Chapter 1  Introduction to Basic Concepts

Section 1  The Concepts of the Five Aggregates and the Eighteen Realms

I. The Composition of the Sentient Being's "Self"

The so-called "self" of sentient beings refers to the entirety of the five aggregates and the eighteen realms. In reality, it is the mental faculty (manas) that takes the five aggregates and eighteen realms as "self" and "what belongs to self." The "self" still refers to the mental faculty, as it is the mental faculty that possesses the mind of self, the nature of self, the view of self, and the attachment to self. To eradicate the view of self is to eradicate the mental faculty's mind of self, nature of self, view of self, and attachment to self.

The Five Aggregates: aggregate of form, aggregate of sensation, aggregate of perception, aggregate of mental formations, aggregate of consciousness. The Twelve Sense Bases: the six sense faculties and the six sense objects. The Eighteen Realms: the six sense faculties, the six sense objects, and the six consciousnesses. The Six Sense Faculties: eye faculty, ear faculty, nose faculty, tongue faculty, body faculty, and mental faculty (manas). These are the roots upon which the six consciousnesses depend. The first five faculties are material roots composed of the four great elements, visible to the physical eye and located on the body's surface, called gross sense organs (浮尘根). The mental faculty is not a material root; it is an immaterial, formless root. It is both a faculty and a consciousness mind, invisible to the physical eye. The Six Sense Objects: form objects, sound objects, smell objects, taste objects, touch objects, and dharma objects (mental objects), corresponding respectively to the eye faculty, ear faculty, nose faculty, tongue faculty, body faculty, and mental faculty. The Six Consciousnesses: eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, and mind-consciousness (mano-vijñāna).

II. How Does the Discriminative Function of the Six Consciousnesses Arise?

When the eye faculty contacts a form object, the eighth consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna) produces eye-consciousness. When this eye-consciousness then contacts the form object, it discriminates the form object, and sentient beings see the form. When the ear faculty contacts a sound object, the eighth consciousness produces ear-consciousness. When this ear-consciousness then contacts the sound object, it discriminates the sound, and sentient beings hear the sound. When the nose faculty contacts a smell object, the eighth consciousness produces nose-consciousness. When this nose-consciousness then contacts the smell object, it discriminates the smell object, and sentient beings smell the fragrance. When the tongue faculty contacts a taste object, the eighth consciousness produces tongue-consciousness. When this tongue-consciousness then contacts the taste object, it discriminates the taste object, and sentient beings taste the flavor. When the body faculty contacts a touch object, the eighth consciousness produces body-consciousness. When this body-consciousness then contacts the touch object, it discriminates the touch object, and sentient beings discern the touch object, experiencing various tactile sensations. When the mental faculty contacts a dharma object, the eighth consciousness produces mind-consciousness. When this mind-consciousness then contacts the dharma object, it discerns the dharma object, and sentient beings have perceptions and feelings.

III. Internal and External Sense Faculties and Objects

The five sense faculties: the first five faculties are divided into external faculties and internal faculties. The external faculties are the gross sense organs, located on the body's surface. The internal faculties are called subtle sense organs (胜义根), located in the area of the back of the head. The external faculties connect to the internal faculties via nerve pathways. The internal faculties are invisible to the physical eye because they are covered by the scalp. It is here that the eighth consciousness produces the six consciousnesses.

The six sense objects are divided into external six objects and internal six objects. We cannot directly contact the external six objects. The eighth consciousness contacts the external six objects and, through nerve pathways, transmits the particles of the four great elements from the six objects to the location of the subtle sense organs at the back of the head, transforming them into internal six objects. When the internal five faculties plus the mental faculty contact the internal six objects, the eighth consciousness produces the six consciousnesses to discern the internal six objects. The internal six objects are manifested like shadowy appearances; they are not the relatively real external six objects, but they are almost identical to them. Therefore, sentient beings believe themselves to be very real, but in truth, they are not; all are illusory. As the World-Honored One said: "All phenomena are illusory."

