Nāmarūpa () is used in Buddhism to refer to the constituents of a living being: ''nāma'' is typically considered to refer to the mental component of the person, while ''rūpa'' refers to the physical. Most often found as a single compound word understood literally as name-and-form or named form. ''Nāmarūpa'' is a dvandva compound in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

and

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

meaning "name (nāma) and form (rūpa)". ''Nama'' (name) and ''Rupa'' (form) is the simple worldly identity of any form by a name both of which are considered temporal and not true identity with the nameless and formless ‘reality’ or ‘Absolute’ in Hinduism that has manifested as maya. In Buddhism the loss of all names and forms (conception of distinct concepts) leads to the realization of the Ultimate reality of ‘Shunyatha’ or ‘Emptiness’ or Nirvana “Naked Truth” removed of Maya.

In Buddhism

This term is used in Buddhism to refer to the constituents of a living being: ''nāma'' refers to the mental, while ''

rūpa Rūpa () means "form". As it relates to any kind of basic object, it has more specific meanings in the context of Indic religions. Definition According to the Monier-Williams Dictionary (2006), rūpa is defined as: :* ... any outward appearanc ...

'' refers to the physical. The Buddhist ''nāma'' and ''rūpa'' are mutually dependent, and not separable; as ''nāmarūpa'', they designate an individual being (or distinct things). Namarupa are also referred to as the five skandhas, "the psycho-physical organism", “mind-and-matter,” and “mentality-and-materiality”.

Psycho-physical constituents

In the

Pali Canon The Pāḷi Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant Early Buddhist texts, early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from t ...

, the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

describes ''nāmarūpa'' in this manner (English on left,

on right): Elsewhere in the

, ''nāmarūpa'' is used synonymously with the five aggregates. or as the process of perception Ven. Dr. Punnaji, 2017 in modern interpretation.

Empty of self

In keeping with the doctrine of anātman/ anatta, "the absence of an (enduring, essential) self", ''nāma'' and ''rūpa'' are held to be constantly in a state of flux, with only the continuity of experience (itself a product of

dependent origination A dependant (US spelling: dependent) is a person who relies on another as a primary source of income and usually assistance with activities of daily living. A common-law spouse who is financially supported by their partner may also be included ...

) providing an experience of any sort of conventional 'self'.

Part of the cycle of suffering

Nāmarūpa is the fourth of the

Twelve Nidānas Twelve or 12 may refer to: * 12 (number) * December, the twelfth and final month of the year * Dozen, a group of twelve. Years * 12 BC * AD 12 * 1912 * 2012 Film * ''Twelve'' (2010 film), based on the 2002 novel * ''12'' (2007 film), by Russi ...

, preceded by consciousness (Pali: '' viññāna''; Skt.: ''vijñana'') and followed by the six sense bases (Pali: '' ''; Skt: '). Thus, in the Sutta Nipata, the Buddha explains to the Ven. Ajita how samsaric

rebirth Rebirth may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Film * ''Rebirth'' (2011 film), a 2011 Japanese drama film * ''Rebirth'' (2016 film), a 2016 American thriller film * ''Rebirth'', a 2011 documentary film produced by Project Rebirth * '' ...

ceases:

In Hinduism

The term ''nāmarūpa'' is used in

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

thought, ''nāma'' describing the spiritual or essential properties of an object or being, and ''rūpa'' the physical presence that it manifests. These terms are used similarly to the way that '

essence Essence () has various meanings and uses for different thinkers and in different contexts. It is used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property (philosophy), property or set of properties or attributes that make an entity the ...

' and '

accident An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not deliberately caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that the event may have been caused by Risk assessment, unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Many researchers, insurers ...

' are used in

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

to describe

transubstantiation Transubstantiation (; Greek language, Greek: μετουσίωσις ''metousiosis'') is, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, "the change of the whole substance of sacramental bread, bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and ...

. The distinction between nāma and rūpa in Hindu thought explains the ability of spiritual powers to manifest through inadequate or inanimate vessels - as observed in possession and oracular phenomena, as well as in the presence of the divine in images that are worshiped through pūja. Nāma Rupatmak Vishva is the Vedanta (a school of Sanatana Dharma/

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

) term for the manifest Universe, viz. The World as we know it. Since every object in this World has a Nāma and Rupa, the World is called Nāma Rupatmak Vishva. The Paramātma (or Creator) is not manifest in this Nāma Rupatmak Vishva but is realized by a Sādhaka(student) by means of

Bhakti ''Bhakti'' (; Pali: ''bhatti'') is a term common in Indian religions which means attachment, fondness for, devotion to, trust, homage, worship, piety, faith, or love.See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. In Indian religions, it ...

(devotion),

Karma Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...

(action), Jnana (knowledge),

Yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

(Union, a Hindu school), or a

combination In mathematics, a combination is a selection of items from a set that has distinct members, such that the order of selection does not matter (unlike permutations). For example, given three fruits, say an apple, an orange and a pear, there are ...

of all of these methodologies.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Ireland, John D. (trans.) (1983). ''Ajita-manava-puccha: Ajita's Questions'' ( Sn 5.1), from ''The Discourse Collection: Selected Texts from the Sutta Nipata'' (WH 82). Kandy:

Buddhist Publication Society The Buddhist Publication Society (BPS) is a publishing house with charitable status, whose objective is to disseminate the teachings of Gautama Buddha. It was founded in Kandy, Sri Lanka, in 1958 by two Sri Lankan lay Buddhists, A.S. Karunaratn ...

. Retrieved 2007-06-20 from "Access to Insight" (1994) at https://web.archive.org/web/20140812121236/http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.5.01.irel.html. * Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). ''The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary''. Chipstead: Pali Text Society. A general on-line search engine for the PED is available at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/. * Sri Lanka Buddha Jayanti Tipitaka Series (SLTP) (n.d.). ''Buddhavaggo'' ( SN 12.1). Retrieved 2007-06-20 from "METTANET - LANKA" at http://metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/3Samyutta-Nikaya/Samyutta2/12-Abhisamaya-Samyutta/01-Buddhavaggo-p.html. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1994). ''Ajita-manava-puccha: Ajita's Questions'' ( Sn 5.1). Retrieved 2007-06-20 from "Access to Insight" at https://web.archive.org/web/20141226013717/http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.5.01.than.html. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997). ''Paticca-samuppada-vibhanga Sutta: Analysis of Dependent Co-arising'' ( SN 12.2). Retrieved 2007-06-20 from "Access to Insight" at https://web.archive.org/web/20060512063953/http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/samyutta/sn-12-002-tb0.html. {{Buddhism topics Hindu philosophical concepts Twelve nidānas Sanskrit words and phrases