Translating Classical Buddhism to Modern English

The Related Discourses

2. The Sense Fields

This group of sūtras has the common theme of describing the sense fields and how they relate to Buddhist practice. These sense fields were divided into “internal” and “external” groups of six. The internal sense fields are the senses themselves (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind), while the external sense fields are their respective objects (forms, sounds, odors, flavors, touches, and mental objects). Buddhists considered the mind a sixth sense in that one can experience imaginary sense objects in the mind’s eye as well as ideas and emotions.

These twelve sense fields represent the full range of sensory input that human beings possess, each conceived as a separate field or channel of experience.

The Sense Fields group consists of 285 sūtras when abbreviated sūtra variants are counted. The material spans fascicles 8, 9, 43, 11, and 13 of Taisho No. 99, which have been reordered according to Yinshun’s reconstruction.

For a table of parallels found in other Buddhist sources, see the Dharma Pearls Wiki. Also, see the notes listed in the introduction to the Aggregates regarding conventions followed in the list below.

Below is a list of the English translations currently available.

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