Attachment Is to Saññā, Not to Pañcakkhandha

The trigger for avijjā to arise is a ‘sukha vedanā‘ generated via the kāma saññā. That initiates a pañcupādānakkhandha process or, equivalently, a Paṭicca Samuppāda process with every sensory input. In rupa and arupa loka, avijjā is triggered by ‘rupa saññā‘ (causing ‘jhānic pleasures’) and ‘arupa saññā‘ (causing ‘arupa samāpatti pleasures’) respectively.

November 29, 2025

Few Suttās Even Mention Pañcakkhandha

1. The word pañcakkhandha appears only in the following suttās: Both are defined in Khandha Sutta (SN 22.48) and Saṅgīti Sutta (DN 33). Arahanta Sutta (SN 22.76) refers to the pañcakkhandha of an Arahant. It appears in a gāthā in the Bhāra Sutta (SN 22.22) and three Thera/Theri gāthā (Thag 1.90, Thag 1.120, and Thig 5.8), because it rhymes better than pañcupādānakkhandhā. This is confirmed in the Bhāra Sutta (SN 22.22) because pañcupādānakkhandhā is defined as the ‘burden’ @ marker 1.5, before pañcakkhandha appears in a gāthā @ marker 6.1.

  • Those are the only instances of pañcakkhandha appearing in the suttās that I could find.
  • Furthermore, in many suttās, the five components of the pañcupādānakkhandhā (rūpupādānakkhandha through viññāṇupādānakkhandha) are abbreviated as rupa, vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra, and viññāṇa. 
  • It is critical to keep in mind that those refer to rupaupādānakkhandha through viññāṇupādānakkhandha.
  • For example, the verse “Idha, bhikkhu, sutavā ariyasāvako rūpaṁ pajānāti, rūpasamudayaṁ … rūpanirodhaṁ … rūpanirodhagāminiṁ paṭipadaṁ pajānāti” appears in the “Vijjā Sutta (SN 22.114).” Here, ‘rūpa nirodha‘ does not refer to the cessation or destruction of external rūpa, but to the cessation of ‘mind-made rūpa‘  that arises in the mind due to ignorance, i.e., rūpupādānakkhandha. ‘Rūpa nirodha‘ happens when one attains the Arahant stage, at which time ‘mind-made rūpa‘ stops arising.
  • Thus, it is critical to understand that whenever the five components rūpa through viññāṇa appear in a sutta, they almost always refer to rūpupādānakkhandha through viññāṇupādānakkhandha.
Seeing Involves Pañca Upādānakkhandha, Not Just the External Rupa

2. Therefore, “rupa” does not refer to “external rupa” but to those mental aspects regarding it that arise in the mind when experiencing an “external rupa.“

Attachment Does Not Happen in the Absence of Pañcupādānakkhandha

3. Many people erroneously believe that pañcupādānakkhandha arises when a mind attaches to pañcakkhandha. However, pañcakkhandha (without upādāna) represents an undefiled mind (called a ‘pabhassara‘ mind; see “Uncovering the Suffering-Free (Pabhassara) Mind“), and such a mind cannot attach to anything.

  • The Buddha almost always discussed the pañcupādānakkhandha and not the pañcakkhandha, as we discussed in #1 above.
  • That is because a Buddha teaches how a mind with pañcupādānakkhandha can be cleansed. Thus, we need to learn how to remove the ‘upādāna‘ (attachment/craving) aspect in pañcupādānakkhandha.
  • Then, a question may arise: How does a mind attach to a sensory input if not to the pañcakkhandha? What triggers avijjā (and initiates a Paṭicca Samuppāda process with ‘“avijjā paccayā saṅkhāra‘)? Is it pañcupādānakkhandha itself?
Mahāpuṇṇama Sutta (MN 109)

4. In the “Mahāpuṇṇama Sutta (MN 109),” a bhikkhu asks the Buddha, “Bhante, is that attachment/grasping (upādāna) to the pañcupādānakkhandhā? Or does the grasping (upādāna) happen to anything other than the pañcupādānakkhandhā?” (Pāli version: “Taṁyeva nu kho, bhante, upādānaṁ te pañcupādānakkhandhā, udāhu aññatra pañcahupādānakkhandhehi upādānan’ti?”)

  • Buddha’s answer: “It is neither of those. That grasping (upādāna) is NOT (directly) to the pañcupādānakkhandhā, but it WOULD NOT HAPPEN in the absence of pañcupādānakkhandhā either.” (“Na kho, bhikkhu, taṁyeva upādānaṁ te pañcupādānakkhandhā, nāpi aññatra pañcahupādānakkhandhehi upādānaṁ“)
  • This is a critical point to understand. The Buddha was saying that attachment does not happen directly to the pañcupādānakkhandhā. However, attachment WOULD NOT happen in the absence of pañcupādānakkhandhā either. For example, attachment would not happen for an Arahant, but it WILL happen for a puthujjana.
  • In other words, there is a trigger for that attachment. That trigger is explained in the next verse.

