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" The order of the skandhas is given in accordance with their relative coarseness and impurity with reference to the plate simile and in accord with the enumeration of the dhatus. Rupa being impenetrable, it is the coarsest of the skandhas. Among the non-material skandhas Vedana is the coarsest, just as everyone speaks of his hand, etc., being painful. Samjna or ideation ... is the next in coarseness, since the notions, man, woman, etc., are easy to understand. Samskara is coarser than Vijnana, as the forces of hate, etc., are easy to understand. Vijnana is the finest of them all, and since it universally grasps the characteristics of all other objects it is difficult to understand. Thus the order of the skandhas is in accord with their relative coarseness. " From the very beginning until now men and women have been mutually attracted by one another's rupa. This arises from abandoning oneself to passionate feelings (Vedana). Giving oneself over to pleasure is due to erroneous ideation (Samjna). This erroneous ideation is dependent upon the 94 MANUAL OF BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY Klesas (Samskaras). The Klesas arise in dependence upon Vijnana, and on the other hand the first three defile Vijnana once they have arisen. Thus the order of the skandhas is in accord with their mutual defilement. " Again, rupa is like a plate. Vedana is like food or drink contained in the plate. Samjiia is like a sauce, Samskara is like the cook, and Vijnana is like the eater. Thus the order of the skandhas is in accord with the simile of the plate, etc. " Again, the order of the skandhas is in accord with the relative position of the dhatus (realms of existence) ; e.g. in the Kama dhatu there are various subtle forms of desire where the rupa characteristics are made manifest. In the Dhyanas of the Rupa dhatu one finds sukha and priti, etc., where Vedana is particularly prominent. In the three first Arupa heavens they grasp the idea of space, etc., so that here Samjiia is the most prominent. In the highest heaven Cetana is the dominating factor, so that this realm is characterized by Samskara. All these four are supports of Vijnana." 2. The Twelve Ayatanas and the Eighteen Dhatus The other categories of the subjective classification of existence consist of the twelve ayatanas and the eighteen dhatus. These had best be considered together. Both are categories which were formulated not from an analysis of the human personality nor from an objective analysis of the external world, but as the result of the investigation of the functions of consciousness, and the means whereby con sciousness is produced. Here all the component parts of being are grouped together with reference to the part they play as consciousness producers, for Buddhism starts with the assumption that consciousness is not an eternal self- existent thing but is the temporary product of certain pre-existent material factors. Ayatana, says Mrs. Khys Davids, means " Place or sphere of meeting, or of origin or the ground of happening ".1 1 B.Psy. sect, on Ayat. COSMIC ANALYSIS 95 Vasubandhu (A.K. l-15a) renders it the gate of production of the Citta and Caitasika dharmas. More freely we can explain the term as being the basis of consciousness, or the factors which bring about consciousness. In this category the various aspects of consciousness themselves are not included. The Ayatanas are twelve in number, and are as follows : — 1. Object of sight 2. Object of hearing 3. Object of smell 4. Object of taste 5. Object of touch 6. Object of thought . 7. Organ of sight 8. Organ of hearing 9. Organ of smell 10. Organ of taste 11. Organ of touch 12. Organ of thought - Sense object. - Sense organ. Dhdtu, like dharma, is denned as that which bears its own attributes, but Vasubandhu (op. cit.) says that the term means species or genus, or even element, just as one says that a mountain consists of certain elements : gold, silver, copper, etc. In like manner does the world consist of so many dhatus. Consequently, we may call the dhatus the factors of con sciousness, or more correctly the elements of existence, regarded from the standpoint of consciousness and its causes, since the dhatu category contain all the twelve ayatanas, and in addition the six major divisions of consciousness itself, making eighteen in all. These are : — 1. Sight object 2. Sound object 3. Smell object 4. Taste object 5. Touch object 6. Mental object J Sense object. 96 MANUAL OF BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY 7. Sight organ 8. Sound organ 9. Smell organ n A m \- Sense organ. 10. Taste organ 11. Touch organ 12. Mental organ 13. Consciousness dependent upon sight 14. Consciousness dependent upon sound 15. Consciousness dependent upon smell 16. Consciousness dependent upon taste Kecipient consciousness. 17. Consciousness dependent upon touch 18. Consciousness dependent upon mentation, A few words concerning each of these factors will not be out of place. 1. The Fifteen Sensuous Factors, consisting of the five sense objects, the five sense organs, and the five-fold sense perceiving aspects of consciousness. These are not so likely to be misunderstood, but to each term a somewhat peculiar interpretation was given. (a) The Five Sense Objects These consist of visible objects, audible objects, etc. Consider carefully the word object. The substantialist would say that there is but one substance, which is perceived in different ways by the five senses, is seen by the eye, is touched by the hand, etc. Not so for the Buddhist, particularly after the atomic theory had been accepted.1 Every material object consists of molecules (Samghata paramanu, or Kalapa). Each molecule contains at least one visual atom (dravya paramanu), i.e. one atom which affects the eye and no other sense organ, one taste atom which affects the tongue and no other sense organ, etc. Consequently, the sense organs receive in reality impressions from different objects, even though these objects or atoms all form part of a single molecule, or atomic group. Concerning the nature of these atoms and 1 Cf. A.K. 4-laff., where all the following points are discussed ; also f. 30. COSMIC ANALYSIS 97 molecules, and the way in which they are produced and destroyed, we shall speak more at length hereafter. Suffice it for the moment to say that these atoms are not eternal, but are derived from the four elements. The four elements are themselves atomic, are cognizable by touch alone and not by any other sense organ, though their existence may be inferred by the reason acting upon the data given by the other senses. The fact that the object of sight must be a different substance from the object of taste, etc., is really inherent in the word dhatu, element, or factor, for if the object of sight and the object of taste were really one and the same they would constitute one dhatu and not two. (b) The Sense Organs In the same way the sense organs, according to the Buddhists, are not what we usually mean by the term. The Caksur- indriya is not the eyeball, but certain atoms of a peculiar kind scattered over the ball of the eye and possessed of the faculty of vision. The nose sense-organ consists of specific kinds of atoms scattered inside the two nostrils and possessing the faculty of smell, and so on with the others. The organ of touch, for example, consists of a large number of atoms scattered throughout the body, and possessed of the faculty of (tactual) feeling. These five kinds of atoms are quite distinct in kind from the five sense-object atoms, though they are equally derived from the four elements.1 Those parts of the body which do not form part of the sense organs consist of molecules or atom groups of the five sense atoms, with their attendant element atoms. The sense organs in the ordinary sense of the word, i.e. the sense orifices, are sometimes called the auxiliary indriya or faculties.2 Incidentally, the double nature of the orifices of the eye, ear, and nose called for comment from the Buddhist 1 Ab. Hr., l-2a. 2 A.K., A.K. 2, last part. H 98 MANUAL OF BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY philosophers, and we find them stating that the number of the dhatus is not thereby increased because (A.K. 1-136) " though twofold, yet as their species, their sense-object, and their resultant consciousness is the same, their nature is one ".