Five Skandhas

Five Skandhas (Pali: Pancakkhandha) are the five aggregates that constitute a person: form (rupa), feeling (vedana), perception (sanna), mental formations (sankhara), and consciousness (vinnana).

Overview

The five skandhas describe the components of a person without implying a permanent self (anatta). They are the basis for understanding the process of dependent origination.

Philosophical Context

The five skandhas are analyzed in detail in the Abhidhamma. They explain how a person exists as a process rather than a fixed entity.

Interpretations

Understanding the five skandhas leads to insight into anatta (non-self). Each skandha is impermanent and conditioned, arising and ceasing moment to moment.

Verification Notes

• Five aggregates constituting a person
• Basis for understanding anatta (non-self)
• Central to Abhidhamma analysis