Dhātu

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Key Term	dhātu
In Tibetan Script	ཁམས་
Wylie Tibetan Transliteration	khams
Devanagari Sanskrit Script	धातु
Romanized Sanskrit	dhātu
Chinese Pinyin	jie
Term Type	Noun
Source Language	Sanskrit
Basic Meaning	Element
Did you know?	In the Ratnagotravibhāga, dhātu is synonymous with gotra, the final element that enables all beings to become buddhas.
Definitions
Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism	In Sanskrit and Päli, “element”; a polysemous term with wide application in Buddhist contexts. In epistemology, the dhätus refer to the eighteen elements through which sensory experience is produced: the six sense bases, or sense organs (indriya; viz., eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind); the six corresponding sense objects (àlambana; viz., forms, sounds, odors, tastes, tangible objects, and mental phenomena); and the six sensory consciousnesses that result from contact (sparśa) between the corresponding base and object (vijŃÀNA; viz., visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, and mental consciousnesses). As this list makes clear, the eighteen dhätus also subsume the twelve Ayatana (sense-fields). The dhätus represent one of the three major taxonomies of dharmas found in the sütras (along with SKANDHA and äyatana), and represent a more primitive stage of dharma classification than the elaborate analyses found in much of the mature abhidharma literature (but cf. D harmaskandha). In cosmology, dhätu is used in reference to the three realms of existence (trilokadhätu), which comprise all of the phenomenal universe: the sensuous realm (kämadhAt u ), the subtle-materiality realm (rüpadhätu), and the immaterial realm (ärüpyadhätu). The three realms of existence taken together comprise all of samsära, and are the realms within which beings take rebirth. In this cosmological sense, dhätu is synonymous to AVACARA (sphere, domain); see avacara for further details. In aphysical sense, dhätu is used to refer to the constituent elements of the physical world (see mahäbhüta), of which four are usually recognized in Buddhist materials: earth, water, flre, and wind. Sometimes two additional constituents are added to the list: space (àkàśa) and consciousness (vijñàna). The term dhätu may also refer to an “elemental physical substance,” that is, the physical remains of the body, and this context is synonymous with śarIra (relic), with which it is often seen in compound as śariradhātu (bodily relic). Sometimes three types of relics are differentiated: specific corporeal relics (śarīradhātu), relics of use (pāribhogikadhātu), and relics of commemoration (uddeśikadhātu). In a further development of this usage, in the Ratnagotravibhäga, dhätu is synonymous with gotra, the final element that enables all beings to become buddhas; see BUDDHADHÄTU.

A fundamental component or essential constituent.

Disposition, lineage, or class; an individual's gotra determines the type of enlightenment one is destined to attain.

Abhidharma generally refers to the corpus of Buddhist texts which deals with the typological, phenomenological, metaphysical, and epistemological presentation of Buddhist concepts and teachings. The abhidharma teachings present a meta-knowledge of Buddhist sūtras through analytical and systemic schemas and are said to focus on developing wisdom among the three principles of training. The Abhidharma is presented alongside Sūtra and Vinaya as one of the three baskets of the teachings of the Buddha.