Dhammānupassanā —Five Clinging Aggregates (Exercise 33 in Satipaṭṭhāna Practices) Reflections by Bhante Dr. Chandima

Dhammānupassanā: Contemplation of the Five Clinging Aggregates (pañcasu upādānakkhandhesu)

4.2 Puna caparaṃ, bhikkhave, bhikkhu dhammesu dhammānupassī viharati pañcasu upādānakkhandhesu. Kathañca pana, bhikkhave, bhikkhu dhammesu dhammānupassī viharati pañcasu upādānakkhandhesu?

Again, further, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu dwells contemplating phenomena as phenomena about the five clinging aggregates. And how, bhikkhus, does a bhikkhu dwell contemplating phenomena as phenomena about the five clinging aggregates?

• This section introduces contemplation of the five clinging aggregates (pañca upādānakkhandhā) as a core aspect of dhammesu dhammānupassanā in the Satipaṭṭhāna framework. The focus is not merely on analyzing experience, but on seeing how form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness become objects of clinging. By observing these aggregates as conditioned, arising, and ceasing phenomena, the practitioner weakens identification and dismantles the basis of self-view, moving mindfulness toward liberating insight. 

4.2.1 Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu: ‘iti rūpaṃ, iti rūpassa samudayo, iti rūpassa atthaṅgamo; iti vedanā, iti vedanāya samudayo, iti vedanāya atthaṅgamo; iti saññā, iti saññāya samudayo, iti saññāya atthaṅgamo; iti saṅkhārā, iti saṅkhārānaṃ samudayo, iti saṅkhārānaṃ atthaṅgamo; iti viññāṇaṃ, iti viññāṇassa samudayo, iti viññāṇassa atthaṅgamo’ti.

Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu understands: “Thus is form, thus is the arising of form, thus is the passing away of form; thus is feeling, thus is the arising of feeling, thus is the passing away of feeling; thus is perception, thus is the arising of perception, thus is the passing away of perception; thus are volitional formations, thus is the arising of volitional formations, thus is the passing away of volitional formations; thus is consciousness, thus is the arising of consciousness, thus is the passing away of consciousness.”

4.2.2 Iti ajjhattaṃ vā dhamme dhammānupassī viharati, bahiddhā vā dhamme dhammānupassī  viharati, ajjhattabahiddhā vā citte dhamme dhammānupassī  viharati;

Thus, he/she dwells contemplating the mental phenomena internally, or he/she dwells contemplating the mental phenomena externally (universalizing the nature of the five clinging aggregates), or he/she dwells contemplating the mental phenomena both internally and externally.

• The triadic formula—internal, external, and both—broadens mindfulness beyond the self. Observing one’s hindrances (ajjhattaṃ) cultivates introspective clarity; observing others’ hindrances bahiddhā) nurtures empathy and detachment; observing both dissolves the boundary between self and other, revealing universality in the mental phenomena processes.

4.2.3 Samudayadhammānupassī vā dhammesu viharati, vayadhammānupassī vā dhammesu viharati, samudayavayadhammānupassī vā dhammesu viharati.

They dwell observing the mental phenomena as subject to origination, as subject to vanishing, or as subject to both origination and vanishing.

• This section deepens contemplation into anicca-saññā—the perception of impermanence. One sees the mental phenomenon as a process, continuously arising and ceasing. Awareness of this flux uproots craving and builds insight into dukkha and anattā. The thought is no longer “mine,” but a transient flow of conditions.

4.2.4 ‘Atthi cittan’ti vā panassa sati paccupaṭṭhitā hoti. Yāvadeva ñāṇamattāya paṭissatimattāya anissito ca viharati, na ca kiñci loke upādiyati.

Or mindfulness that ‘there is a thought’ is established to the extent necessary for knowledge and mindfulness. And they dwell unassociating, not grasping at anything in the world.

• At this stage, awareness becomes purified of grasping. The practitioner does not think “I am the mental phenomenon,” but merely recognizes “there is a mental phenomenon.” This detached observation marks the maturity of mindfulness: awareness for the sake of knowing, not for owning. One abides free from worldly attachment (anissito ca viharati).

