Rūpa

Form, appearance, visible aspect. Rūpa is what manifests to the senses: the material configuration that makes an object recognizable. In the Bhagavad Gītā, the body possesses rūpa but the Ātman is arūpa (formless): essence transcends all phenomenal configuration. In Buddhism, rūpa is the first skandha, constituting the material basis of existence. Understanding rūpa as impermanent is a gateway to detachment. See [[arupa]] and atman.