SOKEI-AN SAYS thing. It is like electricity. No one of the mind and drive out all the the faces of cats and dogs, sometimes TOE FIVE SKANDHAS knows what it is in itself.When elec- things that are smoldering in the the shapes of letters or characters, The five groups of aggregates of tricity relies on something, it burns mind. Just as when a room becomes the forms of bodies,and so forth. all existing dharmas called the five that on which it relies and produces full of cigarette smoke, you open the Vedana- skandha is usually trans- skandhas are the basis for one of the light. When the human soul is in its windows and turn on the electric fan lated by Western scholars as sense- important doctrines in Buddhism. original state, it is called asam- to drive out the smoke, so with medi- perception. It includes feelings- - European and American scholars skrita. When it relies upon something- - tation you must drive out all suffer- pleasant and painful, agreeable and who talk about Buddhism pay little as when electricity relies on some- ing and questions, and keep your mind disagreeable, hunger, itching, and so attention to the five skandhas. Some thing, carbon, iron, or copper wire--i t pure. With this pure mind you will forth. All these belong to vedana. schol ar s who call themselves profound acts differently. It is then said to find your mind's origin. Beauty and ugliness may be included Buddhists have never spoken of this be in the state of samskrita. Without understanding samskrit a in vedana a1 so, but they stand between nor thought about it, but the five The spontaneous first motion of and asamskrita,you cannot grasp Bud- vedana and samjna usually. skandhas doctrine is the back-bone of human or sentient mind is in the dhism. Recently I gave a lecture on Samjna-skandha implies all human Buddhi sm. state of asamskrita. It creates all Buddha's skandhas. Buddha' s skandhas mind. Characters, numbers, names, signs This term appears,one might say, active phenomena. Then the human mind are in the nature of asamskrita. They and symbols--all these are the prod- almost on the first page of the Aga- brings all the results of the action are spontaneous and intrinsic. Man* s ucts of samjna.Human beings think of mas, the oldest scriptures of Buddhism. of mind back into mind as a fruit five skandhas are cultivated, con- things by means of numbers,names, signs Its translation from the Sanskrit into drops seed into the ground. When a sciously or unconsciously. They are and symbols. So the " idea" belongs Chinese is made up of two characters. ham is smoked and keeps the flavor of not natural; they are biased.They have to samjna. The " idea" of Emptiness The first means five, the second the smoke in the ham, it is called no freedom of movement of their own, belongs also to samjna. For example, ' piled up. " Earlier, the second char- " smoked ham." Human mind is similar- but are always clinging to the seeds someone comes into the Zen room and acter used could be translated " sha- ly " aromatized" by the outside. In carried in from the outside. answers a question about Reality by I & dows. " this state, human mind is in samskrita. Skandha means " neck, " for the saying Emptiness. " This one is The Buddha divided all existing It is called vasano (" suffused").The neck is " piled" upon the shoulders. still in samjna; he has not broken dharmas within and without the human state of asamskrita is pure, but the The five skandhas are the five piles through. He thinks he is at the bot- mind into five groups, calling them state of samskrita is impure. If your of agglomerations of existing dhar- tom of the sea,but he is still in the the " five aggregates," as a farmer mind were water,pure water would be mas--as on the sea bottom you have cabin of the boat. Emptiness, Shun- might separate allhis vegetables into in a state of asamskrita. When pol- jellyfish, then seaweed, and so forth. yata,Nothingness--these words are the five different baskets--putting green luted with dust and debris,it is in The order of arrangement of the five products of samjna.One who uses these peas into one, turnips into another, the state of samskrita, a so-called skandhas begins with those that are to answer a koan is not yet at the celery into another, potatoes into ' aggregation. " coarse, gradually going through those bottom of the ocean of Emptiness.Sam- still another, and onions into the Buddhism embraces these two that are finer, and finally reaching jna must be translated into English fifth. There are also finer