Eighteen dhatus

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

• the six sense objects (Skt. viṣayadhātu; Wyl. dmigs yul gyi khams):
  • visible forms
  • sounds
  • smells
  • tastes
  • textures
  • tangible objects and
  • mental objects (Skt. dharma)

• six sense faculties (Skt. indriyadhdhātu; Wyl. dbang po'i khams):
  • eye faculty
  • ear faculty
  • nose faculty
  • tongue faculty
  • body faculty
  • mental faculty

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

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)