The Western dualism of "mind and body" occurs in India, but the prevailing Hindu and Buddhist doctrine is that of a hierarchy of five onion-like "sheaths". Their identity varies, but since they constitute a continuum,acting on one may be used to influence another. This is illustrated by ritual and martial arts and reflected in recitation,meditation,dance and erotics. "Five" is as mythological as "two",but the Indian perspective of a hierarchy of features linked by gradual transitions makes more sense than the Western dichotomy of incommensurable entities situated at the opposite ends of an unbridgeable gap.