Dhamma theory

The Dhamma theory is an Abhidammic innovation It gives an overview of all the bare phenomena which form this world.

Early version

The early Buddhist scriptures give various lists of the constituents of the person:

1. Nāma and rūpa, "name" and "form," or the mental and material elements;
2. The five skandhas (aggregates): rupa (material elements), vedana (cognition), sañña (perception), sankhara ("mental formations," impulses), vijnana (consciousness);
3. Six dhatus (elements): pathavi (earth), apo (water), tejo (temperature), vayo (air), akasa (space), vijnana (consciousness);
4. Twelve Sense BasesTwelve ayatanas, means for the arising of sense-perception and the corresponding mental cognition: the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind; and the related external objects: form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mental objects;
5. Eighteen dhatus (elements); the twelve ayatanas, supplemented with the six kinds of consciousness which arise when perception takes place: the visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, and mental consciousnesses.

See also

• Tattva
• Dharma
• Eight consciousnesses