Buddhism in Five Minutes - Elizabeth J. Harris

Buddhism in Five Minutes - Elizabeth J. Harris

17. Does Buddhism See the Mind as Separate from the Body?

Buddhism in Five Minutes - Elizabeth J. Harris

Peter Harvey [+-]
University of Sunderland
Peter Harvey is Emeritus Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Sunderland. He co-founded with Ian Harris the UK Association for Buddhist Studies and edits its journal Buddhist Studies Review. His research has been on early Buddhist thought and practice, Buddhist ethics and making accessible the rich history of Buddhist thought.

Description

A key Buddhist belief concerns rebirth: that a person does not fully come to an end at death, but goes on to another rebirth. So the Buddha saw the view of materialists as mistaken, characterizing them as “annihilationists.” A person is more than the material body, then. The most common Buddhist analysis of a person is in terms of the five khandhas (Pali; Sanskrit: skandhas): “aggregates” or “bundles.” These are: • material form (rūpa): four primary elemental processes termed “earth”, “water,” “fire,” and “wind,” plus other processes dependent on these; • pleasant, unpleasant or neutral feeling tone (vedanā); • perception (Pali: saññā; Sanskrit: saṃjñā), which labels, classifies, and recognizes/misrecognizes sense-objects; • volitional activities (Pali: saṅkhāra; Sanskrit: saṃskāra), in the form of tendencies, emotions, attitudes, and volitional responses; • consciousness (Pali: viññāṇa; Sanskrit: vijñāna), the awareness of any object of the physical senses or mind.

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Citation

Harvey, Peter. 17. Does Buddhism See the Mind as Separate from the Body?. Buddhism in Five Minutes. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 86-90 Oct 2021. ISBN 9781800500907. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=40754. Date accessed: 13 Dec 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.40754. Oct 2021

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