🪷“Déjà Vu” อ่านภาษาไทย
Reflections based on the Five Aggregates and the workings of the mind
Déjà vu is the feeling that “this moment has happened before,” even though we know it is occurring for the first time. Modern psychology often explains it as a slip in memory, but Buddhism offers a deeper way of looking at this experience.
1. Saññā (Perception/Memory)
Saññā is the aggregate that recognizes and labels sights, sounds, and experiences. When a new situation resembles something previously encountered, the mind links them together, producing the impression that “this has happened before.”
2. Viññāṇa (Consciousness)
Viññāṇa is the awareness that arises from contact with the senses. Sometimes the connection between perception and consciousness is not seamless, creating the illusion of familiarity even in a brand-new event.
3. Past Kamma and Previous Lives
In Buddhist thought, déjà vu may also arise from latent memories of past lives. When present circumstances resemble past experiences in saṃsāra, old impressions are stirred up, giving rise to a sudden sense of recognition.
🌼 A Buddhist Perspective
Déjà vu is not necessarily mystical or supernatural. It can be seen as the natural interplay of saññā (perception) and viññāṇa (consciousness). Sometimes these come from present-life memory; sometimes from much older impressions carried across lifetimes.
With mindfulness, déjà vu becomes an opportunity—not to get lost in fantasy, but to observe how the mind fabricates experience, and to see that these processes are not a permanent self.
“All things are but constructions of the mind.
When seen as they truly are, delusion falls away.”
🔖 Sources: Concepts from the Buddhist Canon on the Five Aggregates (form, feeling, perception, formations, consciousness) and reflections on saṃsāra.
Written by Maewtaotaofu for contemplative reflection.
👉 Return to Dhamma for the Quiet Path
📜 Reading Poem No.2 : The mind set free
