Namarupa

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Nāmarūpa is a dvandva compound in Sanskrit and Pali meaning "name (nāma) and form (rūpa)".

Synonyms:

• 名色 Cn: míngsè; Jp: myōshiki; Vi: danh sắc
• Tibetan: ming.gzugs

[edit] Nāmarūpa in Buddhism

This term is used in Buddhism to refer to the constituent processes of the human being- namely the Five Aggregates. Nāma is typically considered to refer to the psychological elements of the human person, while rūpa refers to the physical. 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) providing an experience of any sort of conventional 'self'. The Buddhist nāma and rūpa are mutually dependent, and not separable.

Nāmarūpa is the fourth of the Twelve Nidānas.

Preceded by Vijñāna

Twelve Nidānas Nāmarūpa

Succeeded by Ṣaḍāyatana

[edit] Nāmarūpa in Hinduism

The term nāmarūpa is also used in Hindu 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' and 'accidence' are used in Catholic theology to describe transubstantiation. 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.