When Siddhartha Gautama realized enlightenment and release from the grasp of greed, hatred and confusion, among many things he had an entirely new perspective on the uses (and also the limitations) of words. He realized that while he could not describe Nibbana (also called the deathless in a new use of words), he could describe the path to this realization. All of this involved a new way of conceptualizing and speaking about the existential suffering that we all experience. He invented and reinvented many words. Dharma was a word he reinvented defining it as “the way things are” or “the truth of this moment’ as well as the “body of teachings”.
One of the new concepts that he invented that was crucial in explaining the path of liberation was the term “aggregates”. Prior to Buddha redefining the word (to mean the five focuses of a clinging mind) it had a very mundane definition as a “heap”, a “pile” or a “bundle”. But Buddha called these 5 focuses of a grasping mind to be the “five aggregates”. They are all concepts that we grasp in our attempt to define something as a “self”. They are: form (the body), feeling (qualities of sense experience), perception (memory and naming things), mental formations (thoughts and emotion, views and opinions), and consciousness (awareness of sense experience).
Actually, whenever someone asked about the definition of a self or a person, Buddha declined to answer saying that the answer wasn’t related to the path to end of suffering and peace and clarity. But a thorough understanding of the aggregates is important if we are to understand the teachings of Buddha and how they relate to the idea of our “self”.
In a beautiful Sutta from the middle length discourses a simile is used to teach about these aggregates. The entire Sutta is included at the end of this discussion.
Sutta begins along the Ganges River where the Buddha was residing with monks and lay followers. The Gangetic plain is one of the largest and mostly fertile plains in the world stretching from Pakistan, across northern India and Southern Nepal and across Bangladesh. Today more than a billion people depend on the Ganges and Indus rivers for food and water. The river was without a doubt just as important in the 6th century BCE. The Sutta takes place as the Buddha describes a lump of foam floating down the river. He points out the foam and says that if a person with good eyesight were to look at this foam they would see it as empty, as void, and without substance. Similarly if one appropriately examines form (both internal-our bodies and external-all form elements of the universe) we would see them as void, empty and without substance. As we know if we look carefully at our bodies we see our skin, internal organs, brain, body fluids and so on, to be composed of cells which are in turn composed of molecules, proteins, lipids, DNA, RNA, atoms, electrons, neutrons, bosons, quarks, and other elementary particles that go even beyond the definition of matter. Where is the self in all of this? It can’t be found can it? Is there some objective evidence of a self in all these elementary particles? Is this body really you?
He then proceeds to say that suppose that in autumn when it is raining “fat, heavy drops” we were to once again look across the Ganges and see bubbles forming as the rain drops hit the river. If you’ve seen a heavy rain hitting a puddle, lake or pond you can visualize the thousands of bubbles formed when the rain drop makes contact with the water. Just as fast as they form they “pop” and have disappeared only to be replaced by another rain drop and bubble. He then said that if a person with good eyesight were to look at these bubbles they would see them as empty, as void, and without substance. Similarly if one appropriately examines feelings (the qualities of our sense experiences that are pleasant, unpleasant, or neither) we would see them as void, empty and without substance. These feelings of pleasant, unpleasant and neutral arise dependent on our contact with the external world (and our thoughts) just as the bubbles arise due to the rain drops having contact with the water. Feelings aren’t “me or mine” if we see these with good eyesight (insight) correctly. Is pleasant, unpleasant and neutral sense experience really you?
Then Buddha asks his yogis to recall the hot season before the monsoons arrive. And imagine a shimmering mirage. If we see it correctly we know it isn’t really water, But if we don’t see it correctly we walk toward it only to realize there’s no water. We turn around and there is another shimmering mirage. And we go to it again and again until we see things correctly. Similarly he said that our perception is like a mirage. We call things ugly, or beautiful, or give names to things like Thursday and we believe them to be real. But they are just conventions- a name we give to something. If we see them correctly we know there is no objective evidence of beauty, ugly, Thursday (but don’t be late for work on Thursday!).
Buddha then says:
“Now suppose that a person desiring heartwood, in quest of heartwood, seeking heartwood, were to go into a forest carrying a sharp ax. There they would see a large banana tree: straight, young, of enormous height. They would cut it at the root and, having cut it at the root, would chop off the top. Having chopped off the top, would peel away the outer skin. Peeling away the outer skin, they wouldn’t even find sapwood, to say nothing of heartwood. Then a person with good eyesight would see it, observe it, & appropriately examine it. To them observing it, & appropriately examining it — it would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in a banana tree? In the same way, one sees, observes, & appropriately examines any mental formations … To them — seeing them, observing them, & appropriately examining them — they would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in fabrications?”