Evampi kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhu dhamme dhammānupassī viharati.

In this way, monks, a monk dwells observing the mental phenomena in the mental phenomena.

Further Notes on the Five Clinging Aggregates (Exercise 33 in Satipaṭṭhāna Practices)

Why “Clinging Aggregates” (upādānakkhandhā)?

The Buddha does not speak here merely of the five aggregates (pañca khandhā), but specifically of the five clinging aggregates (pañca upādānakkhandhā). This distinction is crucial.

-Khandhā are neutral psycho-physical processes.
-Upādānakkhandhā are those same processes appropriated through craving (taṇhā) and clinging (upādāna).
-What is contemplated in satipaṭṭhāna is not an abstract self, but the lived structure of appropriation.

The refrain “iti … samudayo (arising) … atthaṅgamo (passing away)” trains the practitioner to see conditional arising and cessation, directly undermining sakkāya-diṭṭhi (self-view).

1. Rūpa — Form (Materiality)

Rūpa refers to material form: the physical body and external matter, traditionally grounded in the four great elements (mahābhūtā) and their derivatives. In the context of upādānakkhandha, rūpa is not just matter, but matter taken as “mine,” “I,” or “my body.”

Clinging to rūpa manifests as:

• Identification with bodily appearance, health, strength, youth, and gender
• Fear of aging, illness, and death
• Obsession with bodily comfort or aversion to bodily pain

The contemplation of rūpassa samudayo points to conditionality—rūpa arises due to causes such as nutriment (āhāra), temperature, kamma, and consciousness. Its passing away (atthaṅgama) reveals its fragility and the inevitability of dissolution.

2. Vedanā — Feeling

Vedanā refers to the affective tone of experience: pleasant, painful, or neither-painful-nor-pleasant. Among the aggregates, vedanā plays a central role in dependent origination, as craving (taṇhā) arises dependent on feeling.

As a clinging aggregate, vedanā becomes:

• Chasing pleasure
• Resisting pain
• Ignoring neutral feelings

The contemplation of vedanāya samudayo reveals how feeling arises due to contact (phassa), while vedanāya atthaṅgamo shows that feelings are fleeting and not under ownership.

3. Saññā — Perception

Saññā is the faculty of recognition and labelling—identifying shapes, sounds, meanings, and concepts. It constructs the world through memory and interpretation.

As clinging, saññā manifests as:

• Fixating on labels (good, bad, me, them)
• Mistaking concepts for reality
• Emotional reactions are triggered by remembered meanings rather than present experience

The contemplation of saññāya samudayo exposes how perception arises through sense contact and conditioning, while its atthaṅgama reveals its instability and unreliability.

4. Saṅkhārā — Volitional Formations

Saṅkhārā are volitional activities—intentions, impulses, habits, and mental constructions. They are deeply karmic, shaping future experience.

As clinging aggregates, saṅkhārā appear as:

• My intentions
• My personality
• This is how I am

The contemplation of saṅkhārānaṃ samudayo reveals how formations arise conditioned by ignorance (avijjā) and craving, while their atthaṅgama points to the possibility of cessation through wisdom.

5. Viññāṇa — Consciousness

Viññāṇa is sense-specific awareness—eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, and so forth. It is not a permanent observer but a dependently arisen process.

As clinging, viññāṇa becomes:

• Identification with awareness (I am the knower)
• Subtle metaphysical self-view
• Attachment to continuity of experience

The contemplation of viññāṇassa samudayo shows its dependence on the sense base and object, while atthaṅgama dismantles the illusion of an enduring consciousness.

By contemplating each aggregate in terms of what it is, how it arises, and how it ceases, the practitioner dismantles the structure of clinging layer by layer. This is not philosophical speculation but an experiential deconstruction of selfing. Thus, dhammesu dhammānupassanā on the pañca upādānakkhandhā becomes a direct pathway from mindfulness to insight and ultimately to liberation.