5. Then the Buddha further explained: Attachment (or more correctly, conscious attachment or upādāna) is not directly to the pañcupādānakkhandhā. That attachment or grasping or upādāna is due to the chandarāga for the pañcupādānakkhandhā. (“Yo kho, bhikkhu, pañcasu upādānakkhandhesu chandarāgo taṁ tattha upādānan’ti)”.

  • Now, the question is: What is the cause for that chandarāga to arise? It is the “distorted saññā” (which is the kāma saññā for kāma loka)!
  • This is the critical point hidden in that sutta!
  • The same explanation is given in the “Cūḷavedalla Sutta (MN 44)” with exactly the same verses.
  • However, that ‘trigger’ is discussed in many other suttās.
Trigger Is Kāma Saññā (in Kāma Loka)!

6. That trigger (‘kāma saññā’) is discussed in many suttās. The problem is that those deeper suttās have not been correctly translated into English (or even Sinhala). 

7. Therefore, there are many other suttās that help us understand the Mūlapariyāya Sutta and the associated critical issue of saññā. The mind is pre-programmed (via Paṭicca Samuppāda) to present an attractive external world, even though the external world is devoid of any such attractions in ultimate reality (paramattha); ‘paramattha‘ (‘parama‘ + ‘attha‘) means ‘ultimate truth.’

  • For example, even though we see a colorful world, nothing in the world has color! The ‘red color’ of a rose is a ‘distorted or false saññā‘ (a misleading perception). In the same way, attractive tastes, smells, sounds, and body touches are due to ‘kāma saññā.’
  • I highly recommend the post, “Colors Are Mind-Made (Due to Kāma Saññā).” That post shows (with scientific evidence) that the colors of objects (which entice us) are mind-made and are not associated with the objects themselves or with the light.
  • The same holds for all other “appealing sensory inducements” such as taste and smell. They are all ‘mind-made’ due to the kāma saññā built into us. 
  • Therefore, kāma saññā is the trigger that leads to attachment with chandarāga in kāma loka. However, since an Arahant does not have either chandarāga or pañcupādānakkhandha, no attachment takes place for an Arahant. 
Deceived by Illusory ‘Sensual Pleasures’

8. This is a critical issue to fully comprehend. If flowers don’t have colors, would we attach to them? If a certain food item is not tasty, would we crave eating it? The same holds for all other sensory contacts. If none of them induce a REAL ‘pleasure sensation’, would we attach to them?

  • The other critical point is the following: If we investigate it from all avenues available to us in the world, they all confirm that we do actually experience those ‘pleasure sensations.’ For example, scientists will readily tell you that sugar tastes sweet because it contains sucrose molecules. 
  • That is why the Buddha stated that it is not possible to confirm his teachings by engaging in debates with those (like scientists) who can only depend on ‘worldly techniques’ (scientific studies) to base their conclusions. 
  • It is only with the ‘dhamma cakkhu‘ that we can ‘see with wisdom’ how our bodies and our environment arise to provide that ‘pleasure sensation’ with built-in saññā.
  • Furthermore, having chased those mind-made pleasures for an eternity, it is not easy for most people to even accept the fact that ‘saññā‘ is a mirage created by the mind (as explained in the “Pheṇapiṇḍūpama Sutta (SN 22.95)”). See #6 above.
Buddha Hesitated to Teach at First

9. This is why, just after attaining Buddhahood, the Buddha decided not to teach his newfound Dhamma. He thought, “This Dhamma I have discovered is deep, hard to see, hard to understand, peaceful, sublime, beyond the scope of mundane logic (atakkāvacaro), subtle, comprehensible only to the wise (paṇḍita).” 

  • The Pāli verse: “adhigato kho myāyaṁ dhammo gambhīro duddaso duranubodho santo paṇīto atakkāvacaro nipuṇo paṇḍitavedanīyo.” See “Brahmāyācana Sutta (SN 6.1).”
  • The next few verses are important: “Ālayarāmā kho panāyaṁ pajā ālayaratā ālayasammuditā. Ālayarāmāya kho pana pajāya ālayaratāya ālayasammuditāya duddasaṁ idaṁ ṭhānaṁ yadidaṁ idappaccayatāpaṭiccasamuppādo. Idampi kho ṭhānaṁ duddasaṁ yadidaṁ sabbasaṅkhārasamatho sabbūpadhipaṭinissaggo taṇhākkhayo virāgo nirodho nibbānaṁ.Ahañceva kho pana dhammaṁ deseyyaṁ; pare ca me na ājāneyyuṁ; so mamassa kilamatho, sā mamassa vihesā”ti.“
  • Translation: “But people easily attach to things in the world, they love them and enjoy them. It’s hard for them (duddasaṁ) to see this idappaccayatā paṭicca samuppāda. It’s also hard for them to see how stopping saṅkhāra generation (sabba saṅkhāra samatho), breaking of all samsaric bonds (sabba upadhi paṭinissaggo), and the cessation of taṇhā (taṇhākkhayo virāgo nirodho) leads to Nibbāna. And if I were to try to teach this Dhamma, others might not understand me, and I will only get tired (vihesā) of teaching it.”
  • Then the sutta describes how the Buddha eventually agreed to teach his Dhamma when Brahma Sahampati pointed out that there are people who can comprehend the teachings (@marker 5.1).
  • It is not only our Buddha but also previous Buddhas who initially decided not to teach their newfound Dhamma. See “Mahāpadāna Sutta (DN 14),” which describes a similar situation with Buddha Vipassi. This sutta names several previous Buddhas and provides a detailed account of Buddha Vipassi.
We Must be Careful in Handling The Issue of ‘Distorted Saññā‘

