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Vedanā ( Pāli and
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...
: वेदना) is an ancient term traditionally translated as either " feeling" or "sensation." In general, ''vedanā'' refers to the pleasant, unpleasant and neutral sensations that occur when our internal sense organs come into
contact Contact may refer to: Interaction Physical interaction * Contact (geology), a common geological feature * Contact lens or contact, a lens placed on the eye * Contact sport, a sport in which players make contact with other players or objects * C ...
with external sense objects and the associated
consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...
. Vedanā is identified as valence or "hedonic tone" in psychology. Vedanā is identified within the Buddhist teaching as follows: * One of the ''seven universal mental factors'' in the Theravāda Abhidharma. * One of the ''five universal mental factors'' in the Mahāyāna Abhidharma. * One of the twelve links of dependent origination (in both Theravāda and Mahāyāna traditions). * One of the five skandas (in both Theravāda and Mahāyāna traditions). * One of the objects of focus within the
four foundations of mindfulness ''Satipatthana'' ( pi, Satipaṭṭhāna, italic=yes; sa, smṛtyupasthāna, italic=yes) is a central practice in the Buddha's teachings, meaning "the establishment of mindfulness" or "presence of mindfulness", or alternatively "foundations of ...
practice. In the context of the twelve links, craving for and attachment to vedanā leads to suffering; reciprocally, concentrated
awareness Awareness is the state of being conscious of something. More specifically, it is the ability to directly know and perceive, to feel, or to be cognizant of events. Another definition describes it as a state wherein a subject is aware of some in ...
and clear comprehension of vedanā can lead to Enlightenment and the
extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the Endling, last individual of the species, although the Functional ext ...
of the causes of suffering.


Definitions


Theravada

Bhikkhu Bodhi states: :Feeling is the mental factor which feels the object. It is the affective mode in which the object is experienced. The Pali word vedanā does not signify emotion (which appears to be a complex phenomenon involving a variety of concomitant mental factors), but the bare
affective Affect, in psychology, refers to the underlying experience of feeling, emotion or mood. History The modern conception of affect developed in the 19th century with Wilhelm Wundt. The word comes from the German ''Gefühl'', meaning "feeling ...
quality of an experience, which may be either pleasant, painful or neutral.... Nina van Gorkom states: : When we study the Abhidhamma we learn that 'vedanā' is not the same as what we mean by feeling in conventional language. Feeling is
nāma ''Nāma'' is Sanskrit for name. In this context its meaning is the creative power. Alternate meanings in the Granth Sahib include '' shabad'' (word), ''kirtan'' (melody). In Arabic it is kalama (''kalam'' meaning "pen") "a" indicates something t ...
, it experiences something. Feeling never arises alone; it accompanies
citta ''Citta'' (Pali and Sanskrit: चित्त; pronounced ''chitta''; IAST: ''citta)'' is one of three overlapping terms used in the '' nikaya'' to refer to the mind, the others being '' manas'' and '' viññāṇa''. Each is sometimes used i ...
and other cetasikas and it is conditioned by them. Thus, feeling is a conditioned nāma. Citta does not feel, it cognizes the object and vedanā feels... :All feelings have the function of ''experiencing the taste, the flavour of an object'' (''Atthasālinī'', I, Part IV, Chapter I, 109). The ''Atthasālinī'' uses a simile in order to illustrate that feeling experiences the taste of an object and that citta and the other cetasikas which arise together with feeling experience the taste only partially. A cook who has prepared a meal for the king merely tests the food and then offers it to the king who enjoys the taste of it: :: ...and the king, being lord, expert, and master, eats whatever he likes, even so the mere testing of the food by the cook is like the partial enjoyment of the object by the remaining dhammas (the citta and the other cetasikas), and as the cook tests a portion of the food, so the remaining dhammas enjoy a portion of the object, and as the king, being lord, expert and master, eats the meal according to his pleasure, so feeling, being lord, expert and master, enjoys the taste of the object, and therefore it is said that enjoyment or experience is its function. :Thus, all feelings have in common that they experience the 'taste' of an object. Citta and the other accompanying cetasikas also experience the object, but feeling experiences it in its own characteristic way.Gorkom (2010)
Definition of Feeling
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Mahayana

