"rupa-skandha refers to everything in our material world–our body and our physical surroundings." -Encyclopedia of Buddhism
While I know that many people believe this, the belief seems to miss the point of the doctrine.
Rūpa is to the eye as sound is to the ear. Right? Not the "material world", not our "physical surroundings"; not "the body".
Rūpa is "appearance, visage, etc", i.e. the appearance of sensory experience in our awareness.
@jayarava
I spent way too much time trying to learn the Official Bhikkhu Bodhi pronunciation guide from one of his books, but quickly discovered via YouTube recordings of chanting monks in Sri Lanka and elsewhere that there doesn't even seem to be an actual consensus about it between countries that use it. I guess the biggest discovery for not garbling recitations too horribly is the dotted m. 😉
@AndyLowry Pāli is pronounced differently locally, but there is a consensus amongst scholars that it ought to be pronounced as written. Anusvāra included: it is a nasalised vowel, not a consonant.
Monks are more or less irrelevant to me. Being a monk is a lifestyle choice. I don't particularly admire that lifestyle or see any reason to privilege those who choose it.
@AndyLowry I read Pāli, but I don't speak it.