pasāda rūpa
Sensitive matter
[ pa-SAA-da ROO-pa ]
Seeing it in life
Pasāda-rūpa is the translucent material in the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body that responds to its corresponding object and serves as base for sense-consciousness.
In short
The clear material in the five sense organs.
The analysis
Pasāda-rūpa is the translucent, sensitive material located in the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body that responds specifically to its corresponding sense object and serves as the physical base for the relevant sense-consciousness. It's distinguished from the surrounding physical organ — the eye as ordinary anatomy is not itself pasāda-rūpa; the sensitivity is a specific, subtler material quality within it.
Where it sits
Pasāda-rūpa is one of the twenty-four upādā-rūpa, and functionally it's where phassa becomes possible at each of the five physical sense doors — object, pasāda-rūpa, and the corresponding sense-consciousness together constitute the contact event.
The specific sensitivity that lets light become seeing, rather than simply striking an inert surface, is what pasāda-rūpa names — a material readiness for that particular kind of contact.
Commonly mistaken for
The visible sense organ itself. The eye as anatomy is the vehicle; pasāda-rūpa is the specific sensitive material within it that actually enables sense-consciousness.
The same across all five senses. Each sense door has its own distinct pasāda-rūpa.
Abhidhammattha Saṅgaha VI.
Related terms