17  vedanā

sparśa-pratyayā vedanā vedanā-pratyayā tṛṣṇā ; [saddharmapuṇḍarīka, 117] “… from contact sensation; from sensation proceeds longing;…” [Kern, 172]

17.0.1 overview

Vedanā belongs to the semantic domain of Physical sensation, where it presents a limited range of semantic applications. It core meaning can be summarized as feeling/sensation, the physical response that arises when the internal sense organs come into contact with external sensory objects.1 Vedanā can also denote specifically pain, both physical and emotional, which is a narrower experiential category within the sense feeling/sensation.2 Finally, a terminological application of its core meaning is instantiatied in the specialized sense one of the 5 skandhas, considered a fundamental mental factor central to perception and consciousness.3

Genre, Period, and Tradition Distribution

semantic tree

17.0.2 frequency

Vedanā is a very high-frequency word in our corpus, where has a very uneven distribution, with most occurrences concentrated in sūtra literature.

Figure 17.1: frequency relative to other words in the corpus

Figure 17.2: genre frequency

Figure 17.3: genre frequency

17.0.3 context

Several collocational patterns featuring vedanā are noteworthy. The most prominent is the skandha enumeration “rūpa-vedanā-saṃjñā-saṃskāra-vijñāna”, which appears consistently across different text-types.4 Another important pattern is “duḥkhā vedanā” (painful sensation), often in contexts describing suffering or its cessation.5

The causal chain expression “sparśa-pratyayā vedanā vedanā-pratyayā tṛṣṇā” (sensation conditioned by contact, craving conditioned by sensation) appears in multiple texts, representing the standard formulation of the links of dependent origination.6 Additionally, “vedanāsu vedanā-smṛty-upasthāna” (mindfulness of sensations in sensations) represents the specialised use in meditation contexts.7

Figure 17.4: collocations wordcloud

17.0.4 connotation

Notably, in our annotated data vedanā’s semantic prosody is never positive. It is mostly neutral, especially when vedanā functions as a technical philosophical term, particularly in skandha enumerations, as in “rūpaṃ vedanā saṃjñā saṃskārā vijñānam” [Aṣṭasāhasrikā].

Negative prosody dominates when vedanā denotes painful or unpleasant experiences, exemplified in passages like “pragāḍha-duḥkha-vedan-ābhyāhato murcchitas tiṣṭhati” from the Suvarṇavarṇāvadāna. Neutral-negative prosody appears in contexts where vedanā is discussed as a phenomenon to be transcended, reflecting Buddhism’s broader approach to experiential categories.

This entry is based on version 6 of the Visual Dictionary of Buddhist Sanskrit, see data at zenodo.org/records/13985112

  1. saṃnipātas trayāṇāṃ yo rūpa-vijñāna-cakṣuṣām / sparśaḥ sa tasmāt sparśāc ca vedanā saṃpravartate // 26—5 // mūlamadhyamakakārikā 26.4
    “5. That which is the coincidence of visual form, consciousness, and the eye: That is sensual perception; and from perception, sensation begins to function.”↩︎

  2. śāmyantu vedanās tīvrā nārakāṇāṃ bhayāni ca / durgatibhyo vimucyantāṃ sarva-durgati-vāsinaḥ // bodhicaryāvatāra 10.15
    “Let them quiet the intense agonies and fears of hell. May those dwelling in misfortune be released from their misfortunes.”↩︎

  3. evam eva mahā-rāja rūpa-vedanā-saṃjñā-saṃskāra-vijñanāṃ svabhāvo n ^ābhūn na bhaviṣyati na c ^aitarhi vidyate ity ādi // śikṣāsamuccaya 256
    “In just the same way, Your Majesty, the intrinsic nature of form, feeling, conceptions, conditioning and consciousness was not, will not be, and does not exist now.”↩︎

  4. evam eva mahā-rāja rūpa-vedanā-saṃjñā-saṃskāra-vijñanāṃ svabhāvo n ^ābhūn na bhaviṣyati na c ^aitarhi vidyate ity ādi // śikṣāsamuccaya 256
    “In just the same way, Your Majesty, the intrinsic nature of form, feeling, conceptions, conditioning and consciousness was not, will not be, and does not exist now.”↩︎

  5. tena satyena satya-vacanen ^āsya śarīrād duḥkha-vedanā pratipraśrabhyatām iti / suvarṇavarṇāvadāna 200.1—203.204
    “… by that truth, by that asseveration of truth, may the feeling of pain be allayed from his body.”↩︎

  6. sparśa-pratyayā vedanā vedanā-pratyayā ca tṛṣṇā / bodhicaryāvatārapañjikā 208
    “Feeling is conditioned by contact and craving is conditioned by feeling.”↩︎

  7. tat sukhaṃ yatra veditaṃ n ^āsti sa sarva-satva-vedita-prahāṇāya vedanāsu vedanā-smṛty-upasthānaṃ bhāvayati / śikṣāsamuccaya 232
    “‘Where there are no feelings, this is happiness.’ They cultivate the application of mindfulness to feelings so that all sentient beings will give up feelings, …”↩︎