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The third of the Five Aggregates is Perceptions: information accumulated and stored in the form of images. All the information and experience that we accumulate every second through our actions remains in us. Perceptions, or Aggregate No.3, is our first internal storage unit, or reservoir, for the data we receive from the outside world. In Perceptions, these accumulated data are stored in the form of images.

The function of Perceptions is to generate (create) any image from the information we already have. For example, if you have never been to the Himalayas and I tell you about this place, you will be able to draw some pictures (images) in your imagination based on the information you have learned about the Himalayas so far, i.e. to imagine. Thus, the Aggregate itself is information in the form of images, and its function is to create images or figurative Perceptions.

To the function of Perceptions, we can also include such a thing as perception. The fact is that when we perceive any information from the external world, we automatically have a corresponding image, as in the example with the Himalayas just given. On the other hand, in our daily lives, we think about many things, but although we do not always put them into practice, each thought is nevertheless reflected in our Perceptions, i.e. it appears to us in the form of corresponding images.

Although Perceptions, unlike the body and sensations, are closer to our true essence, they are also not the True «Self».

For one thing, images bring us suffering. Of course, we can escape into the world of reverie for a while – immerse ourselves in pleasant memories or dreams in our imagination. However, how many horrifying pictures of the past, how many painful memories, and how many uncontrollable fears are stored in our images? Sometimes it even happens that a person who is haunted by horrifying memories of the past simply goes insane. Thus, if Perceptions cause suffering, they are not our essence – the True «Self» cannot harm or cause suffering to itself.

An important question may arise here. How can one get rid of intrusive or painful images of the past that surface in the mind and make one suffer? The only way is to return the consciousness to the original state of calm, in which any information is stopped and has no influence. This, in fact, is the subject of the book «Dharma – The Way Things Are. The Real Experiences and Realizations of a Spiritual Practitioner», and this short essay is also about it.

Secondly, images have been acquired and accumulated by us. For example, I visited Sri Lanka for the first time in 2004. Before that, I did not know much about this country. Consequently, I did not have images of Sri Lanka either. However, having visited the island many times, I have gained extensive experience and knowledge about Sri Lanka. Therefore, I can now visualize, for example, the first capital of the ancient Sinhalese state, Anuradhapura, and many other places on the island.

As we can see from this example, images are not something inherent to us from the beginning, they are just data received by us, which are not our essence.