What are the 5 Primary Categories
of Being?
I:
There is the Cluster of Clinging to Material Form (Rūpa):
Form or materiality is composed of these 4 Primary
Elements:
1: Solidity based microscopically on the force of extension.
2: Fluidity based microscopically on the force of cohesion.
3: Heat based microscopically on the property of vibration.
4: Motion based microscopically on the property of energy.
From these
4 can be derived all other formed phenomena...
Form
(Rūpa) in Buddhism
is a quality, but not a substance...
Whatever there are of formed things, whether past, present
or future, internal or external, fine or gross, high or low,
far or
near, all these belong to this form group. The mental,
but physically effective, desire, lust, craving for, & clinging
to that
Form (Rūpa)
, is the
cluster of clinging to form!
II:
There is the
Cluster of Clinging to
Mental Feeling (Vedanā):
There are these five kinds of Feeling:
1: Bodily
pleasant feeling and 2: Bodily painful feeling.
3: Mentally glad feeling and 4: Mentally
sad feeling. And finally:
5: Indifferent feeling = Neither painful,
pleasant,
sad, nor glad.
Feeling is born as result of eye contact, or ear contact, or nose
contact, or tongue contact, or body contact, or mental contact...
Whatever there is of feeling, whether past, present or future,
internal or external, fine or gross, high or low, far or near, all
that belongs to this feeling group. Desire, lust, craving for, and
clinging to these reactions, is the cluster of clinging to feeling!
III:
There is the
Cluster of Clinging to
Mental Perception (Saññā):
There are these six kinds of Perception
= experience:
1: Visual perception of form
and color. 2: Auditory perception of sound.
3: Olfactory perception of smell. 4: Gustatory perception of taste.
5: Tactile perception of touch. 6: Mental perception of ideas & thoughts.
Whatever there is of perception, whether past, present or future,
internal or external, fine or gross, high or low, far or near, all that
belongs to this perception group. Desire, lust, craving for and clinging to
these perceived experiences, is the cluster of clinging to perception!
IV:
There is the
Cluster of Clinging to
Mental Construction (Sankhāra):
There are six
kinds of mental
construction dealing
with visual objects,
or hearable objects, or smellable, or tastable, or touchable
objects,
or
thinkable objects. Whatever there is of mental construction,
whether past,
present or future, internal or external, fine or gross, high or low, far or
near, all that belongs to this mental construction group. Desire, craving for
and clinging to these objectives, is the cluster of clinging to construction!
Wanting a special event is the mental construction of intention =
Kamma...
V: There is the
Cluster of Clinging
to Consciousness
(Viññāna):
There are six kinds of
consciousness:
1:
The Visual Consciousness of seeing. 2: The Auditory Consciousness of hearing.
3: Olfactory
Consciousness of smelling. 4: Gustatory Consciousness of tasting.
5: Tactile
Consciousness of touching. 6: The Mental Consciousness of thinking.
Whatever there is of consciousness, whether past, present or future, internal
or external, fine or gross, high or low, far or near, all that belongs to this
very
consciousness group. Desire, craving for and clinging to this aware
recognition,
is the cluster of clinging to consciousness itself!
Craving => Clinging =>
Fear of Loss => Panic => Mental Pain => Suffering!
The Blessed Buddha said:
Recluses
and monks, who knows the
cause of, the stilling of, and the way leading
to the ceasing of these
five clusters of clinging, who are training for disgust
towards these, for their fading away and dissolution, they are practicing
well!
They are later released and well liberated through this very non-clinging...
Those, who are well liberated, are consummate ones, completed ones...
There is no way of describing such utterly perfected ones...
Immensity,
Profundity and Significance:
There is nothing within this universe apart or beyond these
5 Clusters
of Clinging...
The 5 Clusters
of Clinging are thus an all-inclusive and vast classification-scheme!
Good therefore is this praxis: When faced with whatever phenomenon, then ask:
To which category of these 5 clusters of clinging, does this state belong?
More on these 5 Clusters of Clinging
(Khandha):
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Any_Kind.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Not_Yours.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/The_Leash.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Like_Foam.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/House_on_Fire.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Fingernail_of_Soil.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Acquisition_of_Fuel.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Clustered_Truths.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_Burning_Five.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/Burden_and_Prison.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Breaking_the_Bonds.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Stilling_of_Clinging.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/g_m/khandha.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_5_Clusters_of_Clinging.htm
If Clinging: How can one ever be
Free?
If Not Free: How can one ever be
Happy?
Good
Dhamma talk by Ven. Thanissaro Bhikkhu on Clinging:
http://dhammatalks.org/Archive/061023%20Feeding%20Frenzy!%20Dependent%20Co-arising.mp3
Source: The Grouped Sayings by the
Buddha. Samyutta Nikāya XXII (56); [III 59-61]
http://store.pariyatti.org/Connected-Discourses-of-the-Buddha_p_1379.html A Vast Ocean of True Dhamma
Teaching!
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/samyutta/index.html#Khandha On
these Clusters!
