Understanding The Five Aggregates With Clinging May 27 2020

Pancupadanakkhandha (pahnch-ooh-puh-dah-nah-kahn-dah), is translated as the Five Aggregates With Clinging, with these characteristic elements: form (physical sensations), feeling, perception, mind conditioners and consciousness.  Contemplating these concepts persistently and deeply fosters the process of deconstructing the misconception of an enduring and autonomous self, a major goal in the process of Awakening.  Peter reviewed each of the aggregates to provide a deeper understanding of how they operate as singular as well as cooperative elements of  personality.  An Awakened being such as the Buddha still experiences the aggregating process, but this is termed Pancakkhandha (pahn-chah-kahn-dah), the Five Aggregates, meaning that the personality dynamic is not afflicted with craving and clinging.  Realization of this concept is facilitated by a guided meditation “Focused Attention And Peripheral Awareness”, which can be found in the audio archive.

Here are the notes prepared for this talk:  UNDERSTANDING THE FIVE AGGREGATES

Next week’s talk will focus on an overview of the Seven Awakening Factors.

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Five Aggregates With Clinging

This talk provides a review of pancasammupada, the Five Aggregates With Clinging, an important Buddhist concept describing how personality is organized.  When Peter was in Graduate School, part of the required curriculum was a course on personality theory, citing such authorities as Freud and Jung, among others.  One of the chapters, written by Daniel Goleman, focused on Buddhism as a theory of personality, with the five aggregates as the topic of interest.  The aggregates represent the dynamic interaction between external reality and various functions operating within the mind to impose meaning and a sense of self.

These aggregates were reviewed to clarify how mindfulness practices provide opportunities to “deconstruct” the aggregates, fostering the process of awakening from distress and confusion.

Here are the notes prepared for the talk, including a graphic presentation to clarify the interactions of the aggregates:  THE FIVE AGGREGATES OF CLINGING

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