The Abhidharma-samuccaya states: :What is the absolutely specific characteristic of vedana? It is to experience. That is to say, in any experience, what we experience is the individual maturation of any positive or negative action as its final result.Guenther (1975), Kindle Locations 329-331. Mipham Rinpoche states:Kunsang (2004), p. 21. : Sensations are defined as impressions. : The aggregate of sensations can be divided into three: pleasant, painful, and neutral. Alternatively, there are five: pleasure and mental pleasure, pain and mental pain, and neutral sensation. : In terms of support, there are six sensations resulting from contact... Alexander Berzin describes this mental factors as ''feeling (tshor-ba, Skt. vedanā) some level of happiness''. He states: : When we hear the word “feeling” in a Buddhist context, it’s only referring to this: feeling some level of happy or unhappy, somewhere on the spectrum. So, on the basis of pleasant contacting awareness—it comes easily to mind—we feel happy. Happiness is: we would like it to continue. And, on the basis of unpleasant contacting awareness—it doesn’t come easily to the mind, we basically want to get rid of it—we feel unhappiness. “Unhappiness” is the same word as “suffering” (mi-bde-ba, Skt. duhkha). Unhappiness is: I don’t want to continue this; I want to be parted from this. :And neutral contacting awareness. We feel neutral about it—neither want to continue it nor to discontinue it...


Relation to "emotions"

Vedanā is the distinct valence or "hedonic tone" of emotional psychology, neurologically identified and isolated. Contemporary teachers Bhikkhu Bodhi and Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche clarify the relationship between ''vedanā'' (often translated as "feelings") and Western notions of "emotions." Bhikkhu Bodhi writes: :"The Pali word ''vedanā'' does not signify emotion (which appears to be a complex phenomenon involving a variety of concomitant mental factors), but the bare
affective Affect, in psychology, refers to the underlying experience of feeling, emotion or mood. History The modern conception of affect developed in the 19th century with Wilhelm Wundt. The word comes from the German ''Gefühl'', meaning "feeling ...
quality of an experience, which may be either pleasant, painful or neutral." Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche writes: :"In case .e. within the Buddhist teachings'feeling' is not quite our ordinary notion of feeling. It is not the feeling we take so seriously as, for instance, when we say, 'He hurt my feelings.' This kind of feeling that we take so seriously belongs to the fourth and fifth skandhas of
concept Concepts are defined as abstract ideas. They are understood to be the fundamental building blocks of the concept behind principles, thoughts and beliefs. They play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied by ...
and
consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...
."


Attributes

In general, the
Pali canon The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During ...
describes vedanā in terms of three "modes" and six "classes." Some discourses discuss alternate enumerations including up to 108 kinds.


Three modes, six classes

Throughout canonical discourses ('' Sutta Pitaka''), the
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...
teaches that there are three modes of vedanā: :* pleasant ('' sukhā'') :* unpleasant ('' dukkhā'') :* neither pleasant nor unpleasant (''adukkham-asukhā'', "ambivalent", sometimes referred to as "neutral" in translation) Elsewhere in the Pali canon it is stated that there are six classes of vedanā, corresponding to sensations arising from contact (Skt: '' sparśa''; Pali: ''phassa'') between an internal sense organ ( ''āyatana''; that is, the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body or mind), an external sense object and the associated consciousness (Skt.: '' vijnana''; Pali: ''viññāna''). (See Figure 1.) In other words: :* feeling arising from the contact of eye, visible form and eye-consciousness :* feeling arising from the contact of ear, sound and ear-consciousness :* feeling arising from the contact of nose, smell and nose-consciousness :* feeling arising from the contact of tongue, taste and tongue-consciousness :* feeling arising from the contact of body, touch and body-consciousness :* feeling arising from the contact of mind (''mano''), thoughts (''
dhamma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for ' ...
'') and mind-consciousness


Two, three, five, six, 18, 36, 108 kinds

In a few discourses, a multitude of kinds of vedana are alluded to ranging from two to 108, as follows: :* two kinds of feeling: physical and mental :* three kinds: pleasant, painful, neutral :* five kinds: physical pleasant, physical painful, mental pleasant, mental painful, equanimous :* six kinds: one for each sense faculty (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind) :* 18 kinds: explorations of the aforementioned three mental kinds of feelings (mental pleasant, mental painful, equanimous) each in terms of each of the aforementioned six sense faculties :* 36 kinds: the aforementioned 18 kinds of feeling for the
householder Householder may refer to: *Householder, a person who is the head of a household * Householder (Buddhism), a Buddhist term most broadly referring to any layperson * Householder (surname), notable people with the surname *'' The Householder'', a 196 ...
and the aforementioned 18 kinds for the renunciate :* 108 kinds: the aforementioned 36 kinds for the past, for the present and for the future In the wider Pali literature, of the above enumerations, the post-canonical Visuddhimagga highlights the five types of vedanā: physical pleasure (''sukha''); physical displeasure (''dukkha''); mental happiness (''somanassa''); mental unhappiness (''domanassa''); and, equanimity (''upekkhā'').