10. Once we understand that all those ‘sensual pleasures’ are mind-made, it is easy to equate them to a ‘pit of glowing coals’ in the “Alagaddūpama Sutta (MN 22).” Deceived by those so-called ‘sensual pleasures,’ we engage in akusala kamma that leads to rebirths in the apāyās!

  • However, we must be careful not to totally reject ‘sensual pleasures.’ Many types of ‘saññā‘ are critical for our survival. Our bodies are designed with certain types of saññā to survive in our environment.
  • There is no need to reject ‘sensual pleasures’ as long as one does not attach to them or such actions lead to hurting others, or there is a risk of indulging in too many ‘pleasurable activities.’ The Buddha never asked bhikkhus or lay people not eat eat tasty foods, for example. In fact, when people offer food to the bhikkhus, they try to prepare nutritious, tasty food. 
  • There are other aspects too. There is no need to disregard colorful objects, saying, “colors are made up. There is no need to pay attention to colors.” We pick a ripe fruit by its color (a ‘saññā‘), which helps us avoid eating raw fruit. We would not be able to avoid accidents without using traffic signals with ‘color lights.’ There are many such examples of objects with colors that benefit us in living this human life.
  • In fact, most animals depend on their built-in saññā for their survival.  will discuss these aspects in the next post.
  • This is why the Buddha taught that handling Dhamma is like handling a venomous snake. This is also stated in the “Alagaddūpama Sutta (MN 22)” (linked to the relevant verses in the sutta). If the teachings are not handled with wisdom, one could get into trouble. 
Avijjā of a Puthujjana –  Connection to Saññā

11. We all know that a puthujjana accumulates kamma with rāga, dosa, and moha arising in the mind. 

  • We have also heard that it happens because a puthujjana is ignorant about the “true nature of the world,” i.e., due to avijjā.
  • But what is that “true nature of the world” a puthujjana is ignorant about?
  • We have heard that explained in several ways: “ignorance of the Four Noble Truths,” not knowing the anicca, dukkha, anatta nature of the world, etc.
  • For example, “Avijjā Sutta (SN 56.17)” says that ignorance is “Not knowing about suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering.” “Avijjā Sutta (SN 22.113)” says that ignorance is “it’s when an unlearned ordinary person doesn’t understand rūpa (and vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra, viññāna), its origin, its cessation, and the practice that leads to its cessation.” “Avijjā Sutta (SN 45.1)” says that ignorance is not understanding the Noble Eightfold Path.
  • From the above discussion, we can say that another key aspect of avijjā is not knowing the role of the ‘distorted saññā.’ That is emphasized in the Mūlapariyāya Sutta; here, ‘Mūlapariyāya‘ means ‘Root of All Things.’
Saññā Is the Trigger for Avijjā to Arise

12. The initiation of a pañcupādānakkhandha is the same as the initiation of a Paṭicca Samuppāda process. They both arise with avijjā triggered by saññā (which is kāma saññā for us in the kāma loka).

Pañcupādānakkhandha (or Avijjā) Does Not Arise in Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi

13. Then, in #12 of the post “Overcoming Kāma Saññā – Satipaṭṭhāna Bhumi or Jhāna,” it was pointed out that Pancupadanakkhandha DOES NOT arise while the mind is in the ‘Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi.’ That is because any type of  ‘distorted saññā‘ associated with the world (which triggers avijjā and pañcanīvaraṇa) does not arise there, i.e., the trigger for avijjā to arise is not present in the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi.

  • That is how one can comprehend deep Dhamma concepts (necessary to attain magga phala above the Sotapanna stage) without being affected by the ‘kāma saññā.’ 
  • While sakkāya diṭṭhi (the wrong view) is eliminated at the Sotapanna stage, sakkāya (pañcupādānakkhandha) ceases only at the Arahant stage, i.e., pañcupādānakkhandha no longer can be initiated for an Arahant.
  • At the moment of attaining Arahanthood, pañcupādānakkhandha stops arising, and the Arahant is separated from the world. Of course, the physical body that the Arahant was born with will survive until its death.
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