Monday, January 12, 2015

KOSHAS VS. SKANDHAS

In Vedanta, there are five koshas or sheaths that are located one within the other that envelop the Atman.  The outermost sheath is the body, followed by the vital-energy sheath that holds together body and mind, followed by the sheath of the mind that perceives sense impressions, followed by the intellect, followed by the ego.
 
In Buddhism, there are five skandhas or aggregates so-called. The first skandha is form or matter, generally the body, followed by sensation or feeling, followed by perception or cognition, followed by mental formations or thoughts, followed lastly by consciousness or that which discerns.

According to Vedanta, when a person dies, the sheaths vanish, leaving the Atman to rejoin its source the Brahman and be reborn again.  This continues until moksha, liberation is achieved, which ends reincarnation.
 
Buddhism, on the other hand, teaches that when a person dies the skandhas scatter, leaving behind an “impression” that reincarnates.  The reincarnation continues until enlightenment is achieved, whereupon rebirth ends.

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