The Five Aggregates: Understanding Theravada Psychology and Soteriology(Editions SR)

According to Buddhist texts, the entire universe, including the individual, is made up of various phenomena, which Buddhism classifies into different categories. What we conventionally call a 'person' can be understood in terms of the five aggregates, the sum of which must not be taken for a permanent entity, since beings are nothing but an amalgam of ever-changing phenomena. Although the aggregates are only a 'convenient fiction', the Buddha nevertheless made frequent use of the aggregate scheme when asked to explain the elements at work in the individual. In this study, Mathieu Boisvert presents a detailed analysis of the five aggregates (pancakkhandha) and establishes how the Theravada tradition views their interaction. He clarifies the fundamentals of Buddhist psychology by providing a rigorous examination of the nature and interrelation of each of the aggregates, and by establishing, for the first time, how the function of each of these chains beings to the cycle of birth, death and rebirth -- the theory of dependent origination (paticcasamuppada). Boisvert contends that without a thorough understanding of the five aggregates, we cannot grasp the liberation process at work within the individual, who is, after all, simply an amalgam of these. The Five Aggregates represents an important and original contribution to Buddhist Studies and will be of great interest to all scholars and students of Buddhism.

Table of Contents:
The Five Aggregates: Understanding Theravaāda Psychology and Soteriology by Mathieu Boisvert List of Tables Acknowledgments Foreword Abbreviations Introduction 1. The Concept of Khandha Etymology of the term Khanda The Five Aggregates and the Dhammacakkappavattanasutta Pañcakkhandhā and Pañcupādānakkhandhā 2. The Rūpakkhandha The Four Primary Material Elements (Mahābhūta) The Secondary Materials (Upādārūpa) The Three Divisions of Matter Further Classifications of Matter Implications of the Previous Classifications Correlation between the Rūpakkhandha and the Paticcasamuppāda 3. The Vedanākkhandha The Eradication of Vedanā The State of Saññāvedayitanirodha The State of Vedanākkhaya Vedanā as Bifurcation Point Wholesome and Unwholesome Vedanā 4. The Saññākkhandha Unwholesome Saññā Wholesome Saññā Wholesome Saññā and the Saññākkhandha Correlation between Saññā and the Paticcasamuppāda 5. The Sankhārakkhandha Polysemy of the Term Sankhāra Sankhāra as Sankhāta Sankhāra as Paccaya Sankhāra Used in the Compound Āyusankhāra Sankhāra Used in the Compounds Asankhāra and Sasankhāra General Meaning of the Term Sankhāra The Sankhārakkhandha Correlation between theSankhārakkhandha and the Paticcasamuppāda 6. The Viññānakkhandha The Function of Viññāna Viññāna and Mano Viññāna as Rebirth and Death Consciousness Correlation between Viññāna and the Paticcasamuppāda 7. Interrelation of the Aggregates The Position of Viññāna in the Enumeration of the Pañcakkhandhā Correlation between Four Aggregates and the Paticcasamuppāda Inclusion of i>Saññā in the Paticcasamuppāda Formula Vipassanā and the Pañcakkhandhā Conclusion Glossary Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Mathieu Boisvert is a Professor of South Asian Traditions at the Universite du Quebec a Montreal.

Review :
``...a careful and thorough study of how the Theravāda tradition views the interaction of the five aggregates....This book cannot be ignored by any one who wishes to make an examination of mind (and consequently an investigation into the problem of `self' and `phenomena') in Buddhism. Further, any future discussion on the khandhas (and the Mahayana discussions on the skhadhas found in texts such as the Pancaskandhaprakarana) will not be comprehensive without reference to this study by Mathieu Boisvert.'' -- Leslie S. Kawamura, University of Calgary, Studies in Religion ``This is a useful analysis and overview of Theravāda ideas on the five khandhas....So, overall, The Five Aggregates is a useful study which brings together much material needed for an understanding of the khandhas.'' -- Peter Harvey, University of Sunderland, Journal of Buddhist Ethics