Nāmarūpa
is one of the
Nāmarūpa (T. ming gzugs མིང་གཟུགས་; C. mingse; J. myōshiki; K. myŏngsaek 名色) is commonly translated as "name and form":
This term is used to refer to the psycho-physical aggregates that are the basis for self-grasping:
- nāma (name) refers to psychological aggregates of a human being
- rūpa (form) refers to the physical aggregates
These two aggregates are mutually dependent; together they designate an individual being.[1]
This term is most commonly identified as the fifth link in the twelve links of dependent origination.
Relation to the five skandhas
The term nama-rupa is often used interchangeably with the five skandhas. But the term can also be meant to express the simplest categorization of components of the individual.
Contemporary scholar Karunadasa describes nama-rupa as having a general sense and a special sense. In the general sense, nama-rupa describes two main components of an individual: mental and physical. In the special sense:
- ...nama-rupa means the following psycho-physical aspects: “Sensation, perception, will, contact, attention—this is called nāma. The four material elements and the form depending on them—this is called rūpa”.[2]
Example from sutta
In the following example from a Pali sutta, the Buddha describes nāma-rūpa (in the sense of being equivalent to the five skandhas) as follows:
- "And what [monks] is name-&-form? Feeling, perception, intention, contact, & attention: This is called name. The four great elements, and the form dependent on the four great elements: This is called form. This name & this form are, [monks], called name-&-form."[3]
There are also other examples within the Pali Canon in which nāma-rūpa is used synonymously with the five aggregates.[4]
Within the twelve links of dependent origination
Within the twelve links of dependent origination, nama-rupa is:
- preceded by consciousness (Skt. vijñana)
- and followed by the six sense bases (Skt. ṣaḍāyatana).
See also
- Pratityasamutpada (dependent arising)
- Five skandhas
Notes
- ↑ For example, Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 350, entry for "Nāma" (retrieved 2007-06-20), states:
- "nāma as metaphysical term is opposed to rūpa, & comprises the 4 immaterial factors of an individual (arūpino khandhā, viz. vedanā saññā sankhāra viññāṇa...). These as the noëtic principle comb[ine]d with the material principle make up the individual as it is distinguished by 'name & body' from other individuals. Thus nāmarūpa= individuality, individual being. These two are inseparable...."
- ↑ Karunadasa 1996, p. 9, 57.
- ↑ From SN 12.2 (Thanissaro, 1997).
- ↑ Rhys Davids & Stede, op cit.
Sources
- Karunadasa, Y. (1996), The Dhamma Theory. Philosophical Cornerstone of the Abhidhamma (PDF), Buddhist Publication Society
- Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary. Chipstead: Pali Text Society. A general on-line search engine for the PED is available at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/.
- Sri Lanka Buddha Jayanti Tipitaka Series (SLTP) (n.d.). Buddhavaggo (SN 12.1). Retrieved 2007-06-20 from "METTANET - LANKA" at http://metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/3Samyutta-Nikaya/Samyutta2/12-Abhisamaya-Samyutta/01-Buddhavaggo-p.html.
- Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1994). Ajita-manava-puccha: Ajita's Questions (Sn 5.1). Retrieved 2007-06-20 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.5.01.than.html.
- Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997). Paticca-samuppada-vibhanga Sutta: Analysis of Dependent Co-arising (SN 12.2). Retrieved 2007-06-20 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/samyutta/sn-12-002-tb0.html.
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