Analysis Of Plato's Five Skandhas

The Buddha taught that any individual is made up of five aggregates of existence, also known as the Five Skandhas. They are Form, Sensation, Perception, Mental Formations, Consciousness. The first Skandha is our physical form, the second is our feelings, emotions and our senses – seeing, tasting, hearing, smelling and touching. The third Skandha is thinking, cognitive and reasoning ability. It is identifying an object, be it physical or mental. The fourth Skandha includes habits prejudices and predispositions. Our many mental states such as willfulness, faith, attention, etc. are a part of it. The fifth Skandha is the awareness of an object but without analyzing it. These Skandhas aren’t qualities which could be possessed by a person, because …show more content…
The logic differentiates the real thing and the apparent thing, judges what is true and false. The next element is the spirited, which is the part of the soul by which we experience anger and temper. The spirited works with the logical part and controls the third element which is the appetitive. The appetitive is responsible for all the desires and wants, love, hunger, thirst, and whichever through logic isn’t right, the spirited reacts to it so that it doesn’t …show more content…
The way we tackle situations, and the way we feel, a familiarity with our own mental landscape. It is unique for each and every person.
I haven’t really understood the self. What is it exactly, is it just our thoughts and perceptions or is it something deep within. I feel there is an inner consciousness which persists over time and develops a distinc and familiar way of viewing the world. And I believe this is what the self is. Some questions which I feel remain unanswered are what happens when we are sleeping. Are we the same person, are we Ourselves? Because at that time, we have no senses and we perceive nothing. Our body continues to exist on its own. What would happen if our memories were to be erased? Would we be the same person? Would our thoughts be the same, the way we perceive things or do the memories play a definite role in shaping a person’s thinking and rationality? If we do forget who we are and lose all our memories, can we revive who we were with the help of our loved ones, our friends and family? If that can happen, is the Self internal and kept just to ourselves or is it external and observed by others? I believe it is both. A Self that we show to the outside world, who we are, what we are. And one Self deep within which is our true self, unaltered and