Ayatanas

Ayatanas — the sense bases or sense fields.

These answer the question: how does experience even happen?

There are twelve, in two groups:

Internal bases (6):

eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind

External bases (6):

forms (visible objects), sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, mental objects (thoughts, images, memories, concepts)

So: eye + form → visual experience

ear + sound → hearing

mind + mental object → thinking, imagining, remembering

The āyatanas show that experience is not “someone inside looking out,” but just fields meeting fields, conditions meeting conditions. Very Dzogchen-friendly, actually… just display meeting display.