The sense and mind ‘organs’

In Buddhist psychology, six sense bases (āyatanas) are identified as the primary gateways through which consciousness arises. These are the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Each corresponds to a particular domain of sensory experience: sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, and mental objects (thoughts, emotions, memories, imaginings, and so forth).

Unlike in Western physiology, where sense organs are treated as physical structures, the Buddhist model describes them functionally — as conditions necessary for contact (phassa) to occur. Contact arises when three factors converge: the sense base, the sense object, and the corresponding consciousness. For example, seeing arises when the eye (eye base), a visible form (object), and eye-consciousness meet.

The sixth sense base — the mind (manāyatana) — is particularly significant. It processes not only mental formations but also coordinates and integrates the information gathered by the other five senses. Mental consciousness is subject to the same laws of dependent origination as the other forms of consciousness, arising and ceasing in dependence on conditions.

By understanding how the sense bases operate, the practitioner gains insight into the constructed nature of experience. Perception is not a passive recording of reality but an active assembly of various components. This recognition undercuts the illusion of an independent perceiver and reveals the empty, dynamic interplay that gives rise to the world of experience.

In practice, mindfulness of the sense bases serves as a powerful meditation object. Observing how sensations and thoughts arise dependent on contact allows the practitioner to loosen attachment and cultivate dispassion, ultimately leading towards liberation.

“In the seen, there is only the seen; in the heard, only the heard; in the sensed, only the sensed; in the cognized, only the cognized. When one sees this, there is no ‘I’ in connection with that.”
— Bahiya Sutta, Udāna 1.10