DTH "I began by focusing on the sense I had of my sister’s self, since its absence was now so puzzling to me. When I called her to mind, I would envision her body, which was usually in motion, and her face, which was often animated with smiles and laughter. Everything she did was emphatic. As I reflected on these memories and images, I started to tease apart my perception of her body — form, or rūpa — from my perception of her thoughts and emotions — mental formations, or sankhāra — and I realized that what I’d thought of as Judy’s personality was really the volitional formations I saw in her: her thoughts, moods, emotions, speech, and actions. In general we describe someone as warm or cold, generous or stingy, smart or deluded, based on the volitional formations we observe in them.

"I began by focusing on the sense I had of my sister’s self, since its absence was now so puzzling to me. When I called her to mind, I would envision her body, which was usually in motion, and her face, which was often animated with smiles and laughter. Everything she did was emphatic. As I reflected on these memories and images, I started to tease apart my perception of her body — form, or rūpa — from my perception of her thoughts and emotions — mental formations, or sankhāra — and I realized that what I’d thought of as Judy’s personality was really the volitional formations I saw in her: her thoughts, moods, emotions, speech, and actions. In general we describe someone as warm or cold, generous or stingy, smart or deluded, based on the volitional formations we observe in them.