregates - Panca
Khandha
Human
Matter (Rupa) Mind (Nama)
Element Of Extension Sensation or Feeling C
e
(Earth) Pathavi Vedana t
a
Element Of Cohesion s
Perception Sanna
(Water) Apo i
k
a
Element Of Heat (Heat) Mental Formations
Tejo Sankhara
C
Element Of Motion (Wind) i
Consciousness Vinnana
Vayo t
t
a

4. Nama (Mind)
Citta Cetasikas
Consciousness (Vinnana) 50 cetasikas
The mind is made up of two components – Citta & Cetasikas.
The function of the Citta (or Consciousness) is to be aware of the
external or mental object.
The Cetasikas ‘add’ meaning into the object. It is the cetasikas
that ‘colour’ our mind and give meaning to the object. Wholesome
states like compassion & equanimity are created by cetasikas.
Unwholesome states like hatred, greed, delusion are also created
by cetasikas too.

5. Nama (Mind)
Citta Cetasikas
Consciousness (Vinnana)
Sensation or Perception Mental
Feeling (Sanna) Formations
(Vedana) (Sankhara)
1 cetasika 1 cetasika 50 cetasikas
The cetasikas are in turn
classified into 3 Total – 52 cetasikas
Aggregates – Feeling;
Perception and Mental
Formations.

6. Mental Aggregate of Consciousness -
Vinnana
Consciousness does not recognise an object. It is only a sort of
awareness – awareness of the presence of an object.
In the above example, the physical object strikes the eyes. The eye
consciousness becomes aware that a colour object has struck the eyes. It
doesn’t know what the object is.
Or if a sound wave strikes the ears, the hearing consciousness becomes
aware than a sound strikes the ears. It doesn’t know what the sound is.

7. Mental Aggregate of Perception -
Sanna
It is perception that recognises objects whether
physical or mental.
A box of
jewels!!
Perception acts like a memory to us. In the above example, the mind
remembers from the shapes and colours of the objects that it is a Box of
Jewels.
If it is sound, the memory remembers that the sound is English or
Mandarin, etc and understands the sound.

8. Mental Aggregate of Sensation -
Vedana
These are all our sensations or feelings - pleasant or unpleasant
or neutral, experienced through the contact of physical and
mental organs with the external world.
What
precious
jewels!!
I am going
to be rich!!
Because of past memories, the mind immediately forms a feeling for the
object – either pleasant, unpleasant or neutral.
For example, if we don’t like noisy people and we meet a noisy person,
the ‘unpleasant’ feeling will arise immediately.

9. Mental Aggregate of Mental Formations -
Sankhara
In this group are included all volitional activities (both good
and bad) or kamma.
I must take
it. Nobody
is watching
me.. Greed
The last mental aggregate is the most important – it is here that kamma is
generated.
In the above example, the person is overcome by Greed because of the
pleasant feeling generated by Vedana. Or if he meets a noisy person, he
feels angry immediately because of the unpleasant feeling generated by
Vedana.

10. Mental Aggregate of Mental Formations -
Sankhara
The Sankhara group is made up of 50 types of mental formations.
Examples:
Delusion, ignorance, dullness Compassion
Greed, attachment, sensuous Sympathetic joy
desire
Understanding of things as they
Conceit, pride really are
Hatred, anger, aversion Worry, scruples, remorse
Envy, jealousy Wish, desire or will
Sceptical doubt, perplexity Etc, etc, etc.
Faith, confidence
These are basically your mental states –
Equanimity, mental balance
whether wholesome of unwholesome.
Right speech Wholesome states generate good kamma;
Right action unwholesome states generate bad kamma.

11. Consciousness (Citta)
At the blink of an eye, billions of consciousness
would have started and fallen away.
Each unit of consciousness consists of 3 instants (khana).
They are: Arising/genesis – uppada
Static/development – thiti
Cessation/dissolution - bhanga
Arising Static Cessation Arising Static Cessation

12. In the above example, at the split of a second, the eyes
are presented with an array and different shade of colours
– from the trees; stream, goat, bird, dog, butterfly, etc.
The objects keep changing every second – the animals
move; the water flows; the leaves sway, etc. Billions of
these light rays will be striking the eyes every moment.

13. At the same split of a second, the ears are presented with
an array and different tone of sounds – from the swaying
trees; stream, goat, bird, dog, etc. The sounds keep
changing every second too. Billions of these sound
waves will be striking the ears every moment.

14. The eye and ear consciousness are only aware of colour
and sound. They do not know what these objects are.

15. To know what these objects are, Vedana, Sanna and
Sankhara will have to come in and play their roles.
The person then recognises the river, trees, rock, goat, bird,
butterfly, dog, etc. He also recognises the sound and which
animals produce the sound. If he is a nature lover, he will
have a pleasant feeling being with nature and that will
generate wholesome states of mind.