IV. The Composition of the Five Aggregates

The Five Aggregates: The physical body combined with the consciousness mind constitutes the five aggregates. Form (material) dharmas and mind dharmas combine to form the five aggregates. The five aggregates are the activity of the consciousness mind upon the physical body. Without the consciousness mind, the five aggregates are merely a corpse. The five aggregates are a composite entity. Whatever is composite is not real; whatever undergoes birth, cessation, and change is not real.

Sentient beings in the desire realm have the five aggregates participating in every moment of activity. Walking, eating, working – all kinds of activities are activities of the five aggregates. The Buddha said this is the "five aggregates subject to grasping" (五受阴). The aggregate of consciousness refers to the discriminative function of the six consciousness minds: eye-consciousness is responsible for seeing forms, ear-consciousness for hearing sounds, nose-consciousness for smelling scents, tongue-consciousness for tasting flavors, body-consciousness for sensing touch, and mind-consciousness for discriminating dharma objects. The activity of the aggregate of consciousness is a series of activities of the five aggregates. All activities of the aggregate of form are governed by the consciousness mind. Therefore, the five aggregates operate through the mutual cooperation of body and mind. The aggregate of consciousness is directed by the mental faculty. The mental faculty is the supreme commander; it decides what to do, and the six consciousnesses must comply and execute. Bodily, verbal, and mental actions thus move according to the mental faculty.

When the six faculties contact the six objects, if the mental faculty intends to act, the six consciousnesses are produced. After the six consciousnesses contact the six faculties and six objects, they possess discriminative power. The feelings of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure that arise when discriminating the six objects constitute the aggregate of sensation. The aggregate of perception is the image-taking on the six consciousness minds – the grasping nature towards the six objects, the knowing and discriminating of the six-object realms. Subsequently, a series of mental activities such as deluded thoughts and thinking appear. The aggregate of mental formations means movement, turning, flow, change, and transformation. It is the function of the continuous existence and activity of the six consciousnesses, but it also involves the functions of the mental faculty and the eighth consciousness; it is the result of the combined operation of the eight consciousnesses.

Upon the aggregate of form there is the aggregate of consciousness; upon the aggregate of sensation there is the aggregate of consciousness; upon the aggregate of perception there is the aggregate of consciousness; upon the aggregate of mental formations there is the aggregate of consciousness. The aggregate of consciousness is the function of the six consciousnesses, also called the aggregate of consciousness subject to grasping. These functional roles of the aggregate of consciousness have boundaries and limitations; each has its own function and cannot substitute for others. For example, eye-consciousness discriminates the coarse characteristics of form objects, discriminates visible colors, but cannot replace mind-consciousness in discriminating shapes, cannot discriminate manifested forms (表色), cannot discriminate unmanifested forms (无表色), and other dharma objects. Eye-consciousness cannot hear sounds, cannot smell scents, and cannot exceed the boundaries of seeing forms. The other consciousnesses are likewise limited.

V. The Arising of Sensation, Perception, Mental Formations, and Consciousness at the Point of Contact of the Six Faculties

The Six Sensation Bodies: sensation born from eye-contact, sensation born from ear-contact, sensation born from nose-contact, sensation born from tongue-contact, sensation born from body-contact, sensation born from mind-contact. The object of contact is the six-object realms. The Six Perception Bodies: perception born from eye-contact, perception born from ear-contact, perception born from nose-contact, perception born from tongue-contact, perception born from body-contact, perception born from mind-contact. Perception is knowing, discriminating; taking an image on the mind is perception. The Six Mental Formation Bodies: mental formation born from eye-contact, mental formation born from ear-contact, mental formation born from nose-contact, mental formation born from tongue-contact, mental formation born from body-contact, mental formation born from mind-contact. Mental formation (思) refers to the aggregate of mental formations; it is activity, decisive mind, the volition of the six consciousnesses, the decision-making and activity of the six consciousnesses. The Six Consciousness Bodies: consciousness born from eye-contact, consciousness born from ear-contact, consciousness born from nose-contact, consciousness born from tongue-contact, consciousness born from body-contact, consciousness born from mind-contact.