Canonical frameworks

Vedanā is a pivotal phenomenon in the following frequently identified frameworks of the Pali canon: * the "five aggregates" * the twelve conditions of "dependent origination" * the four "foundations of mindfulness"


Mental aggregate

Vedanā is one of the five aggregates (Skt.: '' skandha''; Pali: ''khandha'') of clinging (Skt., Pali: '' upādāna''; see Figure 2 to the right). In the canon, as indicated above, feeling arises from the contact of a sense organ, sense object and consciousness.


Central condition

In the Chain of Conditioned Arising (Skt: '' pratītyasamutpāda''; Pali: '), the Buddha explains that: * vedanā arises with contact ('' phassa'') as its condition * vedanā acts as a condition for craving (Pali: '' ''; Skt.: ). In the post-canonical 5th-century Visuddhimagga, feeling (''vedana'') is identified as ''simultaneously'' and ''inseparably'' arising from consciousness ('' viññāṇa'') and the mind-and-body ('' nāmarūpa''). On the other hand, while this text identifies feeling as ''decisive'' to craving and its mental sequelae leading to suffering, the conditional relationship between feeling and craving is not identified as simultaneous nor as being karmically necessary.


Mindfulness base

Throughout the canon, there are references to the four "foundations of mindfulness" (''
satipaṭṭhāna ''Satipatthana'' ( pi, Satipaṭṭhāna, italic=yes; sa, smṛtyupasthāna, italic=yes) is a central practice in the Buddha's teachings, meaning "the establishment of mindfulness" or "presence of mindfulness", or alternatively "foundations of ...
''): the body (''kāya''), feelings (''vedanā''), mind states (''citta'') and mental experiences ('' dhammā''). These four foundations are recognized among the seven sets of qualities conducive to enlightenment ('' bodhipakkhiyādhammā''). The use of ''vedanā'' and the other ''satipaṭṭhāna'' in Buddhist meditation practices can be found in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta and the
Ānāpānasati Sutta The ''Ānāpānasati Sutta'' (Pāli) or ''Ānāpānasmṛti Sūtra'' (Sanskrit), "Breath-Mindfulness Discourse," Majjhima Nikaya 118, is a discourse that details the Buddha's instruction on using awareness of the breath (''anapana'') as an initial ...
.


Wisdom practices

Each mode of vedanā is accompanied by its corresponding underlying tendency or obsession ('' anusaya''). The underlying tendency for pleasant vedanā is the tendency toward lust, for unpleasant, the tendency toward aversion, and for neither pleasant nor unpleasant, the tendency toward ignorance. In the Canon it is stated that
meditating Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...
with concentration (''
samādhi ''Samadhi'' ( Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yo ...
'') on ''vedanā'' can lead to deep mindfulness (''sati'') and clear comprehension ('' '') (see Table to the right). AN 4.41: for Pali, see SLTP (n.d); for English translations, see Nyanaponika & Bodhi (1999), pp. 88-89, Thanissaro (1997a), Upalavanna (n.d.). With this development, one can experience directly within oneself the reality of
impermanence Impermanence, also known as the philosophical problem of change, is a philosophical concept addressed in a variety of religions and philosophies. In Eastern philosophy it is notable for its role in the Buddhist three marks of existence. It ...
('' anicca'') and the nature of attachment (''upādāna''). This in turn can ultimately lead to liberation of the mind ('' nibbāna'').


