On the whole, Buddhism divides the constituents of satta into two categories, spiritual and material. Combination of the two brings about satta, which, in Buddhist terminology, is called “Namarupa” (name and form). Nama refers to the mental factors, i.e. vedana, sanna, sankhara and vinnana of the five khandhas, or in other words, the vinnana dhatu (mind) of the six Maha-bhuta (great elements). Rupa refers to the material factors consisting of earth, water, fire, wind and space, all of which can not arise independently, but must change and integrate with each other. In brief, namarupa is the combination of body and mind. From this respect, some regard it as dualism, some as parallelism (i.e. spiritual-physical parallelism). While some others say namarupa is neither dualism nor parallelism since Buddhism maintains that all spiritual and material elements can’t exist as independently. Thus, how this matter should be viewed remains to be studied. What is evident is that it is by no means materialism. (From Essentials of Buddhism: Questions and Answers)