In the study Mathieu Boisvert presents a detailed analysis of the five aggregates (pancakkhandha) and establishes how the Theravada tradition views their interaction. He clarifies the fundamentals of Buddhist psychology by providing a rigorous examination of the nature and interrelation of each of the aggregates and by establishing, for the first time, how the function of each of these aggregates chains beings to the cycle of birth, death and rebirth--the theory of dependent origination (paticcasamuppada). Boisvert contends that without a thorough understanding of the five aggregates, we cannot grasp the liberation process at work within the individual, who is, after all, simply an amalgam of the five aggregates. The Five Aggregates represents an important and original contribution to Buddhist Studies and will be of great interest to all scholars and students of Buddhism.
Devoted readers who have no basic knowledge of Abhidhamma and the doctrine of Dependent of Dependent Origination should obtain instructions from teachers compulsorily when reading this book. Dependent Origination is profound in its nature.
This book is an attempt to look at Buddhism from an intellectual prospective. As the texts of Buddhism are so vast a newcomer to Buddhism will find it difficult to understand the basics of Buddhism as rituals associated with Buddhism may confuse them.