Mental formations are our views and opinions, our emotions, ideas, and beliefs. They are like the center of a banana tree. Just as a banana tree has no heartwood, neither do our views have any substantial component of a self. In fact these mental formations are what we haul around with us throughout our life until we can finally lighten up a bit and let some of them go. Our samsaric load is heavy with mental formations-why not lighten the load a bit? Let them all go and what weight are you carrying? At that point who needs anyone to carry what? Where?
Finally he asks the yogis to imagine a magician doing magic tricks and we are able to see from behind the stage and know just how the tricks are done. When we see these tricks (illusions) truly as they are we see them as not real. We see through the tricks. Our sense consciousness is like magic trick. It appears real enough but it is only the coming together of a sense organ (eye, ear, nose, tongue, touch, and brain) with a sense object (a object of sight, a taste, a sound, a physical object, and a thought. It isn’t me or mine. Is it? Is that really you? Investigate this for yourself.
If we look at this teaching and see it with mindfulness we realize that what we are can never be defined. If we define ourselves as something(s) we limit all possibilities. And after looking into these aggregates and seeing them for what they are it becomes superfluous to try to define what we are. Doesn’t it? We can even drop the teaching altogether. Who need it? Who needs to define what we are? Do you? And if so, who exactly is doing the defining?
May you be well happy and peaceful. Floyd
SN 22.95
Phena Sutta
translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu© 1999–2011
On one occasion the Blessed One was staying among the Ayojjhans on the banks of the Ganges River. There he addressed the monks: “Monks, suppose that a large glob of foam were floating down this Ganges River, and a man with good eyesight were to see it, observe it, & appropriately examine it. To him — seeing it, observing it, & appropriately examining it — it would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in a glob of foam? In the same way, a monk sees, observes, & appropriately examines any form that is past, future, or present; internal or external; blatant or subtle; common or sublime; far or near. To him — seeing it, observing it, & appropriately examining it — it would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in form?
“Now suppose that in the autumn — when it’s raining in fat, heavy drops — a water bubble were to appear & disappear on the water, and a man with good eyesight were to see it, observe it, & appropriately examine it. To him — seeing it, observing it, & appropriately examining it — it would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in a water bubble? In the same way, a monk sees, observes, & appropriately examines any feeling that is past, future, or present; internal or external; blatant or subtle; common or sublime; far or near. To him — seeing it, observing it, & appropriately examining it — it would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in feeling?
“Now suppose that in the last month of the hot season a mirage were shimmering, and a man with good eyesight were to see it, observe it, & appropriately examine it. To him — seeing it, observing it, & appropriately examining it — it would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in a mirage? In the same way, a monk sees, observes, & appropriately examines any perception that is past, future, or present; internal or external; blatant or subtle; common or sublime; far or near. To him — seeing it, observing it, & appropriately examining it — it would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in perception?
“Now suppose that a man desiring heartwood, in quest of heartwood, seeking heartwood, were to go into a forest carrying a sharp ax. There he would see a large banana tree: straight, young, of enormous height. He would cut it at the root and, having cut it at the root, would chop off the top. Having chopped off the top, he would peel away the outer skin. Peeling away the outer skin, he wouldn’t even find sapwood, to say nothing of heartwood. Then a man with good eyesight would see it, observe it, & appropriately examine it. To him — seeing it, observing it, & appropriately examining it — it would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in a banana tree? In the same way, a monk sees, observes, & appropriately examines any fabrications that are past, future, or present; internal or external; blatant or subtle; common or sublime; far or near. To him — seeing them, observing them, & appropriately examining them — they would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in fabrications?
“Now suppose that a magician or magician’s apprentice were to display a magic trick at a major intersection, and a man with good eyesight were to see it, observe it, & appropriately examine it. To him — seeing it, observing it, & appropriately examining it — it would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in a magic trick? In the same way, a monk sees, observes, & appropriately examines any consciousness that is past, future, or present; internal or external; blatant or subtle; common or sublime; far or near. To him — seeing it, observing it, & appropriately examining it — it would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in consciousness?
“Seeing thus, the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones grows disenchanted with form, disenchanted with feeling, disenchanted with perception, disenchanted with fabrications, disenchanted with consciousness. Disenchanted, he grows dispassionate. Through dispassion, he’s released. With release there’s the knowledge, ‘Released.’ He discerns that ‘Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for this world.'”
That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:Form is like a glob of foam;feeling, a bubble;perception, a mirage;fabrications, a banana tree;consciousness, a magic trick —this has been taught by the Kinsman of the Sun.However you observe them,appropriately examine them,they’re empty, void to whoever sees them appropriately.
