Eighteen dhatus

Eighteen dhatus (Skt. aṣṭadaśa dhātu; Wyl. khams bco brgyad) — a classification of all knowable things into eighteen 'elements'.

• the six sense objects (Skt. viṣayadhātu; Wyl. dmigs yul gyi khams):
  • visible forms (Skt. rūpa-dhātu)
  • sounds (Skt. śabda-dhātu)
  • smells (Skt. gandha-dhātu)
  • tastes (Skt. rasa-dhātu)
  • textures (Skt. spraṣṭavya-dhātu)
  • mental objects (Skt. dharma dhātu)

• six sense faculties (Skt. indriyadhdhātu; Wyl. dbang po'i khams):
  • eye faculty (Skt. cakṣur-dhātu)
  • ear faculty (Skt. śrotra-dhātu)
  • nose faculty (Skt. ghrāṇa-dhātu)
  • tongue faculty (Skt. jihva-dhātu)
  • body faculty (Skt. kāya-dhātu)
  • mental faculty (Skt. mano-dhātu)

• the six sense consciousnesses (Skt. vijñanadhātu; Wyl. rnam shes kyi khams)
  • eye-consciousness (Skt. cakṣur-vijñanadhātu)
  • ear-consciousness (Skt. śrotra-vijñanadhātu)
  • nose-consciousness (Skt. ghrāṇa-vijñanadhātu)
  • tongue-consciousness (Skt. jihva-vijñanadhātu)
  • body-consciousness (Skt. kāya-vijñanadhātu)
  • mind-consciousness (Skt. mano-vijñanadhātu)

According to Abhidharma, the eighteen dhatus are categorized differently, i.e. in relation to the five skandhas.

Alternative Translations

• eighteen elements
• eighteen psychophysical bases (Dorje & Kapstein)
• eighteen sensory spectra (Dorje & Coleman)