The Five Skandhas: Conception

The third aggregate, or skandha, is samjna (Skt.; Pali: sanna), variously translated as conception, perception, cognition, or discrimination. Samjna distinguishes the characteristics of an object, converting what would otherwise be jumbled sensory inputs into recognizable forms. Because of samjna we’re able to appreciate birdsong, distinguish blue from green, or discern a wine’s fruity taste.

Samjna works by first noting the characteristic of an object, and then marking it in the mind so it can be recognized again, much like a carpenter recognizes a piece of wood they’ve previously handled. As a mental factor, samjna is universal because it’s necessary to perceive anything at all. Yet it becomes an “aggregate of clinging” (upadana-skandha) when it solidifies a transient moment of experience, turning it into an object we then crave or push away based on how pleasant or unpleasant we perceive it to be. 

The main way to work with samjna is to remind ourselves of the three marks of existence: Every thing we perceive is impermanent, unsatisfactory, and empty of a self. Realizing that each moment and its accompanying perceptions—including the sense of an “I”—continuously arise and pass away leads to mindfulness and clear comprehension. Instead of seeing what we’d like to see, we perceive things as they really are.

“Perception is the labeling faculty of the mind. It recognizes and names. But it does not know reality.” 

–Ayya Khema

Tip: When you see yourself forming an opinion about something you’ve perceived, stop and ask: Am I seeing what’s in front of me or what my mind has learned to project? Or if you find you’re holding on to an experience, remind yourself (as the Buddha did), “This is not mine, this is not me, this is not my self.”

“Perception is only the mere perceiving of an object as, say, blue or yellow; it cannot bring about the penetration of its characteristics as impermanent, painful, and not-self. Consciousness knows the objects as blue or yellow, and it brings about the penetration of its characteristics, but it cannot bring about, by endeavoring, the manifestation of the [supramundane] path. Understanding knows the object . . . it brings about the penetration of the characteristics, and it brings about, by endeavoring, the manifestation of the path.”

–Buddhaghosa

 “Ignorance, feeling, impulse, and perception—all are instinctive processes. We operate a radar system which senses our territory. Yet we cannot establish ego properly without intellect, without the ability to conceptualize and name.” 

–Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Tip: Remember that while the noting that takes place in perception is necessary for us to recognize anything, the labeling we do as a result is often skewed. Practice clear perception by applying mindfulness to your seeing and regarding an object on its own terms, instead of sizing it up in terms of what it can do for you.

♦

Editor’s note: This is the third installment of our series on the five skandhas: form, sensation, conception, mental formations, and consciousness.