Significance of Five senses
Synonyms: Sight, Hearing, Taste, Smell
In Dutch: Vijf zintuigen; In Finnish: Viisi aistia; In Spanish: Cinco sentidos; In German: Fünf Sinne; In Malay: Lima deria; In Swedish: Fem sinnen; In French: Les cinq sens
The below excerpts are indicatory and do represent direct quotations or translations. It is your responsibility to fact check each reference.
Buddhist concept of 'Five senses'
In Buddhism, the Five Senses encompass the sensory faculties—sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell—that connect individuals to the external world, which are to be transcended for spiritual liberation and deeper meditation.
From: Abhidhamma in Daily Life
(1) The five sensory faculties which are classified as elements, including eye-element, ear-element, nose-element, tongue-element, and body-element.[1] (2) The bodily senses: eye-sense, ear-sense, smelling-sense, tasting-sense, and body-sense, through which sense-door processes occur.[2] (3) The five senses are the means through which citta realizes objects; they include sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.[3] (4) The faculties through which individuals experience the world and which often contribute to attachment.[4]
From: Patthanuddesa Dipani
(1) The sensory channels through which perception occurs, activated when corresponding sense-objects interact with the five sensory bases.[5] (2) The sensory faculties through which the five objects present themselves, also referred to as the five bases.[6] (3) The collective term for the five sentient organs along with their accompanying functions or concomitants.[7]
From: Introducing Buddhist Abhidhamma
(1) The sensory experiences of seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and smelling that require awareness.[8] (2) The physiological faculties of touch, taste, sight, hearing, and smell through which desires are influenced by external contact.[9]
From: Patthana Dhamma
(1) The means through which we perceive the world, which includes sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.[10]
From: Guide to Tipitaka
(1) Refers to the faculties through which a person experiences the world, which the Buddha advises to restrain for deeper meditation.[11]
From: Dhammapada (translated from the Pali)
(1) The sensory experiences that a Bhikshu is advised to rise above to achieve liberation.[12]
From: Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra
(1) The faculties of perception allowing individuals to experience the world, specifically identified as part of the five kinds of good dharmas.[13] (2) The five senses are referred to as sense objects (kamaguna) that one can reject in the pursuit of ascetic practices.[14] (3) Refers to the sensory inputs (sight, sound, taste, touch, smell) that interact with the external world.[15]
From: Mahavastu (great story)
(1) The pleasures enjoyed by the men of Dipavati as they engaged in music and entertainment.[16]
From: The gods of northern Buddhism
(1) Representations related to the senses including sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste.[17]
Hindu concept of 'Five senses'
In Hinduism, the Five Senses encompass the faculties of perception—sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell—which facilitate human experience and knowledge, while also serving as potential distractions from spiritual realization and the pursuit of enlightenment.
From: Mahabharata (English)
(1) The faculties of perception (hearing, touch, taste, vision, and scent) that contribute to human experience and knowledge.[18] (2) The bodily senses that include sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell, which relate to the mind.[19] (3) A metaphor used by Draupadi to express her deep connection and affection for her five husbands, the Pandavas.[20] (4) The faculties that perceive the physical world: touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight.[21] (5) The sensory perceptions that are part of individuality, including sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.[22]
From: Yoga Vasistha [English], Volume 1-4
(1) The faculties of perception attached to the body that are often misperceived as solid and concrete.[23] (2) The organs through which the individual soul perceives the world, each associated with a respective element or aspect of perception.[24] (3) The five senses refer to the faculties through which perception occurs, comprising sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.[25]
From: Harivamsha Purana
(1) The five senses refer to the human faculties of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell, which can be controlled to attain spiritual enlightenment.[26] (2) The sensory organs of living creatures that Narayana attracts and balances within the universe.[27]
From: Anugita (English translation)
(1) Refers to the senses associated with perception and interaction with the external world.[28]
From: Tiruvaymoli (Thiruvaimozhi): English translation
