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Khandha, Pañc'Upādānakkhandhā

The Heap, Pile.
The Five Fueled Stockpiles,
The Five Factors of Existance, The Five Grasping Groups, Five Aggregates

References:

The Pāḷi Line: Gradual Course: The Fifth Lesson
Puremind Press: Awakening Meditation, M. Punnaji, pp.7-16
[DN 33]
Sangiti Suttanta in Pāḷi
PTS: Dialogs of the Buddha III, #33: The Recital, T.W. and C.A.F. Rhys Davids, trans., pp201
WP: The Long Discourses of the Buddha, #33: The Chanting Together, M. Walshe, trans., pp479
[DN 22]
PTS: Dialogs of the BuddhaThe Setting Up of Mindfulness
ATI: Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Frames of Reference
[MN 10]
PTS: The Middle Length Sayings, I, #10: Applications of Mindfulness, Horner, trans., pp78
WP: The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, #10: The Foundations of Mindfulness, Bhikkhu Nanamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi, trans., pp152
Soma Thera, ATI: The Discourse on the Arousing of Mindfulness
[AN 10.27]
PTS: The Book of the Gradual Sayings, V: The Book of the Tens, The Great Chapter, The Great Questions, Woodward, trans., pp36ff

 


 

Pañc'Upādāna Kkhandhā
Pāḷi MO Hare Horner Punnaji Bodhi Nanamoli Rhys Davids (Mrs) Rhys Davids Thanissaro Walshe Woodward Soma Thera
Khandha
Pañc' Upādānakkhandhā
The Stockpiles
The Five Fueled Stockpiles
the five kandhas of attachment The Five Groups of Grasping The Five Aggregates, five fold personalized aggrigates, self in the world The Five Aggregates affected by clinging; subject to clinging [SN 5.45.178] The Five Aggregates affected by clinging The Five Aggregates, Groups that arise from Grasping The Five Aggregates, Groups that arise from Grasping five aggregates for clinging/sustenance; Aggregate; heap; pile. The aggregates are the basic building blocks of describable experience as well as the building blocks from which one's sense of 'self' is constructed The Five Aggregates of Grasping; factors of [SN 5.45.178] The five grasping heaps The Five Aggregates of Clinging
rūpa materiality, thingness form material shape appearance material form material form material qualities, form material qualities, form form; physical form form, materiality form material form
vedanā experience, sense-experience, sensation (depending on the case) feeling feeling sensation feelings feelings feelings feelings feelings feelings feeling feeling
saññā perception perception, conscious states perception perception perception perception perception perception perception perception ideas perception
saṅkhārā own-making, confounding, construction activities activities, tendencies Construction formations formations volitional complexes, dispositions volitional complexes, dispositions fabrications; thought-fabrications mental formations activities (SN 3), formations
viññāṇa consciousness, knowing-knowing consciousness consciousness cognition consciousness cognition consciousness, cognition consciousness, cognition consciousness consciousness consciousness consciousness

 

Pāḷi Text Society
Pāḷi English Dictionary
Edited by T. W. Rhys Davids and William Stede
[EDITED ENTRY]

 

Khandha: [Sk. skandha] I. Crude meaning: bulk, massiveness (gross) substance.
A. esp. used
(a) of an elephant: the bulk of the body, i. e. its back ...
(b) of a person: the shoulder or back ...
(c) of a tree: the trunk. ... "one must go beyond the root and search the trunk for sweetness" S IV.94.
(d) as t.t. in exegetical literature: section, chapter, lit. material as collected into uniform bulk; freq. in postscripts to Texts and Commentaries....
B. More general as denoting bulk; e. g. aggi- a great mass of fire M II.34, 41...udaka- a mass of water (i. e. ocean) A III.336; S IV.179...puñña- a great accumulation of merit A III.336 = S V.400; bhoga- a store of wealth A V.84;...; maṇi- an extraordinarily large jewel (possessing magic power) J II.102 sq. -
 
II. Applied meaning.
A. the body of, a collection of, mass, or parts of; in collective sense "all that is comprised under"; forming the substance of.
(a) dukkha- all that is comprised under "dukkha," all that goes to make up or forms the substance, the idea of "ill." Most prominent in phrase kevalassa dukkhakhandhassa samudaya and nirodha (the origin & destruction of all that is suffering) with ref. to the paṭiccasamuppāda, the chain of causal existence (q. v.) Vin I.1; S II.95; III.14; A I.177; V. 184 & passim. ...
(b) lobha- dosa- moha- the three ingredients or integrations of greed, suffering and bewilderment, lit. "the big bulk or mass of greed"...S V.88...
(c) vayo- a division of age, part of age, as threefold: purima-, majjhima-, pacchima-...
(d) sīla (etc.) kh- the 3 (or 5) groups or parts which constitute the factors of right living (dhamma), viz.
(1) sīla- the group dealing with the practice of morality;
(2) samādhi- that dealing with the development of concentration;
(3) paññā- that dealing with the development of true wisdom. They are also known under the terms of sīla-sampadā, citta-, paññā- D I.172 sq.;...-- D I.206;...These 3 are completed to a set of 5 by
(4) vimutti- the group dealing with the attainment of emancipation and
(5) vimutti-ñāṇa-dassana -the group dealing with the realization of the achievement of emancipation. As 1-4 only at D III.229...; cp. A I.125. As 5 at S I.99 = A I.162; S V.162; A III.134, 271; V.16 (all loc. = S I.99)...
 
