Skandha

Skandha (devanāgarī: स्कन्ध) is a Sanskrit term usually translated as "aggregate". It used in Buddhism to refer to the five functions or aspects that constitute the human being. In Theosophy it is used in different ways, but most frequently to refer to psychic (i.e., mental and emotional) habits of perception and reaction.

In Buddhism

The sutras describe human beings as composed of five aggregates, nothing among them being a permanent "I":

• Rūpa ("form" or "matter"): The physical world and the material body.
• Vedanā ("sensation" or "feeling"): The pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral sensations arising from the perception of an object.
• Samjñā ("conception" or "cognition"): Recognizing of an object perceived.
• Samskāra ("mental formations" or "volition"): All types of mental habits, thoughts, ideas, opinions, prejudices, compulsions, and decisions triggered by an object.
• Vijñāna ("consciousness" or "discernment"): Perception of the stimuli that come through the senses.

Further reading

• Skandha at Theosopedia