NÃÂmarà «pa () is used in Buddhism to refer to the constituents of a living being: nÃÂma is typically considered to refer to the mental component of the person, while rà «pa refers to the physical. Most often found as a single compound word understood literally as name-and-form or named form.
NÃÂmarà «pa is a dvandva compound in Sanskrit and Pali meaning "name (nÃÂma) and form (rà «pa)".
Nama (name) and Rupa (form) is the simple worldly identity of any form by a name both of which are considered temporal and not true identity with the nameless and formless âÂÂrealityâ or âÂÂAbsoluteâ in Hinduism that has manifested as maya. In Buddhism the loss of all names and forms (conception of distinct concepts) leads to the realization of the Ultimate reality of âÂÂShunyathaâ or âÂÂEmptinessâ or Nirvana âÂÂNaked Truthâ removed of Maya.
This term is used in Buddhism to refer to the constituents of a living being: nÃÂma refers to the mental, while rà «pa refers to the physical. The Buddhist nÃÂma and rà «pa are mutually dependent, and not separable; as nÃÂmarà «pa, they designate an individual being (or distinct things). Namarupa are also referred to as the five skandhas, "the psycho-physical organism", âÂÂmind-and-matter,â and âÂÂmentality-and-materialityâÂÂ.
In the Pali Canon, the Buddha describes nÃÂmarà «pa in this manner (English on left, Pali on right):
Elsewhere in the Pali Canon, nÃÂmarà «pa is used synonymously with the five aggregates. or as the process of perception in modern interpretation.
In keeping with the doctrine of anÃÂtman/anatta, "the absence of an (enduring, essential) self", nÃÂma and rà «pa are held to be constantly in a state of flux, with only the continuity of experience (itself a product of dependent origination) providing an experience of any sort of conventional 'self'.
NÃÂmarà «pa is the fourth of the Twelve NidÃÂnas, preceded by consciousness (Pali: viññÃÂna; Skt.: vijñana) and followed by the six sense bases (Pali: ; Skt: '). Thus, in the Sutta Nipata, the Buddha explains to the Ven. Ajita how samsaric rebirth ceases:
The term nÃÂmarà «pa is used in Hindu thought, nÃÂma describing the spiritual or essential properties of an object or being, and rà «pa the physical presence that it manifests. These terms are used similarly to the way that 'essence' and 'accident' are used in Catholic theology to describe transubstantiation. The distinction between nÃÂma and rà «pa in Hindu thought explains the ability of spiritual powers to manifest through inadequate or inanimate vessels - as observed in possession and oracular phenomena, as well as in the presence of the divine in images that are worshiped through pà «ja.
NÃÂma Rupatmak Vishva is the Vedanta (a school of Sanatana Dharma/Hinduism) term for the manifest Universe, viz. The World as we know it. Since every object in this World has a NÃÂma and Rupa, the World is called NÃÂma Rupatmak Vishva. The ParamÃÂtma (or Creator) is not manifest in this NÃÂma Rupatmak Vishva but is realized by a SÃÂdhaka(student) by means of Bhakti (devotion), Karma (action), Jnana (knowledge), Yoga (Union, a Hindu school), or a combination of all of these methodologies.