As normal, thinking adults, our minds are said to be ‘conditioned’. These conditions are the countless experiences that shape and define our sense of self and the reality in which we dwell. Whilst the common goal of all spiritual awakening is to experience the ‘true mind’, that is, the unconditioned mind, to get there one first has to learn about how things are for the ‘conditioned mind’. Let me explain this.
The five heaps (skandhas in Sanskrit) are five categories of experience that offer a helpful model in understanding ‘reality’. They are superior to other models, such as those presented in science or psychology as they include both physical reality and the psycho-logical experience of this reality.
We consider these five heaps as distinct groups that all work together in creating what we experience as reality. On the whole this model is fairly simple and offers us a useful platform to understand our experience of life.
Body and Mind.
The Body, and all of physical reality form the first heap. This is called ‘the material’. It includes all physical phenomena, that is, all which we detect with our five senses. This is what is largely considered the reality of science, with physical laws and so forth.
The remaining four heaps are mental. These are feelings, perceptions, mental factors and consciousness.
Together, these five heaps create our experience of reality.
The Material Heap.
All physical ‘stuff’ belongs to the material skandha. We call it a heap because it is an aggregate – that is, made up of a mix of material. Think about atoms and molecules. All different bits that somehow stick together and form ‘solid’ reality. This heap is not mind, so it cannot sense anything. This is obvious in the rocks and soil, but even includes our bodies. It is our minds that feel the sensations that arise in our bodies, through special arrangements of this matter that respond to physical stimulus.
Our bodies are made up of this material heap, which is arranged in some places to respond to light, smells, tastes, sounds and pressure. It is our minds that observe patterns within the sense organs and through feelings, perceptions, mental factors and consciousness derive meaning from them.
The material heap is therefore just physical stuff, that is either outside of or the physical form we call our body. The material stuff in our body is organised into special receptors that detect physical stimulus which is then interpreted by our minds, which represent the other four heaps.
The Mental Heaps.
There are four mental heaps that all work together and constitute ‘mind’.
The Feeling Heap.
Feelings arise either due to:-
⁃ sensations, which are patterns that arise within our material sense organs or
⁃ thoughts, which are patterns that arise purely within our minds.
They are like a heap because at any one time we have many different feelings that arise as our minds respond to inputs from our sense organs or thoughts. Despite the vast number of tiny feelings that arise, there are only three types of basic feelings. We either have pleasurable, painful or neutral feelings. These types of feelings then condition us into adapting certain behaviours. We tend to avoid that which is unpleasant, seek that which is pleasurable and are indifference to those which are neutral.
The feeling heap might be considered that which connects our minds to our physical reality, where sensations are sorted by what kinds of feelings they elicit.
The Perception Heap.
Perceptions can be considered those feelings that we make a mental note or mark about. We learn to recognise patterns of feelings, and then build upon this. If we make accurate and distinct perceptions, we consider this intelligence. ‘Intelligence’ is nothing more than developing highly refined percept-ions with regard to a particular area of life. The more distinctions we can make, the more intelligent we appear, in that particular field.
Perceptions also create our sense of self. When we perceive something, we create an ‘object’ out of the many sensations and feelings that arise. This mental creation of an object also creates the subject, the perceiver.
Generally, once we have created perceptions they will arise whether our minds detect that certain pattern of feelings. Remember these feelings arise when our senses detect a material stimulus. Thoughts are abstracted perceptions which arise as pure mental objects that are not dependent on physical stimulus. Nevertheless thoughts also create a perceiver, the thinker of these thoughts. Thoughts can therefore arise as pure, independent perceptions, which can spawn further feelings and perceptions which we call ‘proliferation’, or more commonly ‘overthinking.’
The Mental Factors Heap.
The heaps get increasingly subtle. We start off with the obvious, the material heap. This is refined in our sense organs which creates our feelings. From these feelings our perceptions arise, which are also the basis of thinking and words.
Now we move into what might be analogous to ‘atomic’ mind. The last two heaps, mental factors and consciousness arise together.
The mental factors are best considered to be elements that support the arising of consciousness. Consciousness arises when a certain number of these factors are arranged together. The number and type of these factors dictates the quality of this consciousness that arises. It is like baking a cake. The taste and overall appearance of the cake depend exactly on the ingredients we put into it.
Both feelings and perceptions might be considered mental factors, but are excluded and have their own categories, yet they operate in a similar way in that they create and support the arising of consciousness. Other mental factors are necessary depending on the quality of the consciousness that arises.
Generally the most basic forms of consciousness have only a few factors, minimum of seven. Anger, greed and ignorance have about 9-18 mental factors. The wholesome consciousnesses like wisdom and compassion have many more factors, which stabilise the consciousnesses that arise.
The Consciousness Heap.
Consciousness is the process by which the mind knows something. It is the subtlest heap and arises in 89 different types of moments of consciousness, called the ‘citta’. Each citta arises along with its mental factors that dictate the ‘quality’ of each moment of consciousness. Whilst awareness appears continuous, in truth it arises as a stream of these moments of consciousness, each supported by mental factors and ‘knowing’ a particular object of perception.
How does all this help?
Those who are interested in the mind often become interested because they wish to take control of their life. They might seek to ‘better’ themselves or recover from some form of mental or physical suffering. Finding a helpful model that describes reality is the first stage in transforming one’s experience.
For example there are only 12 types of consciousness that are responsible for creating painful or unhelpful future states. Once one understands how the mind works, it becomes possible to recognise these states of mind and learn to mitigate problematic outcomes. It’s not particularly easy to learn all of this, yet with the right attitude it’s not impossible.
In time and once one becomes familiar with how reality works one can direct one’s efforts in changing certain aspects. This has almost miraculous effects on ones future experiences and transforms ones suffering into wisdom.
This is Alchemy.
