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Translations of
English perception,
Pali sañña, सञ्ञा
Sanskrit saṃjñā, संज्ञा
(rōmaji: )
Tibetan འདུ་ཤེས།
(Wylie: 'du shes;
THL: du shé
Glossary of Buddhism

Saṃjñā (Sanskrit; Pali: sañña) is a Buddhist term that is typically translated as "perception" or "cognition." It can be defined as grasping at the distinguishing features or characteristics.[1][2]

Saṃjñā is identified within the Buddhist teachings as follows:



Bhikkhu Bodhi states:


According to the Theravada tradition, saññā experiences the same object as the citta it accompanies but it performs its own task: it 'perceives' or 'recognizes' the object and it 'marks' it so that it can be recognized again.[4]

The Atthasālinī (I, Part IV, Chapter 1, 110) provides the following two definitions for saññā:



The Abhidharma-samuccaya states:


Mipham Rinpoche states:

Perception consists of the grasping of distinguishing features.
In terms of support, they can be divided into six types: perceptions resulting from contact, the meeting of the eye and so forth, up until the mind.
Furthermore, the are distinguishing characteristics in regard to sense objects... and... in regard to names...[1]

Alexander Berzin gives the following informal explanation:

Then there is distinguishing (’du-shes, Skt. samjna). And so it takes a special feature of the object, of the appearing object—so, the hologram—and it gives some significance to it, some conventional significance to it. In other words, within a sense field it distinguishes between, for instance, light and dark. I mean, we’re seeing a huge amount of information, and in order to deal with it we need to distinguish one little piece from everything else. That’s distinguishing.[5]

Within the five aggregates[edit]

Saṃjñā is identified as one of the Five Aggregates, as shown in the following diagram

 The Five Aggregates (pañca khandha)
according to the Pali Canon.
form (rūpa)
  4 elements


  mental factors (cetasika)  



 Source: MN 109 (Thanissaro, 2001)  |  diagram details

In the Early Buddhist literature[edit]

In the early Buddhism Theravadin texts of the Nikayas/Āgamas, saṃjñā/sañña is the third of the Five Aggregates (Skt.: skandha; Pali: khandha) which can be used to skillfully delineate phenomenological experiences during meditation.[6] Whether as one of the Five Aggregates, meditative concentration (samādhi) on the passing and rising (P. vipassana, S. vipaśyanā) of sañña can lead to mindfulness (P.sati, S. smṛti), clear comprehension (P. sampajanna, S. samprajaña) enlightenment and Arhantship (see Table).

In the Pali Canon, sañña is frequently defined as:

"It perceives blue, it perceives yellow, it perceives red, it perceives white."[7]

In post-canonical Pali commentaries, the Visuddhimagga likens sañña to "a child without discretion."[8]

Alternate translations[edit]

Alternate translations for the term sañña are:

  • Conceptualization (Herbert Guenther)
  • Distinguishing (Alexander Berzin)
  • Perception (Erik Kunsang, Nina van Gorkom)
  • Recognition (Geoffrey Shatz)

See also[edit]



  • Bhikkhu Bodhi (2003), A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma, Pariyatti Publishing
  • Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2001). Khajjaniya Sutta: Chewed Up (SN 22.79). Retrieved 2006-06-22 from "Access to Insight" at:
  • Nina van Gorkom (2010), Cetasikas, Zolag
  • Guenther, Herbert V. (1975), Mind in Buddhist Psychology: A Translation of Ye-shes rgyal-mtshan's "The Necklace of Clear Understanding", Dharma Publishing, Kindle Edition 
  • Kunsang, Erik Pema (2004), Gateway to Knowledge, Vol. 1, North Atlantic Books