A Simple Way to Understand the Five Khandhas
Theravada Buddhists are taught that the human personality is made up of five parts, called the Five Khandhas or the Five Aggregates. This idea appears in the Khandha Sutta ( SN 22.48) in which the Buddha teaches monks about the Five Khandhas or Pañca Khandhā
The Five Khandhas are the different parts that come together to make a human. The Buddha taught that all people are made up of these five elements.
🔸 1. Form (the body)
➥ Buddhist word – Rūpa
➥ What does this mean?
This is matter that is tangible (i.e can be touched). This Khanda is linked to our five senses (smell, touch, taste, sight and hearing).
➥ An example – Seeing a physical object, such as a chair.
🔸 2. Sensation (feelings)
➥Buddhist word – Vedanā
➥What does this mean?
These are feelings experienced from using the five senses. They can be physical or emotional.
➥ An example – Seeing a comfortable chair after a long, tiring day may lead to a sense of happiness.
🔸 3. Perception (the process of recognising what things are)
➥Buddhist word – Saññā
➥What does this mean?
This allows people to recognise things in the world because they have seen or experienced those things before.
➥An example – Recognising the chair through experience of using them before.
🔸 4. Mental formations (thoughts)
➥Buddhist word – Saṅkhārā
➥ What does this mean?
This is about the different opinions and feelings that people may have.
➥An example – Creating an opinion about the chair in relation to other chairs experienced previously.
🔸 5. Consciousness (an awareness of things)
➥Buddhist word – Viññāṇa
➥What does this mean?
This is the awareness a person has of the things around them in the world.
➥ An example – Being aware of things in the world.
The Buddha believed that these different parts are fluid, which means they are changing all the time. Therefore, the ‘self’ is also changing all the time. The belief that everything is in a state of change and there is no permanent self is called anattā
Theravada Buddhists believe that these different parts relate to each other and that they make a person who they are. The Khandhas give people their personalities.
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