Realities

There are two types of realities:

1. Apparent Reality (sammuti-sacca)
2. Ultimate Reality (paramattha-sacca)

These two types of realities can also be grouped into Four Ultimate Realities.

The Four Ultimate Realities (Paramattha Dhammas) are:

1. citta (consciousness) 2. cetasika (mental factors arising together with consciousness)	Nama or mental phenomena
3. Rupa	material or physical phenomena
4. Nibbana	Ultimate Reality

Nibbana is the unconditioned.

Nama experiences something.

Rupa does not experience anything.

Example:

Hearing is nama. Ear-sense and sound are rupas. The nama which hears experiences sound. The rupas do not experience anything.

Citta, cetasika and rupa are conditioned realities (sankhara dhamma). They arise because of conditions and fall away again. They are impermanent. Nibbana is an unconditioned reality (visankhara dhamma). It does not arise and fall away. All four paramattha dhammas are anatta (non-self).

The Five Khandhas

Citta, cetasika and rupa, which are conditioned realities, can be classified by way of the five khandhas or aggregates (groups). They are:

1. rupakkhandha (materiality or physical phenomena)
2. vedanakkhandha (feeling)
3. sannakkhandha (perception)
4. sankharakkhandha (other 50 cetasikas or mental factors)
5. vinnanakkhandha (all cittas or consciousness)

The khandhas are real. We can experience them.

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