The Eighteen Realms

Therefore, Sariputra,
in emptiness there is no form,
no sensation, no perception,
no volition, no consciousness;
no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind;
no sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, thought.
There is no realm of sight,
Through to no realm of cognition.


In the opening passage, the Heart Sutra first proclaims the emptiness of the five skandhas as whole. In this passage it now goes on to state emptiness of each skandha, analyzing them into the six sense faculties, the six sense objects, and the six sense consciousnesses, thus comprising the eighteen realms ( dhatus). One of the five methods of stilling the mind21 is contemplating on the divisions and boundaries of the dharmas, which is in fact, contemplating the eighteen realms.