The Meaning of Name and Form

Form (rūpa) refers to material form composed of the four great elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—which is visible to the naked eye, such as the aggregate of form. Name (nāma) refers to dharmas of designation, which are invisible to the naked eye but have functions; they can act upon the aggregate of form and can be perceived and observed, such as the aggregate of feeling, the aggregate of perception, the aggregate of volitional formations, and the aggregate of consciousness. Name-and-form (nāma-rūpa) constitutes the five-aggregate body of sentient beings, which is the unreal self that sentient beings carry through life after life. This self is not solid; it can be destroyed and can perish; it is a dharma subject to arising, abiding, alteration, and ceasing. Therefore it is not a self, but is provisionally named a self. Among the "name" are included the manas and its functions, as well as the six consciousnesses and their functions.