'object'. There are six: visible object, sound, odor, taste, body-contact, mind-object.

The mind-object (dhammārammana) may be physical or mental, past, present or future, real or imaginary.

The 5 sense-objects belong to the materiality-group (rūpa-kkhandha, s. khandha).

They form the external foundations for the sense-perceptions, and without them no sense-perception or sense-consciousness (seeing, hearing, etc.) can arise. Cf. Āyatana, paccaya. (App: paccaya 2.).