The Internal and External Sensory Spheres (Ajjhattikabāhirāni Āyatanā)
The six internal and external sensory spheres are listed in MN 115 Bahudhātuka Sutta:
There are, Ānanda, these six internal and external sensory spheres: the eye and forms, the ear and sounds, the nose and odors, the tongue and flavors, the body and tactual objects, the mind and phenomena. When he knows and sees these six internal and external sensory spheres, a monk can be called ‘skilled in the sensory spheres.’
Whereas discernment of the five aggregates is primarily concerned with investigating the aspects of the body and mind that we usually identify with and take as our self, discernment of the twelve sensory spheres and eighteen components extend this investigation further in order to see how we habitually create a world of individuated particulars, populated with people, places, and things. Unquestioningly accepting this scenario, we continually attempt to grasp onto those things which we like and want to hold dear, and push away all of the things which we dislike and consider problematic for one reason of another.
By investigating the twelve sensory spheres and learning to simplify our view, we can dismantle the diversity of our mental proliferations into these twelve spheres. Instead of seeing a manifold world of particular things, we can simplify our seeing. There is just the eye and the form sensory sphere. All that we ever see is simply the form sensory sphere. Everything else is added by our conditioned perspective. The same is true for the remaining pairs of sensory spheres. The Buddha called these twelve sensory spheres “the all.” SN 35.23 Sabba Sutta:
And what, monks, is the all? The eye and forms, the ear and sounds, the nose and odors, the tongue and flavors, the body and tactual objects, the mind and phenomena. This is called the all.
Monks, if anyone should speak thus, ‘Having rejected this all, I will make known another all,’ that would merely be an empty boast on his part. If he were questioned he would not be able to explain and, moreover, he would meet with difficulty. For what reason? Because, monks, that would not be within his reach.
But the Buddha exhorts us to go even further than just understanding and accepting this all. We are to develop dispassion towards the all and abandon it. Without doing so we will find ourselves incapable of eliminating dissatisfaction.
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