Identity and Experience_Hamilton_1996

CHAPTER I1
The Vedaniikhandha
Introduction to the ariipakkhandhas
THE FOUR KHANDHAS OTHER THAN the riipakkhandha are collectively called
arzipa in the Pali texts. They are sometimes referred to in scholarly works
and translations as the 'mental' khandhas, in the sense of being opposed to
the corporeal (riipa) khandha. We have seen in the discussion of the
rzipakkhandha, however, that the term rzipa is not limited to corporeality.
Defining the ariipakkhandhas as 'mental' in this polar sense should therefore
be done with caution. And just as the composition of the rzipakkhandha was
not described in terms of substance, so one should not anticipate that the
anipakkhandhas comprise some sort of mental entity. In describing the four
elements which comprise riipa, I stated that they represented the occurrence
of certain states or processes which are characterised by solidity (or
extension), fluidity, heat and motion. The ariipakkhandha-s might be similarly
interpreted as the occurrence of certain states or processes that are not
characterised according to the four elements. In Buddhism this distinction
does not imply the ontological dualism posited by Descartes' well-known
polarisation of consciousness (which is unextended) and matter (whose
primary property is extension). Rather, one might suggest that it implies
that the states or processes occur at different levels on a spectrum of density.
Those which are designated by the term riipa occur at levels on the spectrum
which are characterised by the four great elements. Though the most
dense of these is solid, that they include heat and motion illustrates that
their range is considerable. Those states or processes which are designated
by the term aripa occur at levels on the spectrum which do not have any of
the characteristics associated with riipa. The signdicance of this spectrum is
discussed in chapter VII. The four ariipakkhadas are vedanii, san"n"6, samklzira
and Viiiiiiipz.