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The Five Heaps

SN 22.48, the Khandha Sutta — set 4, Not-Self and Dependent Arising

Reading time: about 3 min · 363 words

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Before you read

A definition, and almost nothing else. The five heaps are named — form, felt experience, recognition, putting-together activities, knowing — and then the same five are named again, this time as the clung-to heaps.

The difference between the two lists is the entire point. The heaps are just the working parts of experience. They become the clung-to heaps when they are taken as me and mine.

One page, and worth reading before any of the longer not-self texts, all of which assume you already have this vocabulary.

Translation

The Setting

At Sāvatthī.

"Bhikkhus, I will teach the five heaps and the five clung-to heaps.

Listen to this.

The Five Heaps

"And what are the five heaps, bhikkhus?

Whatever form there is, past, future, or present, internal or external, coarse or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near:

this is called the form heap.

Whatever felt experience there is, past, future, or present, internal or external, coarse or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near:

this is called the felt-experience heap.

Whatever recognition there is, past, future, or present, internal or external, coarse or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near:

this is called the recognition heap.

Whatever putting-together activities there are, past, future, or present, internal or external, coarse or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near:

this is called the putting-together-activities heap.

Whatever knowing there is, past, future, or present, internal or external, coarse or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near:

this is called the knowing heap.

These are called the five heaps.

The Five Clung-To Heaps

"And what are the five clung-to heaps, bhikkhus?

Whatever form there is, past, future, or present, internal or external, coarse or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, with outflows and fit to be taken personally:

this is called the form clung-to heap.

Whatever felt experience there is, past, future, or present, internal or external, coarse or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, with outflows and fit to be taken personally:

this is called the felt-experience clung-to heap.

Whatever recognition there is, past, future, or present, internal or external, coarse or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, with outflows and fit to be taken personally:

this is called the recognition clung-to heap.

Whatever putting-together activities there are, past, future, or present, internal or external, coarse or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, with outflows and fit to be taken personally:

this is called the putting-together-activities clung-to heap.

Whatever knowing there is, past, future, or present, internal or external, coarse or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, with outflows and fit to be taken personally:

this is called the knowing clung-to heap.

These are called the five clung-to heaps."

Words used in this translation (9)
bhikkhus
Buddhist monks -- those who have left household life to practise full time. The Buddha's usual way of addressing the assembly, roughly "friends" in force.
clung-to heaps
The five categories experience gets sorted into and then grasped as "me" or "mine" -- body, feeling, recognition, mental activity, and awareness. Not clinging to the categories themselves, but to the sense of ownership placed on top of them.
felt experience
This project's rendering of "vedanā", often translated "feeling". It is the immediate pleasant, painful, or mixed tone of an experience, before any story we build on top of it.
form
This project's rendering of "rūpa" -- the physical, material aspect of experience, one of the five heaps.
heaps
This project's rendering of "khandhā" (usually translated "aggregates") -- the five piles experience gets sorted into: form, felt experience, recognition, putting-together activities, and knowing.
knowing
This project's rendering of "viññāṇa" (often translated "consciousness") -- bare awareness of an object through one of the senses or the mind.
outflows
This project's rendering of "āsavā" -- deep-running habits that keep seeping out and driving behaviour, classically sensuality, becoming, and ignorance. Often translated "taints" or "defilements."
putting-together activities
This project's rendering of "saṅkhārā" (often translated "mental formations") -- the mind's constructing and assembling activity, one of the five heaps.
recognition
This project's rendering of "saññā" (often translated "perception") -- the mind's act of identifying and labeling what it encounters.
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