The Five Aggregates: Understanding Theravada Psychology and Soteriology

If Buddhism denies a permanent self, how does it perceive identity? According to Buddhist texts, the entire universe, including the individual, is made up of different phenomena, which Buddhism classifies into different categories: what we conventionally call a person can be understood in terms of 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 ( pañcakkhandha ) and establishes how the Therav da 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 aggregates 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 the five aggregates. 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:
Table of Contents for The Five Aggregates: Understanding Theravaada 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 Pañcakkhandha and Pañcupadanakkhandha 2. The Rupakkhandha The Four Primary Material Elements ( Mahabhuta ) The Secondary Materials ( Upadarupa ) The Three Divisions of Matter Further Classifications of Matter Implications of the Previous Classifications Correlation between the Rupakkhandha and the Paticcasamuppada 3. The Vedanakkhandha The Eradication of Vedana The State of Saññavedayitanirodha The State of Vedanakkhaya Vedana as Bifurcation Point Wholesome and Unwholesome Vedana 4. The Saññakkhandha Unwholesome Sañña Wholesome Sañña Wholesome Sañña and the Saññakkhandha Correlation between Sañña and the Paticcasamuppada 5. The Sankharakkhandha Polysemy of the Term Sankhara Sankhara as Sankhata Sankhara as Paccaya Sankhara Used in the Compound Ayusankhara Sankhara Used in the Compounds Asankhara and Sasankhara General Meaning of the Term Sankhara The Sankharakkhandha Correlation between the Sankharakkhandha and the Paticcasamuppada 6. The Viññanakkhandha The Function of Viññana Viññana and Mano Viññana as Rebirth and Death Consciousness Correlation between Viññana and the Paticcasamuppada 7. Interrelation of the Aggregates The Position of Viññana in the Enumeration of the Pañcakkhandha Correlation between Four Aggregates and the Paticcasamuppada Inclusion of i>Sañña in the Paticcasamuppada Formula Vipassana and the Pañcakkhandha Conclusion Glossary Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Mathieu Boisvert is Professor of South Asian traditions at lâUniversité du Québec à Montréal.