VI. The Meaning of "Not Different from Me" and "Not Mutually Existing"

In the Saṃyukta Āgama, the World-Honored One taught his disciples that when contemplating the aggregate of form as not-self, they should contemplate that the past aggregate of form is not-self, not different from me, and not mutually existing; contemplate that the present aggregate of form is not-self, not different from me, and not mutually existing; and further contemplate that the future aggregate of form is also not-self, not different from me, and not mutually existing. Moreover, good form, bad form, coarse form, subtle form, internal form, and external form are all not-self, not different from me, and not mutually existing. Only in this way can the aggregate of form be thoroughly contemplated in detail, enabling the complete eradication of the wrong view of taking the aggregate of form as self. So, what do "not different from me" and "not mutually existing" mean?

"Not different from me" means: From the perspective of the Hinayana (Small Vehicle) Dharma, sentient beings sometimes take the aggregate of form as self and the aggregates of sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness as what belongs to self. Sometimes they take the aggregates of sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness as self and the aggregate of form as what belongs to self. That is, they take one aggregate as self and the remaining aggregates as what belongs to self, where the self is different from what belongs to self. In fact, although the five aggregates including the aggregate of form are not self, they are also not what belongs to self that is different from me. The five aggregates are neither self nor what belongs to self; both self and what belongs to self are not-self. From the perspective of the Mahayana (Great Vehicle) Dharma, the aggregate of form is not different from the true self, the eighth consciousness. The aggregate of form is born from the eighth consciousness, entirely originates from the eighth consciousness, and has a relationship of neither identity nor difference with the eighth consciousness. There is no separate aggregate of form apart from the eighth consciousness; there are no functions or activities of the aggregate of form separate from the eighth consciousness. Therefore, the aggregate of form is not different from me. The other four aggregates are likewise.

"Not mutually existing" means: From the perspective of the Hinayana Dharma, the self of the aggregate of form and the what belongs to self of the aggregates of sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness do not mutually exist within each other. The aggregate of form does not exist within the aggregates of sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness, nor do the aggregates of sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness exist within the aggregate of form. The self does not exist within what belongs to self, nor does what belongs to self exist within the self. Sometimes the mental faculty takes the aggregate of form as self and takes the aggregates of sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness as what belongs to self, believing that self and what belongs to self are fused together. Sometimes the mental faculty takes the aggregate of sensation as self and takes the other aggregates as what belongs to self, believing that the aggregate of sensation is fused together with the other aggregates. However, in reality, the aggregate of form is not self, and the aggregates of sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness taken as what belongs to self are also not what belongs to self. Both are unrelated to the true self and must be eradicated; one should not regard these functions and activities as real and imperishable. Taking the five aggregates as self is a wrong view; taking them as what belongs to self is equally a wrong view. Both should be refuted. Only by establishing the right view that the five aggregates are without self and without what belongs to self can one gradually transcend birth and death.

From the perspective of the Mahayana Dharma, the aggregate of form does not exist within the eighth consciousness, nor does the eighth consciousness exist within the aggregate of form. This is because the eighth consciousness is formless, without characteristics; it is empty, and there is no concept of inside or outside. The eighth consciousness is an empty natured mind-essence devoid of form dharmas; therefore, it cannot contain the aggregate of form. Furthermore, the eighth consciousness does not exist within the aggregate of form. First, because the eighth consciousness is formless and without characteristics, it cannot be inside, outside, or in the middle of the aggregate of form. Second, because the aggregate of form and the eighth consciousness are not the same kind of dharmas; they cannot be contained within each other, cannot overlap, and cannot touch each other, yet they are intimately connected. If the eighth consciousness were within the aggregate of form, cutting open the aggregate of form should reveal the eighth consciousness, and one should see the eighth consciousness emerge from it. Yet, it cannot be found, nor can the eighth consciousness be seen emerging. Therefore, the aggregate of form and the eighth consciousness do not mutually exist within each other, yet they are intimately connected and inseparable. By the same reasoning, it can be proven that the five aggregates and eighteen realms are all not different from the eighth consciousness but do not mutually exist within it.

The above are the basic concepts and connotations of the five aggregates and eighteen realms. After understanding these terms, one must realize the selfless nature of the five aggregates and eighteen realms through direct experience. To achieve this realization, one must engage in contemplation (觀行). Contemplation means deeply contemplating and discerning the principle of the selflessness of the five aggregates within meditative concentration.