sankhara

Buddhist concept

Also known as: samskara

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July 13, 2026

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In Buddhism, sankhara (Sanskrit: samskara) refers to mental formations or dispositions. These are part of the five aggregates that constitute an individual's existence, alongside matter, sensations, perceptions, and consciousness. Sankhara plays a role in the chain of causation, or paticca-samuppada, which explains how suffering and rebirth occur. Ignorance leads to faulty thought-constructions about reality, which are sankhara. This concept is central to understanding the cycle of existence, known as samsara, which involves repeated cycles of birth, suffering, and death, all determined by karma. The ultimate goal is to transcend this cycle and achieve release, or nirvana.12345

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Buddhism
Classification of dhammas
…either; sanna (Pali), cognitive perception; sankhara (Pali and Sanskrit), the forces that condition the psychic activity of an individual; and vinnana (Sanskrit: vijnana), consciousness. The 12 ayatanas comprise the five sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body) and the mind (manas), as well as the five related sense fields…
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…either; sanna (Pali), cognitive perception; sankhara (Pali and Sanskrit), the forces that condition the psychic activity of an individual; and vinnana (Sanskrit: vijnana), consciousness. The 12 ayatanas comprise the five sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body) and the mind (manas), as well as the five related sense fields…
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Buddhism
The law of dependent origination
…ignorance (avijja), karmic predispositions (sankharas), consciousness (vinnana), form and body (nama-rupa), the five sense organs and the mind (salayatana), contact (phassa), feeling-response (vedana), craving (tanha), grasping for an object (upadana), action toward life (bhava), birth (jati),
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…ignorance (avijja), karmic predispositions (sankharas), consciousness (vinnana), form and body (nama-rupa), the five sense organs and the mind (salayatana), contact (phassa), feeling-response (vedana), craving (tanha), grasping for an object (upadana), action toward life (bhava), birth (jati),
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paticca-samuppada
…faulty thought-constructions about reality (sankhara; samskara). These in turn provide the structure of (3) knowledge (vinnana; vijnana), the object of which is (4) name and form—i.e., the principle of individual identity (nama-rupa) and the sensory perception of an object—which are accomplished through (5) the six domains (ayatana; shadayatana)—i.e., the…
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…faulty thought-constructions about reality (sankhara; samskara). These in turn provide the structure of (3) knowledge (vinnana; vijnana), the object of which is (4) name and form—i.e., the principle of individual identity (nama-rupa) and the sensory perception of an object—which are accomplished through (5) the six domains (ayatana; shadayatana)—i.e., the…
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