Dhātu
| Key Term | dhātu |
|---|---|
| In Tibetan Script | ཁམས་ |
| Wylie Tibetan Transliteration | khams |
| 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 Pāli, “element”; a polysemous term with wide application in Buddhist contexts. In epistemology, the dhātus 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 (ālambana; 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 (vijñāna; viz., visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, and mental consciousnesses). As this list makes clear, the eighteen dhātus also subsume the twelve āyatana (sense-fields). The dhātus represent one of the three major taxonomies of dharmas found in the sūtras (along with 'skanda' and 'āyatana'), and represent a more primitive stage of dharma classification than the elaborate analyses found in much of the mature 'Abhidharma' literature (but cf. Dharmaskandha). In cosmology, dhātu is used in reference to the three realms of existence (trilokadhātu), which comprise all of the phenomenal universe: the sensuous realm (kāmadhātu), the subtle-materiality realm (rūpadhātu), and the immaterial realm (ārūpyadhātu). The three realms of existence taken together comprise all of samsāra, and are the realms within which beings take rebirth. In this cosmological sense, dhātu is synonymous to AVACARA (sphere, domain); see avacara for further details. In a physical sense, dhātu is used to refer to the constituent elements of the physical world (see mahābhūta), of which four are usually recognized in Buddhist materials: earth, water, fire, and wind. Sometimes two additional constituents are added to the list: space (ākāśa) and consciousness (vijñāna). The term dhātu may also refer to an “elemental physical substance,” that is, the physical remains of the body, and this context is synonymous with śarīra (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 Ratnagotravibhāga, dhātu is synonymous with gotra, the final element that enables all beings to become buddhas; see BUDDHADHĀTU. |
| RigpaWiki | rigpa:ཁམས་ |