The Buddha divided mind-body processes into five heaps or aggregates. These are simple descriptions of experience that can serve as pointers for investigation.
The system begins with Form (rūpa), the domain of physical reality and sensory input. Valence (vedanā) refines “feeling” into affective tone—pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. Perception (saññā) involves recognition and labeling, organizing raw input into meaning.
Dispositional formations (saṅkhārā) include both volitional and cognitive elements, but are linked to choice and karma. They are the thinking and choosing that become our dispositions, habits, and programming. Consciousness (viññāṇa) is awareness of oneself and the world.
Cognition, memory, attention, and conscience are not listed separately; they likely fall within dispositional formations. Remember, these are not five faculties but five groups of processes.
