The Central Conception of Buddhism and the Meaning of the Word "Dharma" c8.5

c8.5

¹ Every *āyatana* is thus a *dharmāyatana*, but No. 12 is *dharmāyatana* par excellence. Just so is it that the ten material *āyatanas* all include matter. They are, consequently, all of them, *rūpāyatanas*. But only one of them—the visible element, *āyatana* No. 7—retains the name of *rūpāyatana* as its special designation, because it represents the most characteristic and important among the elements of matter. Cf. Ab. K., i, 24, Tibetan text, p. 42, 17 ff.