The Eight Inseparable Rūpas

Rūpas always arise in groups, and the four Great Elements of solidity, cohesion, temperature and motion are always present wherever there is materiality. Apart from these four elements there are other rūpas, namely twentyfour “derived rū pas” (in Pāli: upādā rūpas). The derived rūpas cannot arise without the four Great Elements, they are dependent on them. Four among the derived rūpas always arise together with the four Great Elements in every group of rūpas and are thus present wherever materiality occurs, no matter whether rūpas of the body or materiality outside the body. These four rūpas are the following:

• visible object (or colour

• odour

• flavour

• nutrition

The four Great elements and these four derived rūpas, which always arise together, are called the “inseparable rūpas” (in Pāli: avinibbhoga rūpas). Wherever solidity arises, there also have to be cohesion, temperature, motion, colour, odour, flavour and nutritive essence. Visible object has as its proximate cause the four Great Elements because it cannot arise without them. However, when a characteristic of one of these four Great Elements, such as hardness or heat, is experienced, the accompanying visible object cannot be experienced at the same time. Only one rūpa at a time can be experienced by citta. When there are conditions for seeing, visible object is experienced. When we close our eyes, there may be remembrance of the shape and form of a thing, but that is not the experience of visible object. The thinking of a “thing”, no matter whether our eyes are closed or open, is different from the actual experience of what is visible. Odour cannot arise alone, it needs the four Great Elements which arise together with it and it is also accompanied by the other rū pas included in the eight inseparable rū pas. When odour appears we tend to be carried away by like or dislike. We are attached to fragrant odours and we loathe nasty smells. However, odour is only a reality which is experienced through the nose and it does not last. Flavour is another rūpa included in the eight inseparable rūpas. We are attached to food and we find its flavour very important. As soon as we have tasted delicious flavour, attachment tends to arise. We are forgetful of the reality of flavour which is only a kind of rūpa. When we recognize what kind of flavour we taste, we think about a concept, but this thinking is conditioned by the experience of flavour through the tongue. Nutrition is another kind of rūpa which has to arise with every kind of materiality. It can be exerienced only through the mind-door. Nutritive essence is not only present in rice and other foods, it is also present in what we call a rock or sand. It is present in any kind of materiality. Insects are able to digest what human beings cannot digest, such as, for example, wood. If one does not develop understanding of realities one will be enslaved by all objects experienced through the senses. On account of these objects akusala cittas tend to arise. If someone thinks that there is a self who can own what is seen, touched or smelt, he may be inclined to commit unwholesome deeds such as stealing. In reality all these objects are insignificant, they arise and then fall away immediately. In the ultimate sense life exists only in one moment, the present moment. At the moment of seeing the world of visible object is experienced, at the moment of hearing the world of sound, and at the moment of touching the world of tangible object. Life is actually one moment of experiencing an object.