(1) The faculties through which an individual perceives the physical world; in this context, they are seen as distractions from spiritual realization.[29] (2) The hidden enemies that torment individual souls in various ways, making the experience of life challenging.[30] (3) The five senses are the means through which experiences and pleasures are perceived, which can lead one into temptation.[31] (4) The faculties (sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell) that are described as serving the Lord.[32] (5) The forms taken by the Lord that correspond to the human sensory experiences.[33]
From: Vivekachudamani
(1) The five senses refer to the modalities through which beings perceive the world, specifically sound, sight, touch, taste, and smell.[34]
From: Brahma Sutras (Ramanuja)
(1) Refers to the five organ senses recognized by the Kanvas, which illuminate their respective objects.[35]
From: Sushruta Samhita, volume 1: Sutrasthana
(1) The faculties through which a drug can be perceived, as opposed to the transitory nature of its attributes.[36]
From: Tiruvacakam Part I
(1) Refers to the sensory experiences that lead the poet to feel turmoil and distraction from devotion.[37]
From: Tirukkural (Thirukkural)
(1) The five faculties of human perception (taste, touch, sight, sound, smell) that must be mastered to attain spiritual knowledge.[38]
Jain concept of 'Five senses'
In Jainism, the Five Senses refer to the five-sensed beings and their sensory modalities—touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing—that enable perception of the environment, impacting their karma and experiences, and highlighting paths to self-mastery.
From: Tattvartha Sutra (with commentary)
(1) The five primary senses: touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing mentioned as the indriyas.[39] (2) The sensory faculties that allow an individual to perceive the world, involving sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell.[40] (3) The sensory perceptions possessed by a being, which in this context, pertains to those endowed with these faculties in relation to the karma discussed.[41] (4) The specific number of senses acknowledged in the text, emphasizing that there are only five and no more.[42] (5) The five senses refer to the sensory modalities including touch, which are involved in perceiving agreeable and disagreeable objects.[43]
From: Trishashti Shalaka Purusha Caritra
(1) The sensory organs including skin, tongue, nose, eye, and ear that are associated with touch, taste, smell, form and sound.[44] (2) The five senses refer to the sensory organs that allow human beings to perceive the environment through touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing.[45] (3) Refers to advanced living beings that have developed full sensory perception, allowing them to engage in complex interactions.[46]
From: Uttaradhyayana Sutra
(1) The aspects of human experience that can lead to delusion and distraction, highlighted in Nami's teachings on self-mastery.[47]
The concept of Five senses in local and regional sources
The keyphrase "Five senses" relates to the limitations of human perception and understanding, emphasizing their role in both spiritual truths and scientific inquiry. It highlights how these senses shape our knowledge and experiences, yet restrict deeper comprehension.
From: The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
(1) These senses are where intellectual reasoning is based on facts evident to, and in order to prove religion, we have to go beyond the knowledge of these senses.[48] (2) The modern Buddhists teach that everything that cannot be known by the five senses is non-existent, and that it is a delusion, according to the provided text.[49] (3) The number of senses that a being has on this earth, according to the theory of incarnation, before going to higher earths.[50] (4) The means by which science operates, and what it uses to determine the existence of things, though the speaker questions its exclusivity.[51] (5) The means by which science operates, according to the speaker, and are limited in their ability to perceive and understand the spiritual realm, and often cause doubt.[52]
From: Triveni Journal
(1) Ahalya's complete sensory engagement in the act of praying to Indra, indicating her deep yearning for connection.[53] (2) The human faculties of sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell that govern perception.[54] (3) The traditional sensory inputs that nourish and enrich the human mind, emphasizing the importance of sensory experience in psychological understanding.[55] (4) The traditional sensory perceptions that, according to Blake, limit human understanding of reality and spiritual truths.[56]
The concept of Five senses in scientific sources
The keyphrase "Five senses" refers to the essential sensory modalities—seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling—critical for gathering diagnostic information and maintaining overall health through their corresponding organs.
From: The Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences
(1) These are the senses of seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling, and the electromagnetic field of the brain is viewed as arising from a projected stimuli outside the brain.[57]