Summary: Khandhapaññatti is the first of the six kinds of designation (paññatti) defined in the Puggalapaññatti. It refers to the description or conceptual labeling of the five aggregates (khandha) that constitute experience. (Pp 1-3)
Canonical locus
The Puggalapaññatti opens by establishing khandhapaññatti as the foundational layer of its classification system. (Pp 1)
Pp 1.1 (pp1.1:3.1)
Kittāvatā khandhānaṁ khandhapaññatti?
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"In how many ways is there a designation of aggregates for the aggregates?"
Analysis
Khandhapaññatti identifies that what we call "experience" can be conceptually designated through five groups: (Pp 3)
- Rūpakkhandha (aggregate of matter)
- Vedanākkhandha (aggregate of feeling)
- Saññākkhandha (aggregate of perception)
- Saṅkhārakkhandha (aggregate of mental formations)
- Viññāṇakkhandha (aggregate of consciousness)
In the context of the Puggalapaññatti, this designation serves to ground the subsequent analysis of persons. Before the text describes person-types, it affirms that the most basic valid Abhidhamma designation is that of the five aggregates. (Pp 1-3)
Textual notes
- The term paññatti (designation/description) is crucial here; it underscores that while the aggregates are ultimate realities, the names we give them are conceptual labels used for communication and analysis.
- This designation links the Puggalapaññatti directly back to the opening of the Vibhaṅga.
Related concepts
Related pages
- puggalapannatti (text)
- vibhanga