The Difference Between the Aggregate of Form and Material Sense-Objects

Material form (rūpa) is a material dharma composed of the four great elements; it is an inanimate object, an object to be recognized and acted upon. It has no initiative, no self-nature, no ignorance or afflictions, and it cannot even be spoken of as pure or impure.

The aggregate of form (rūpa-skandha) is the aggregating function upon material form. Material form itself has no initiative, and thus has no aggregating function; it is a functional operation that the conscious mind imposes upon the physical body. A physical body propelled by the conscious mind is called the aggregate of form. When the conscious mind operates upon the physical body, the body is a living, vital organism; a physical body without the conscious mind operating within it is an inanimate object—a corpse, one form of material form. The operation of the conscious mind upon the physical body is bodily and verbal action (kāya-vāk-karma). Where there is action, there is karma; where there is karma, karmic seeds are left behind. In this way karmic results are aggregated, and in future lives there will be fruits of suffering, fruits of happiness, and fruits that are neither suffering nor happiness.