Āyatana is a Buddhist term that has been translated as "sense base", "sense-media" or "sense sphere". In Buddhism, there are six internal sense bases and six external sense bases. There are six internal-external , pairs of sense bases: Buddhism and other Indian epistemologies identify six "senses" as opposed to the Western identification of five. In Buddhism, "mind" denotes an internal sense organ which interacts with sense objects that include sense impressions, feelings, perceptions and volition.
In the Four Noble Truths, the Buddha identifies that the origin of suffering is craving. In the chain of Dependent Origination, the Buddha identifies that craving arises from sensations that result from contact at the six sense bases. Therefore, to overcome craving and its resultant suffering, one should develop restraint of and insight into the sense bases.
Sense-base contexts
Throughout the Pali Canon, the sense bases are referenced in hundreds of discourses. In these diverse discourses, the sense bases are contextualized in different ways including:
Sextets :
The sense bases include two sets of six: six sense organs and six sense objects. Based on these six pairs of sense bases, a number of mental factors arise. Thus, for instance, when an ear and sound are present, the associated consciousness arises. The arising of these three elements – ear, sound and ear-related consciousness – lead to what is known as "contact" which in turn causes a pleasant or unpleasant or neutral "feeling" or "sensation" to arise. It is from such a feeling that "craving" arises. Such an enumeration can be found, for instance, in the "Six Sextets" discourse, where the "six sextets" are examined and found to be empty of self.
"The All" :
In a discourse entitled, "The All", the Buddha states that there is no "all" outside of the six pairs of sense bases. In the next codified discourse, the Buddha elaborates that the All includes the first five aforementioned sextets. References to the All can be found in a number of subsequent discourses. In addition, the Abhidhamma and post-canonical Pali literature further conceptualize the sense bases as a means for classifying all factors of existence.
As described in the [|"Related Buddhist concepts"] section below and illustrated in Figure 2, the sense bases are a critical link in the endless round of rebirth known as the Twelve Causes and as depicted in the Wheel of Becoming.
"Aflame with lust, hate and delusion"
In "The Vipers" discourse, the Buddha likens the internal sense bases to an "empty village" and the external sense bases to "village-plundering bandits." Using this metaphor, the Buddha characterizes the "empty" sense organs as being "attacked by agreeable & disagreeable" sense objects. Elsewhere in the same collection of discourses, the Buddha's Great DiscipleSariputta clarifies that the actual suffering associated with sense organs and sense objects is not inherent to these sense bases but is due to the "fetters" that arise when there is contact between a sense organ and sense object. In the "Fire Sermon", delivered several months after the Buddha's awakening, the Buddha describes all sense bases and related mental processes in the following manner:
Extinguishing suffering's flame
The Buddha taught that, in order to escape the dangers of the sense bases, one must be able to apprehend the sense bases without defilement. In "Abandoning the Fetters", the Buddha states that one abandons the fetters "when one knows and sees... as impermanent" the six sense organs, objects, sense-consciousness, contact and sensations. Similarly, in "Uprooting the Fetters", the Buddha states that one uproots the fetters "when one knows and sees... as nonself" the aforementioned five sextets. To foster this type of penetrative knowing and seeing and the resultant release from suffering, in the Satipatthana Sutta the Buddha instructs monks to meditate on the sense bases and the dependently arising fetters as follows:
When the Buddha speaks of "understanding" the eye, ear, nose, tongue and body, what is meant? According to the first-century CE Sinhalese meditation manual, Vimuttimagga, the sense organs can be understood in terms of the object sensed, the consciousness aroused, the underlying "sensory matter," and an associated primary or derived element that is present "in excess." These characteristics are summarized in the table below. The compendious fifth-century CE Visuddhimagga provides similar descriptors, such as "the size of a mere louse's head" for the location of the eye's "sensitivity", and "in the place shaped like a goat's hoof" regarding the nose sensitivity. In addition, the Visuddhimagga describes the sense organs in terms of the following four factors: Thus, for instance, it describes the eye as follows: In regards to the sixth internal sense base of mind, Pali subcommentaries distinguish between consciousness arising from the five physical sense bases and that arising from the primarily post-canonical notion of a "life-continuum" or "unconscious mind" :
In the fifth-century CE exegetical Visuddhimagga, Buddhaghosa identifies knowing about the sense bases as part of the "soil" of liberating wisdom. Other components of this "soil" include the aggregates, the faculties, the Four Noble Truths and Dependent Origination.
Related Buddhist concepts
Aggregates :
In a variety of suttas, the aggregates, elements and sense bases are identified as the "soil" in which craving and clinging grow. In general, in the Pali Canon, the aggregate of material form includes the five material sense organs and associated sense objects ; the aggregate of consciousness is associated with the sense organ of mind; and, the mental aggregates are mental sense objects. Both the aggregates and the sense bases are identified as objects of mindfulness meditation in the Satipatthana Sutta. In terms of pursuing liberation, meditating on the aggregates eradicates self-doctrine and wrong-view clinging while meditating on the sense bases eradicates sense-pleasure clinging.
Dependent Origination :
As indicated in Figure 2 above, the six sense bases are the fifth link in the Twelve Causes of the chain of Dependent Origination and thus likewise are the fifth position on the Wheel of Becoming. The arising of the six sense bases is dependent on the arising of material and mental objects ; and, the arising of the six sense bases leads to the arising of "contact" between the sense bases and consciousness which results in pleasant, unpleasant and neutral feelings.
Elements :
The eighteen elements include the twelve sense bases. The eighteen elements are six triads of elements where each triad is composed of a sense object, a sense organ and the associated sense-organ-consciousness. In other words, the eighteen elements are made up of the twelve sense bases and the six related sense-consciousnesses.
Karma :
In a Samyutta Nikaya discourse, the Buddha declares that the six internal senses bases are "old kamma, to be seen as generated and fashioned by volition, as something to be felt." In this discourse, "new kamma" is described as "whatever action one does now by body, speech, or mind." In this way, the internal sense bases provide a link between our volitional actions and subsequent perceptions.