discrimi- states of asamskrita and samskri ta. those that vanish into nothing. They as thoughts, or ideas. nations in Buddhism. In the Abhidhar- Human mind is always in the samskrita are in this order: (1) rupa-skandha, Samskara-skandha Western schol- makosha, the dharmas are separated in- state (ui in Chinese). Asamskrita is (2) vedana-skandha, (3) samjna-skan- ars have translated as " confection. " to seventy-five groupings. mui. The meaning of the Chinese ui is dha, (4) samskara-skandha, (5) vi- It means aggregation of seeds. The I # The five skandhas are the prop- doing something. " The meaning of jnana-skandha. state of samskara is independent of erties of samskrita (the opposite of mui is " doing nothing." When the hu- Rupa-skandha implies all exist- rupa and vedana and samjna. There are asamskrita). Before I explain the de- man mind is in-the " doing nothing*' ing appearances both within and with- no sensations,no thoughts or images, tails of the five skandhas.1 shall state,it burns like fire. When the out our sense perceptions: clouds, nor is there any material existence. explain about samskrita and asamskri- mind " does" something, we mu st sep a- mountains, rivers, sun, moon, stars, red, Here everything is amalgamated.Al1 ta, so that you may understand the rate this impure '' doing" from the green, blue, all colors, sounds,odors, the seeds that have filtered through fundamental system of Buddhism. pure " doing nothing." We stop the touch- -hot, cold, smooth, rough; all vi s- our eyes, ears, from the outside, through Asamskrita is something that ex- fire from smoking by meditation, by ible semi-material signs in our minds, samjna- -all are amalgamated, just as ists without relying on any other pure mind action. We make an analysis the aggregation of signs in the mind- - ~ilver,~old,iron and copper can be- my mind. The only truth that is left ing seeking to find out what I was to me is this body and this mind. If thinking. I wrote ten pages a day. SUBJECTIVE, OBJECTIVE. I think analytically about it and medi- After a time I gave it up. There was When I was young and it was examina- and dispute,and in the end to fight. tate upon it,body disappears and mind too much. I destroyed it. Of course my tion day, before I went to school in even giving one another black eyes. disappears--nothing is left' I fail to mother found it and laughed at me. the morning I would closemy books and A law student told me four words-- find truth. That is the beginning study At the age of twenty, when I came to go to my seat to meditate. If, in the subjective, objective, abstract, con- of meditation. We analyze mind till Zen.1 realized the value of intro- examination, a very difficult problem crete.After that my brain flowed like there is no truth left in it. spectioni appeared on the blackboard and I was water,and I became a no-good boy for in a quandary, I meditated to quench the daily 1ife.I puzzled about the divis- Of course I was annoyed with my moth- When I was a child I attempted to palpi tation of my heart, for I had found ion of sub.jectivity and objectivity. er after my father's death--she cried make daily notes of my dreams. I kept that my brain worked better after med- It obsessed me! I ran outside and in the night,so I despised her. Why a notebook and pencil near my pillow itation. closed the door. I thought I was in did she have to take that agony? After and tried to scribble them down' Then objectivity.Then I ran into the house, I came into the temple I practiced in- I would go off to sleep again.My moth- When I was young and studying wood closed my eyes and thought I was in trospection. I realized my mother's er always said: " What are you doing? carving, I always realized that someone sub.jectivi ty. morbid dreaming, and not only hers, but Stop that nonsense and go to sleep. was living in my attic,carving some- My mother thought I had gone crazy. also that morbid flowing mind must be Don' t be bothered by your dreams." It thing independently in my attic, some- I wrote the character" tree" on paper, external. It is like a man sitting in usually happened that when I had care- one independently thinking while I then destroyed it and brought in a real his chair and tapping on the table-- fully arranged my notebook and pencil carved. Whenever I did anything,walk- tree,hung it on the wall. My mother insane. and gone to bed,either I didn' t dream ing the street, going to bed, working, said, " What has happened to this poor Your mind, i f you introspect it,is anything or I didn' t awake.