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skandha

A Dictionary of Buddhism | 2004 | | Copyright

skandha (Skt., heap; Pāli, khandha). One of the five ‘aggregates’ or components which collectively constitute the human individual. According to Buddhism, the human subject can be deconstructed into these five categories without remainder, and since the five make no reference to an eternal soul Buddhism is said to teach a doctrine of ‘no self’ (anātman). According to this, the common but falacious belief in an eternal soul is a case of mistaken identity whereby one or more of the skandhas is mistaken for a soul. The five skandhas are (i) form (rūpa); (ii) feelings (vedanā); (iii) perception (saṃjñā); (iv) volitional factors (saṃskāra); (v) consciousness (vijñāna). The five are known as the ‘aggregates of attachment’ (upādāna-skandha) because as the means to pleasurable experiences they are objects of desire or craving (tṛṣṇā). Each of the skandhas, like all compounded phenomena, bears the three marks (trilakṣaṇa) of impermanence (anitya), suffering (duḥkha), and no self (anātman). Enlightenment (bodhi) consists in realizing that the individual is in reality a process whereby the skandhas interact without any underlying soul or self.

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

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

DAMIEN KEOWN. "skandha." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-skandha.html

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Skandha

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

Skandha (Skt., ‘group’; Pāli, khandha). In Buddhism, the five aggregations which compose or constitute hụman appearance (nāma-rūpa): (i) rūpa, material composition; (ii) vedanā, sensing, including sensing through the sixth sense of mental impressions; (iii) saṃjña (Pāli, sañña), perception; (iv) saṃskāra (Pāli, sankhāra), mental formations producing character; (v) vijñāna (Pāli, viññāna), consciousness. They are constantly in the process of change, and do not constitute a self (anātman).

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

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

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

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