【rúpa kala^pa
】
'corporeal group', material unit, designates a combination of several physical phenomena constituting a temporary unity. Thus, for instance, the so-called 'dead matter' forms the most primitive group, consisting only of 8 physical phenomena, called the 'pure eightfold unit' or 'octad' (suddhatthakakala^pa), to wit: the 4 elements (the solid, fluid, heat, motion); colour, smell, taste, nutriment (pathavi^, a^po, tejo, va^yo; vanna, gandha, rasa, oja^). In Vis.M., and elsewhere, it is also called ojatthamaka-kala^pa, 'the octad with nutriment as the 8th factor'.
The simplest form of living matter is the '9-fold vitality unit' or 'life-ennead' (ji^vita-navaka-kala^pa), formed by adding 'vitality' to the octad. Seven decades, or units of ten (dasaka-kala^pa), are formed by adding to the 9-fold unit one of the following corporeal phenomena: heart (physical seat of mind), sex, eye, ear, nose, tongue or body. - See Vis.M. XVIII, 4; Compendium of Buddhist Philosophy (PTS), p. 164, 250; Atthasa^lini Tr., II, 413f.
[南传佛教英文辞典]
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