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Fork of Fork of The Five Skandhas (The Five Aggregates)

Nita

Last edited Jun 17, 2025
Created on Jun 17, 2025

The Five Skandhas - Buddhist Philosophy

This repository contains files for an interactive web experience explaining the Five Skandhas concept from Buddhism, including:

  1. An informational page with descriptions of each Skandha
  2. An interactive visualization showing the interdependence between the Skandhas
  3. A real-world example illustrating how the Skandhas work together
  4. A printable poster version for educational purposes

Files

  • index.html - Main informational page with interactive elements
  • styles.css - Styling for the main page
  • skandhaData.js - Data structures for the Five Skandhas
  • visualizationController.js - Controls for the interactive visualization
  • exampleController.js - Controls for the interactive examples
  • poster.html - Printable poster design

The Five Skandhas

In Buddhist philosophy, the Five Skandhas (or Aggregates) represent the five aspects that constitute human experience. Together, they explain how we perceive reality and form our sense of self.

Skandha Sanskrit Function Description Interdependent With
Form Rūpa Physical structure Material body and external matter; what we can see, touch, sense All
Sensation Vedanā Feeling Experience of pleasure, pain, or neutrality arising from contact Perception, Form
Perception Saññā Recognition Identification and labeling of sensory input Sensation, Form
Mental Formations Saṅkhāra Volition Intentions, habits, thoughts, karmic tendencies Perception, Sensation
Consciousness Viññāṇa Awareness Basic awareness of experience, tied to the other aggregates All

Understanding the Five Skandhas helps us recognize that what we consider our "self" is actually a collection of ever-changing processes rather than a fixed entity.

Interactive Features

This project includes several interactive elements:

  1. A force-directed graph visualization showing the interdependence between skandhas
  2. Highlight functionality to explore each skandha and its relationships
  3. A step-by-step interactive example showing how an experience (eating an apple) is processed through all five skandhas
  4. A meditation guide for applying this understanding in practice

Usage

Simply open index.html in a modern web browser to explore the interactive elements. For printing the poster version, open poster.html and use your browser's print functionality.

MIT Licensed