Alternate translations

Alternate translations for the term vedana are: * Feeling (Nina van Gorkom, Bhikkhu Bodhi, Alexander Berzin) * Feeling some level of happiness (Alexander Berzin) * Feeling-tone (Herbert Guenther) * Sensation (Erik Kunsang)


See also

*
Affect (psychology) Affect, in psychology, refers to the underlying experience of feeling, emotion or mood. History The modern conception of affect developed in the 19th century with Wilhelm Wundt. The word comes from the German ''Gefühl'', meaning "feelin ...
* (Skt.; Pali: ') - six sense bases * (Pali; Skt.: ') - foundations of mindfulness * Skandha (Skt.; Pali: ''khandha'') - aggregates * Valence (psychology)


Notes


Sources

* Berzin, Alexander (2006)
''Primary Minds and the 51 Mental Factors''
* Bodhi, Bhikkhu (ed.) (2000). ''A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma: The Abhidhammattha Sangaha of Ācariya Anuruddha''. Seattle, WA: BPS Pariyatti Editions. . * Bhikkhu Bodhi (2003), ''A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma'', Pariyatti Publishing *
Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...
(1992). ''The Meaning of Life'', translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, Boston: Wisdom. * Guenther, Herbert V. & Leslie S. Kawamura (1975), ''Mind in Buddhist Psychology: A Translation of Ye-shes rgyal-mtshan's "The Necklace of Clear Understanding"'' Dharma Publishing. Kindle Edition. * Kunsang, Erik Pema (translator) (2004). ''Gateway to Knowledge, Vol. 1''. North Atlantic Books. * Nina van Gorkom (2010)
''Cetasikas''
Zolag * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997)
''Paticca-samuppada-vibhanga Sutta: Analysis of Dependent Co-arising''
Access to Insight * Hamilton, Sue (2001). ''Identity and Experience: The Constitution of the Human Being according to Early Buddhism''. Oxford: Luzac Oriental. . * Nyanaponika Thera (trans.) (1983). ''Datthabba Sutta: To Be Known'' ( SN 36.5). Retrieved 2007-06-08 from " Access to Insight" at: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn36/sn36.005.nypo.html. * Nyanaponika Thera & Bhikkhu Bodhi (trans.) (1999). ''Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: An Anthology of Suttas from the Anguttara Nikaya''. Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society. . * Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). ''The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary''. Chipstead: Pali Text Society. A general on-line search engine for the PED is available at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/. * Sri Lanka Buddha Jayanti Tipitaka Series (SLTP) (n.d.). ' ( AN AN 4.1.5.1, in
Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...
). Retrieved 2007-06-08 from "MettaNet-Lanka" at: http://www.metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/4Anguttara-Nikaya/Anguttara2/4-catukkanipata/005-rohitassavaggo-p.html. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997a). ''Samadhi Sutta: Concentration'' ( AN 4.41). Retrieved on 2007-06-08 from "Access to Insight" at: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an04/an04.041.than.html. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997b). ''Sattatthana Sutta: Seven Bases'' ( SN 22.57). Retrieved 2007-06-08 from "Access to Insight" at: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.057.than.html. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1998). ''Chachakka Sutta: The Six Sextets'' ( MN 148). Retrieved 2007-06-08 from "Access to Insight" at: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.148.than.html. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2004). ''Vedana Sutta: Feeling'' ( SN 25.5). Retrieved 2007-06-08 from "Access to Insight" at: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn25/sn25.005.than.html. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2005a). ''Atthasata Sutta: The One-hundred-and-eight Exposition'' ( SN 36.22). Retrieved 2008-03-31 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn36/sn36.022.than.html. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2005b). ''Bahuvedaniya Sutta: Many Things to be Experienced'' ( MN 59). Retrieved 2008-03-31 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.059.than.html. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2005c). ''Pañcakanga Sutta: With Pañcakanga'' ( SN 36.19). Retrieved 2008-03-31 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn36/sn36.019.than.html. * Trungpa, Chögyam (2001). ''Glimpses of Abhidharma''. Boston: Shambhala. . * Upalavanna, Sister (n.d.). '' – Developments of concentration'' ( AN AN 4.5.1). Retrieved 2007-06-08 from "MettaNet-Lanka" at: http://www.metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/4Anguttara-Nikaya/Anguttara2/4-catukkanipata/005-rohitassavaggo-e.html.


External links

* Nyanaponika Thera (ed., trans.) (1983). ''Contemplation of Feeling: The Discourse-Grouping on the Feelings (Vedana-Samyutta)'' (The Wheel, No. 303/304). Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society. Transcribed by Joe Crea (1995). Retrieved 2007-06-08 from "Access to Insight" at: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/nyanaponika/wheel303.html. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vedana Buddhist meditation Twelve nidānas Mental factors in Buddhism Sanskrit words and phrases Pali words and phrases