B. (absolute) in individual sense: constituent element, factor, substantiality. More especially as khandhā (pl.) the elements or substrata of sensory existence, sensorial aggregates which condition the appearance of life in any form. Their character according to quality and value of life and body is evanescent, fraught with ills & leading to rebirth. Paraphrased by Bdhgh. as rāsi, heap...
 
1. Unspecified. They are usually enumerated in the foll. stereotyped set of 5: rūpa- (material qualities), vedanā (feeling), saññā (perception), sankhārā (coefficients of consciousness), viññāṇa (consciousness)...They are enumerated in a different order at S I.112, viz. rūpaṃ vedayitaṃ saññaṃ viññāṇaṃ yañ ca sankhataṃ n' eso 'ham asmi. Detailed discussions as to their nature see e. g. S III.101...; S III.47; III.86. ...
(a) As factors of existence... Their role as such is illustrated by the famous simile: "yathā hi angasambhārā hoti saddo ratho iti evaṃ khandhesu santesu hoti satto ti sammuti" "just as it is by the condition precedent of the co-existence of its various parts, that the word "chariot" is used, just so it is that when the skandhas are there, we talk of a "being" " (Rh. D.) (cp. Hardy, Man. Buddh. p. 425) S I.135... Their connotation "khandha" is discussed at S III.101 = M III.16: "kittāvatā nu kho khandhānaṃ khandh¢dhivacanaṃ? rūpaṃ (etc.) atīt¢nāgatapaccuppannaṃ ajjhattaṃ vā bahiddhā vā o'ārikaṃ," etc.: i.e. material qualities are equivalent terms for the kh. What causes the manifestation of each kh.?...the material elements are the cause of rūpa, touch is that of vedanā, saññā, sankhārā, name and shape that of viññāṇa (S III.101); cp. M I.138 sq., 234 sq. On the same principle rests their division in: rūpa-kāyo rūpakkhandho nāmakāyo cattāro arūpino khandhā "the material body forms the material factor (of existence), the individualized body the 4 immaterial factors"... -- Being the "substantial" factors of existence, birth & death depend on the khandhas. They appear in every new conjuncture of individuality...-- vivaṭṭa-kkhandha (adj.) one whose khandhas have revolved (passed away), i. e. dead S I.121 = III.123. -- kh-anaṃ udaya-vyaya (or udayabbaya) the rising and passing of the kh., transmigration...
(b) Their relation to attachment and craving (kāma):...S I.128...; craving is their cause & soil: ...; the 4 arūpino kh. are based on lobha, dosa, moha...
(c) their annihilation: the kh. remain as long as the knowledge of their true character is not attained, i. e. of their cause & removal:...
(d) their relation to dhātu (the physical elements) and āyatana (the elements of sense-perception) is close, since they are all dependent on sensory experience. The 5 khandhas are frequently mentioned with the 18 dhātuyo & the 12 āyatanāni:...S I.134;...
(e) their valuation & their bearing on the "soul"-conception is described in the terms of na mama (na tumhākaṃ), anattā, aniccaṃ and dukkhaṃ...rūpaṃ (etc.)...aniccaṃ, dukkhaṃ, n'eso 'ham asmi, n'eso me attā "material qualities (etc. kh. 2-5) are evanescent, bad, I am not this body, this body is not my soul" Vin I.14 = S IV.382. n'eso 'ham asmi na m' eso attā S I.112; III.103, 130 & passim; cp. kāyo na tumhākaṃ (anattā rūpaṃ) S II.65;...; and rūpaṃ na tumhākaṃ S III.33 M I.140... -- rūpaṃ, etc. as anattā: Vin I.13; S III.78, 132-134; A I.284= II.171; 202; cp. S III.101; Vin I.14. -- as aniccaṃ: S III.41, 52, 102, 122, 132 sq., 181 sq., 195 sq., 202-224, 227; A IV.147 (anicc¢nupassī dukkh¢nupassī); anicca dukkha roga, etc....
 
