Saṃjñā

The Five Aggregates (pañca khandha) according to the Pali Canon.     form (rūpa)   4 elements (mahābhūta)         ↓     contact (phassa)     ↓ ↑   consciousness (viññāna)           → ←       ←   mental factors (cetasika)     feeling (vedanā)       perception (sañña)       formation (saṅkhāra)         Form is derived from the Four Great Elements. Consciousness arises from other aggregates. Mental Factors arise from the Contact of Consciousness and other aggregates.  Source: MN 109 (Thanissaro, 2001)  |  diagram details

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Saṃjñā (Sanskrit; Devanagiri: संज्ञा) and sañña (Pāli; Devanagiri: सञ्ञा) can be translated as "perception" or "cognition."

In the Pali literature

In Buddhism, sañña is the third of the Five Aggregates (Skt.: skandha; Pali: khandha) which can be used to skillfully delineate phenomenological experiences during meditation. Whether as one of the Five Aggregates, meditative concentration (samadhi) on the passing and rising (vipassana) of sañña can lead to mindfulness (sati), clear comprehension (sampajanna) and even enlightenment and Arhantship (see Table).

In the Pali Canon, sañña is frequently defined as:

"It perceives blue, it perceives yellow, it perceives red, it perceives white."

In post-canonical Pali commentaries, the Visuddhimagga likens sañña to "a child without discretion."

See also

• Buddhist meditation
• Skandha (Five Aggregates)
• Vedana (Feelings/Sensations)
• Siddhas (Mahasiddas)

Source

• Buddhaghosa, Bhadantācariya (trans. from Pāli by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli) (1999). The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga. Seattle, WA: BPS Pariyatti Editions. ISBN 1-928706-00-2.

• Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2001). Khajjaniya Sutta: Chewed Up (SN 22.79). Retrieved 2006-06-22 from "Access to Insight" at: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.079.than.html.

th:สัญญา (พุทธศาสนา)