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dhātu

A Dictionary of Buddhism | 2004 | | Copyright

dhātu (Skt.; Pāli).
1. The perceptual bases or elements, of which there are eighteen in all, consisting of three groups of six. These are the six sense-faculties, their six corresponding objects, and the six perceptual awarenesses, hence: eye, colour-form, sight awareness; ear, sound, aural awareness; nose, fragrance, olfactory awareness; tongue, flavour, gustatory awareness; body, touch, tactile awareness; and mind, phenomena (dharma), mental awareness. This form of analysis, designed to provide a comprehensive account of the elements present when perception occurs, is used in the Buddhist analysis of perception to show that all the elements involved in the process are impermanent, unsatisfactory, and without autonomous existence.

2. Term used in compounds such as dharma-dhātu, Buddha-dhātu, loka-dhātu in the sense of ‘source’ or ‘matrix’.

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DAMIEN KEOWN. "dhātu." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

DAMIEN KEOWN. "dhātu." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-dhtu.html

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Dhātu

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | 1997 | | Copyright

Dhātu (Skt., Pāli, ‘region, element’). A word occurring frequently as a component in longer Buddhist terms, e.g. as one of the three worlds or domains, kāmadhātu, rūpadhātu, arūpadhātu—see LOKA. In its own right, it refers to elements of many different kinds, e.g. the physical elements (earth, water, wind, fire), the eighteen elements of sentience and consciousness (eye, ear, nose, tongue, mental awareness, etc.), the six states of appearance (solid, liquid, temperature, moving, spatial, conscious or not), the remains of a body after cremation.

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JOHN BOWKER. "Dhātu." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN BOWKER. "Dhātu." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Dhtu.html

JOHN BOWKER. "Dhātu." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Dhtu.html

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