Veenopama Sutra: Understanding Five Clinging Aggregates

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A king hears a sound that he has never heard before, he enquires from his aids what that sound is and they say it is the sound of a Veena (an eastern musical instrument that resembles a lute). He demands that they bring that sound to him. The aids bring him the Veena (let’s call it a lute) with its bow and the king asks what they are. The aids say to him that it’s a lute. Not happy with what he got the King demands, "I want that beautiful sound I heard, not this."

The aids explain to the king that the sound he heard originates from the lute when someone plays it with the bow. Disappointed with the lute the king exclaims, "Then I don't want that, take it away , break it and burn it." 

The Buddha urges us to see the five aggregates of clinging in that manner, how they originate due to conditions. When one knows that, the Buddha says, erroneous notion of taking as me and mine will not arise.

Let's examine this parable closely and try to understand the inherent Dhamma.

The lute represents internal sense bases and the bow, external sense bases. The person playing the lute denotes the role of consciousness. The sound generated is the five aggregates of clinging. 

The sound of the lute does not exist but is generated by the instrument when someone plays it with the bow, the sound originates due to conditions and ceases when conditions cease to exist. The sound can only be described along with conditions that cause it. It's not something that exists and disappears but one that originates due to conditions and ceases when the conditions are not present. 

Try to understand this occurrence, the beautiful music generated from the lute can only be heard when someone plays the instrument. The instrument becomes a lute only when it is being played, if not it is not a lute. It is one of the factors that contribute to create the music and thus we call it a lute. The lute does not create sound when it is not being played. When someone plays the instrument it generates a characteristic sound and hence becomes a lute and the sound ceases when the playing stops. Therefore, it can be said that the instrument becomes a lute only when necessary conditions are available and come together and that it ceases to be one when the conditions cease to exist.

Let's relate this to the Dhamma,

When the eye, an external form and the eye consciousness come together a contact occurs and we see a visible form. It is the origination of five aggregates of clinging. It lasts only until the contact takes place and ceases when contact ceases. This is the process of cause and effect and is also the nature of impermanence.

The eye becomes a sense faculty only with the origination of the five aggregates of clinging or the occurrence of contact. Compare this with the lute parable, see how sublime this Dhamma is? There is no mention of a cessation of an eye that exists, it is very clear that the eye arises due to conditions and ceases when the conditions are no more. We need to comprehend this with wisdom.

The sense base called the eye is comparable to the lute, the inactive instrument. The lute as an instrument will cease when it undergoes natural decay, however, the function of the lute, the sound, ceases when the playing stops. Similarly, the eye ceases only when one dies or get affected by a disease whereas the eye as a sense faculty ceases when name-matter cease to exist. The eye as a sense faculty only arises due to contact.

What we have just examined has everything that forms name – matter; a contact as well as attention that is necessary for a contact, everything that constitutes five aggregates of clinging, i.e. sensation, perception, formation and also a form that has originated. Name matter lasts as long as consciousness is alive. The sense faculty called the eye awakens due to name - matter and ceases when name-matter ceases. This is how all six sense faculties’ work.

 Excerpt from 'Sathyaye Arunodaya' - Ven Alawwe Anomadassi Thero.

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