Theravāda presents mind and body as distinct yet inseparably intertwined processes, both of which are analyzed through the framework of the five aggregates (pañca-khandha). The bodily aspect is rūpa, the physical form with its material elements and sense organs. The mental side comprises feeling (vedanā), perception (saññā), mental formations (saṅkhārā), and consciousness (viññāṇa). What is ordinarily called a “person” is nothing more than this dynamic constellation of aggregates, arising and ceasing in dependence upon conditions. Neither mind nor body is regarded as a fixed entity; both are seen as streams of events rather than solid substances.

Within this vision, the relationship between mind and body is one of mutual dependence. Physical conditions such as health, posture, and sensory input condition the quality and range of mental states, while intention, attention, and other mental factors in turn shape bodily behavior and even bodily tension or ease. This interplay is articulated in the teaching of dependent origination (paṭiccasamuppāda), where mental and physical phenomena arise together due to causes and conditions, without either side serving as an ultimate ground. Mind is described as a succession of momentary cittas, each conditioned by previous moments and by the bodily and environmental context, while the body itself is continually changing, though on a comparatively slower scale.

From this standpoint, there is no permanent self or soul that owns or inhabits the body, nor is there a mental essence standing apart from the physical. Both nāma (mind) and rūpa (body) are impermanent (anicca), unsatisfactory when clung to, and devoid of an enduring core (anattā). The path of practice makes this more than a philosophical position: mindfulness of the body—such as awareness of breathing, posture, and sensations—serves to steady and clarify the mind, while careful observation of mental states reveals their conditioned, fleeting nature. As insight deepens, attachment to both mind and body as “me” or “mine” loosens, and liberation (Nibbāna) is approached through directly seeing that what appears as a solid self is only these interdependent processes unfolding moment by moment.