2. Specified as panc'upādāna-kkhandhā the factors of the fivefold clinging to existence. Defined & discussed in detail (rūpūpadāna-kkhandha, etc.) S III.47; 86-88; also Vin I.10; S III.127 sq. Specified S III.58 III.100 = M III.16; S III.114, 158 sq.; V.52, 60; A IV.458;......Enumerated in var. connections S I.112; D III.233; M I.190; A V.52...-- What is said of the khandhas alone -- see above 1 (a)-(e)-is equally applied to them in connection with upādāna.
(a) As regards their origin they are characterized as chandamūlakā "rooted in desire, or in wilful desire" S III.100;...M I.300, 511....M I.299 = S IV.259.
(b) their contemplation leads to the recognition of their character as dukkha, anicca, anattā:...S III.128;...S III.167; pañcasu upād-esu anicc¢nupassī "realizing the evanescence in the 5 aggregates of attachment" A V.109; same with udayavyay¢nupassī S III.130; A II.45, 90; III.32; IV.153; and dhamm¢nupassī M I.61. Out of which realization follows their gradual destruction... S III.31, 160 sq.; A II.45, 90; IV.153... That they occupy a prominent position as determinants of dukkha is evident from their role in the exposition of dukkha as the first one of the noble truths: sankhittena pañc'upādānakkhandhā pi dukkhā "in short, the 5 kh. are associated with pain" Vin I.10 = M I.48 = A I.177 = S V.421...S III.158 = V.425...
 
-¢dhivacana having kh. as attribute...S III.101 = M III.16;
-ja (adj.-n.) sprung from the trunk (of the tree), i. e. a growth or parasite S I.207=Sn 272, expl. at SnA 304; khandhesu jātā khandha-jā, pārohānam etaṃ adhivacanaṃ. -niddesa disquisition about the khandhas Vism (ch. xiv esp.) 482, 485, 492, 509, 558, 389.
-bīja "trunk seed" as one kind of var. seeds, with mūla- pha'u- agga- bīja- at Vin V.132, & D I.5...nāma assattho nigrodho pilakkho udumbaro kacchako kapitthano ti evam-ādi.
-rasa taste of the stem, one of various tastes, as mūla- khandha- taca- patta- puppha-, etc. Dhs 629=Nd2 540.
-loka the world of sensory aggregates, with dhātu- and āyatanaloka Ps I.122.
-vibhanga division dealing with the khandhas (i. e. Vibh. 1 sq.) Miln 12.

Upādāna:[fr. upa + ā + dā] -- (lit. that (material) substratum by means of which an active process is kept alive or going), fuel, supply, provision; adj. supported by, drawing one's existence from S I.69; II 85 (aggikkhandho -assa pariyādānā by means of taking up fuel); V.284... sa-upādāna (adj.) provided with fuel S IV.399...2. (appld.) "drawing upon", grasping, holding on, grip, attachment; adj. finding one's support by or in, clinging to, taking up, nourished by....They are classified as 4 upādānāni or four Graspings viz. kām-, diṭṭh-, sīlabbat-, attavād- or the graspings arising from sense-desires, speculation, belief in rites, belief in the soul-theory D II.58; III.230; M I.51, 66; S II.3; V 59...-- For upādāna in var. connections see the foll. passages: D I.25; II.31, 33, 56; III.278; M I.66, 136 (attavād-) 266; S II.14, 17, 30, 85; III.10, 13 sq., 101, 135, 167, 191; IV.32, 87 sq., 102 (tannissitaṃ viññāṇaṃ tadupādānaṃ), 390, 400 (= taṇhā); A IV.69; V.111 (upāy-)...-- sa- full of attachment (to life) M I.65; Vin III.111; S IV.102; an- unattached, not showing attachment to existence S IV.399; Vin III.111...
-kkhandha, usually as pañc- upādāna-kkhandhā the factors of the "fivefold clinging to existence"

Desire and Temptation

Taṇhā and Upādāna

[Wolf Larsen] "... 'as I see it, a man does things because of desire. He has many desires. He may desire to escape pain, or to enjoy pleasure. But whatever he does, he does because he desires to do it.'

[Mr. Van Weyden] "'... temptation is temptation whether the man yield or overcome. Fire is fanned by the wind until it leaps up fiercely. So is desire like fire. It is fanned, as by a wind, by sight of the thing desired, or by a new and luring description or comprehension of the thing desired. There lies the temptation. It is the wind that fans the desire until it leaps up to mastery. That's temptation. It may not fan sufficiently to make the desire overmastering, but in so far as it fans at all, that far is it temptation. And ... it may tempt for good as well as for evil.'"

The Sea Wolf by Jack London, First published in book form by The Macmillan Co., New York, in 1904. A book that should be read as an exercise in the cultivation of ethical thinking.

Extension: Understanding that this is not a literal translation, just a useful one: Upādāna-K-khandhā = Storehouses of Temptation = the Chinese idea of the Warehouse-Consciousness. Piles of stuff which fan the flames of becoming when dwelt on without caution. Forms, Sensations and sense experiences; perceptions, own-makings or 'things to do'; states of conscousness.

 


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