skye mched
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སྐྱེ་མཆེད
sense bases. DKC
1) ayatana * " the sources, bases [of cognition], faculty, sense fields/ factors/ spheres/ mediums/ bases, constituent[s of experience, arising expansion [as in mu bzhi entrances; 2) perception, state of mind; 3) source [of perception]; 4) six objects and six sense powers/ sense bases [IW]
source [thd]
sense field [RB]
ayatanas, (arise - spread), (interactional, operational, cognitive, sense, psychological action) fields, sources, interactional bases, localized fields of sensations, sensory creation of one's world, Vasubhandu, SA ci yang med pa'i skye mched, zil gyis gnon pa'i skye mched, rnam shes mtha' yas skye mched, sphere (name for the 4 formless dhyana), sense-bases/factors, sense bases, sources and places of origin of the senses, inner and outward organs of sense, field of extension (consciousness emerges and spreads), sense faculties, experiential medium, bases, sense sources [JV]
constituent[s] of experience, ayatanas, arising expansion [IW]
1) [ayatana] "medium for a sense perception to arise," the sources, bases, base of cognition, faculty, sense fields / factors / spheres, sense mediums, sour of perception constituent[s) of experience; arising expansion [as in mu bzhi. entrances. abbr. of skye mched bcu gnyis. 2) perception, state of mind. 3) source. 4) six objects and the six sense powers or sense bases; nyer spyod rnam par shes pa skye ba'i sgo las yul gzhan la mched par byed pa'i don gyis na skye mched ces bya'o sense door, sense-factors, sense-field, source, experiential medium [RY]
[experiential] medium [RY]
Sense bases, ayatana. The five senses and their five objects as well as the mental faculty and mental objects [RY]
Sources of perception, the six objects and the six sense powers or sense bases; constituent[s] of experience, arising expansion [as in mu bzhi.] [RY]
1) ayatana; sense bases, sense-field, source, the sources of perception; The twelve sense factors are the five senses or the organs of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and the mental faculty as well as their corresponding objects which are visual form, sound, smell, taste, texture, and the mental object. 2) perception-sphere/s. A variety of states of meditative absorption, possibly lasting many aeons within the four formless realms. See also skye mched mu bzi 'fourfold spheres of perception.' See under gzugs med khams 'Formless Realms.' 3) base of perception [RY]
ayatana; source; Sources of perception, the six objects and the six sense powers or sense bases; sensory field; sense-field [RY]
ayatanas, (arise]] spread), (interactional, operational, cognitive, sense, psychological action) fields, sources, interactional bases, localized fields of sensations, sensory creation of one's world, Vasubhandu, SA ci yang med pa'i skye mched, zil gyis gnon pa'i skye mched, rnam shes mtha' yas skye mched, sphere (name for the 4 formless dhyana), sense-bases/factors, sense bases, sources and places of origin of the senses, inner and outward organs of sense, field of extension (consciousness emerges and spreads), sense faculties, experiential medium, bases, sense sources, sense functions [JV]
Discussion
The sense bases are, according to Master Vasubandhu, that which make the mind and mental factors arise and expand: the word āyatana means to make expand. The word āyatana can also mean support or hearth. The Tibetan word skye mched is a compound of words meaning to arise and to expand.
There are twelve sense bases: the six inner (eye, ear, etc.) and the six outer (form, sound, etc.). In general, these are equivalent to the eighteen elements (khams or dhatu), in which the sense base of mind is divided into six consciousnesses and the element of mind. In the context of the sense bases, the emphasis is more on the constituents which produced the present consciousness; in terms of the elements the emphasis is on the constituents that will produce the future consciousness.
In the English term, the word support is probably the closest translation of the Sanskrit word, but to use it would become confusing with other uses of the word support as a translation for rten pa. Thus the word base is used, and to qualify this particular meaning it is modified with the word sense.
This word is also used as "skye mched bzhi" to refer to the four Formless absorptions--the sense bases of Infinite Space, etc.
Some translators suggest "sense spheres," but that does not accord with the etymology of Tibetan or the Sanskrit. Since there is a reasonable alternative that does, it is better to use that. Other suggested translations such as "localized fields of sensations" are so wordy and unpoetic that they are not worth considering. DKC