The opening of the second book of the Abhidhamma: the five aggregates named, and then the first of them taken apart.
- When chanted
- Chanted at a funeral, in the Suat Jaeng service, where the Vinaya, the Suttas and the seven books of the Abhidhamma are each represented in turn.
A note on this chant. The book prints this chant in Pali only, with no Thai translation. The English here is a working translation prepared for this edition — it is not the book's own, and has not yet been checked by a teacher.
Historical background
วิภังค์ means analysis, a taking apart. Where the first book lists, this one divides, and the extract performs that in miniature: it names a set, then analyses one member of it.
No Thai translation is printed for the passage, so the chant stands at the Pali and an English translation written for this edition rather than taken from the book.
Meaning and purpose
The five are named first — form, feeling, perception, formations, consciousness. The tradition treats these as what a person is exhaustively made of, with nothing left over that is not one of the five.
Then the first is analysed, and the definition is unusual. Whatever form there is, past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near — gathering all this together and comprising it as one, this is called the aggregate of form. An aggregate is defined by collection rather than by essence. It is not a thing but a heap of instances gathered under a single word.
In a room where a body is present that is not an abstraction. The passage says what the word covers, and one of the things it covers, explicitly, is form that is past.
The chant
As the book prints it: page 40 →
ปัญจักขันธา
pañcakkhandhā
The five aggregates:
รูปักขันโธ,
rūpakkhandho,
the aggregate of form,
เวทะนากขันโธ,
vedanākkhandho,
the aggregate of feeling,
สัญญากขันโธ,
saññākkhandho,
the aggregate of perception,
สังขารักขันโธ,
saṅkhārakkhandho,
the aggregate of formations,
วิญญาณักขันโธ.
viññāṇakkhandho.
the aggregate of consciousness.
ตัตถะ กะตะโม รูปักขันโธ
tattha katamo rūpakkhandho
Therein, which is the aggregate of form?
ยังกิญจิ รูปัง อะตีตานาคะตะปัจจุปปันนัง, อัชฌัตตัง วา พะหิทธา วา, โอฬาริกัง วา สุขุมัง วา, หีนัง วา ปะณีตัง วา, ยัง ทูเร วา สันติเก วา,
yaṅkiñci rūpaṃ atītānāgatapaccuppannaṃ, ajjhattaṃ vā bahiddhā vā, oḷārikaṃ vā sukhumaṃ vā, hīnaṃ vā paṇītaṃ vā, yaṃ dūre vā santike vā,
Whatever form there is, past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near —
ตะเทกัชฌัง อะภิสัญญูหิต๎วา อะภิสังขิปิต๎วา อะยัง วุจจะติ รูปักขันโธ.
tadekajjhaṃ abhisaññūhitvā abhisaṅkhipitvā ayaṃ vuccati rūpakkhandho.
gathering all this together and comprising it as one, this is called the aggregate of form.
จบพระวิภังค์
jòp prá-wí-paŋ
Here ends the Vibhaṅga.