Five Khandas

This page will contain an extensive explanation of the 5 Khandas, which non Buddhists might relate to as the five sensory perceptions.

5 Khandas [Heaps, Aggregates]

1. ?rupa the physical form
2. vedana initial reactions to sensory input
3. ?sanyaa perception; identifying ability of the mind
4. sankhara mental formations (thoughts and emotions)
5. ?vinyaana consciousness

The Buddha presented a practical method for developing self-knowledge by means of;

1. Gaayaanupassana (observation of the physical body)
2. Vedananupassana (observation of the sensations)
3. Cidtaanupassanaa (observation of the mind)
4. (observation of the contents of the mind)

To explore the truth about ourselves, we must examine what we are: body and mind.
We must learn to observe these directly within ourselves. Accordingly, we must keep three points in mind:
1) The reality of the body may be
imagined by contemplation, but to experience it directly one must work with
vedanaa (body sensations) arising within it.
2) Similarly, the actual experience
of the mind is attained by working with the contents of the mind. Therefore,
in the same way as body and sensations cannot be experienced separately, the
mind cannot be observed apart from the contents of the mind.
3) Mind and matter are so closely inter-related that the contents of the mind always manifest themselves as
sensations in the body.
For this reason the Buddha said: Vedanaa-samosaranaa sabbe dhammaa.
Everything that arises in the mind flows together with sensations.
Therefore, observation of sensations offers a means – indeed the only means -
to examine the totality of our being, physical as well as mental.
Broadly speaking, the Buddha refers to five types of vedanaa:

5 Khandas – Ajarn Viradhammo

1. Sukhaa vedanaa – pleasant sensations

2. Dukkhaa vedanaa – unpleasant sensations

3. Somanassa vedanaa – pleasant mental feeling

4. Domanassa vedanaa – unpleasant mental feeling

5. Adukkhamasukhaa vedanaa – neither unpleasant nor pleasant sensations. In all references to vedanaa in the Satipatthaana Sutta the Buddha speaks of sukhaa vedanaa, dukkhaa vedanaa, i.e., the body sensations; or adukkhamasukhaa vedanaa, which in this context also clearly denotes neutral body sensations. The strong emphasis is on body sensations because they work as a direct avenue for the attainment of fruition (nibb?na) by means of “strong dependence condition” (upanissayapaccayena paccayo), i.e., the nearest dependent condition for our liberation.
This fact is succinctly highlighted in the Patthaana, the seventh text of Abhidhamma Pitaka under the Pakatuupanissaya, where it is stated: Kaayikang sukhang kaayikassa
sukhassa, kaayikassa dukkhassa, phalasamaapattiyaa upanissayapaccayena paccayo. Kaayikang dukkhang kaayikassa sukhassa, kaayikassa dukkhassa, phalasamaapattiyaa upanissayapaccayena paccayo.
Utu kaayikassa sukhassa, kaayikassa dukkhassa, phalasamaapattiyaa upanissayapaccayena paccayo.
Bhojana? kaayikassa sukhassa, kaayikassa dukkhassa, phalasamaapattiyaa upanissayapaccayena
paccayo. Senaasanang kaayikassa sukhassa, kaayikassa dukkhassa, phalasamaapattiyaa upanissayapaccayena paccayo.

Pleasant body sensation is related to pleasant sensation of the body, unpleasant sensation of the body, and attainment of fruition (nibbaana) by strong dependence condition. Unpleasant body sensation is related to pleasant sensation of the body, unpleasant sensation of the body, and attainment of fruition by strong dependence condition. The season (or surrounding environment) is related to pleasant sensation of the body, unpleasant sensation of the body, and attainment of fruition by strong dependence condition. Food is related to pleasant sensation of the body, unpleasant sensation of the body, and attainment of fruition by strong dependence condition. Lying down and sitting (i.e., the mattress and cushions, or the position of lying, sitting, etc.) is related to pleasant sensation of the body, unpleasant sensation of the body, and attainment of fruition by strong dependence condition.
From the above statement it is clear how important vedanaa, sensation, is on the path of liberation. The pleasant and unpleasant body sensations, the surrounding environment (utu), the food we eat (bhojanang), and the sleeping and sitting position, the mattress or cushions used, etc. (senaasanang) are all responsible for ongoing body sensations of one type or another. When the sensations are experienced properly, as the Buddha explained in Mahaasatipatthaana Sutta, these become the nearest dependent condition for our liberation. There are four dimensions to our nature: the body and its sensations, and the mind and its contents. These provide four avenues for the establishing of awareness in satipatthaana. In order that the observation be complete, we must experience every facet, which we can only do by means of vedanaa. This exploration of truth will remove the delusions we have about ourselves. In the same way, to come out of the delusion about the world outside, we must explore how the outside world interacts with our own mind-and-matter phenomenon, our own self. The outside world comes in contact with the individual only at the six sense doors: the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind. Since all these sense doors are contained in the body, every contact of the outside world is at the body level. The traditional spiritual teachers of India, before the Buddha, in his day and afterwards, expressed the view that craving causes suffering and that to remove suffering one must abstain from the objects of craving. This belief led to various practices of penance and extreme abstinence from external stimuli. In order to develop detachment, the Buddha took a different approach. Having learned to examine the depths of his own mind, he realized that between the external object and the mental reflex of craving is a missing link: vedanaa. Whenever we encounter an object through the five physical senses or the mind, a sensation arises; and based on the sensation, tanhaa (craving) arises.

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If the sensation is pleasant we crave to prolong it, if it is unpleasant we crave to be rid of it. It is in the chain of Dependent Origination (paticcasamuppada) that the Buddha expressed his profound discovery: Sanyaayatana-paccayaa phasso Phassa-paccayaa vedanaa Vedanaa-paccayaa taaahaa.