Buddhist Philosophy in India and Ceylon c9.s3.8

c9.s3.8

Perception (*saññā*), covers both sense-perception and the wider form of perception which takes place, not through the sense, but by the agency of mind; the former in the technical terminology of the *Vibhaṅga* is resistance-perception (*paṭigha-saññā*), the latter designative perception (*adhivacana-saññā*), denoting, for instance, the understanding through speech of the mental state of another, although an alternative interpretation assigning to this form of perception the giving of names to objects cognized by sense is suggested by Vasubandhu.¹ The term aggregate here is presumably collective, but the mention of Saññā along with Viññāṇa is otiose and decisive proof of the lack of psychological interest or acumen of the observers.