ayatana

Ayatana (Pali; Sanskrit) is a Buddhist term that has been translated as "sense base", "sense-media" or "sense sphere." In Buddhism, there are six internal sense bases (Pali: ajjhattikani ayatanani; also known as, "organs", "gates", "doors", "powers" or "roots") and six external sense bases (bahirani ayatanani or "sense objects"; also known as vishaya or "domains"). Thus, there are six internal-external (organ-object) pairs of sense bases:

• eye and visible objects
• ear and sound
• nose and odor
• tongue and taste
• body and touch
• mind and mental objects