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January 24, 2018; revised January 6, 2019; July 26, 2020; August 23, 2022

Citta, mano, viññāṇa – All Different

1. Citta, mano, and viññāṇa are common words used indiscriminately in many texts on Buddhism (Buddha Dhamma). They are all related yet different.

▪A citta becomes “contaminated” in eight steps to viññāṇa (and in another step to becoming part of the viññāṇakkhandha.) That transformation happens in an unbelievably short time. The level of “contamination” depends on one’s gati (character/habits.)

▪I hope this post will clarify some fundamental concepts, will be invaluable in understanding other concepts.

▪I cringe when I see some online comments even say viññāṇa is Nibbāna. It is exactly the opposite. One attains Nibbāna when one gets rid of viññāṇa or more accurately, when one purifies one’s mind to the extent that a citta does not contaminate to the viññāṇa stage.

▪Viññāṇa discussed at “Viññāṇa Aggregate.”

Fundamentals of a Citta

2. The generic term in English, “thought,” cannot even begin to explain the complex process that happens within a fraction of a billionth of a second when a citta arises. A citta goes through three stages (uppāda, ṭithi, bhaṅga) before terminated within a billionth of a second.

▪When we see, hear, smell, taste, or touch, seventeen cittā flow uninterrupted. Such a series of cittā is called a pañcadvāra citta vīthi. For example, it happens in “cakkhuñca paṭicca rūpe ca uppajjati cakkhuviññāṇaṁ.”

▪Many such citta vīthis flow before we consciously become aware of that “thought.”

▪If the thought object comes through the māna indriya (“manañca paṭicca dhamme ca uppajjati manoviññāṇaṁ”), that citta vīthi is called a manodvāra citta vīthi, and it has 10-12 citta. Again, many such citta vīthi flow before we consciously become aware of that “thought.”

A “Thought” May Have Billions of Citta

3. Another essential point to remember is that the word “citta” is used loosely, even in Buddha Dhamma. It often gives the same impression as the word “thought.” We just say, “a citta comes to the mind.”

▪The word “citta” has that “conventional” meaning, but it is the initial stage of a “thought” that is also called a citta. That citta has only the seven UNIVERSAL cetasika. That means those seven cetasika are in ANY citta, including that of a Buddha or an Arahant. That means it is a “pure citta” (pabhassara citta in Pāli.)

▪See “Amazingly Fast Time Evolution of a Thought (Citta).”

A Pure Citta Has Only Seven Universal Cetasika

4. A pure citta is analogous to a glass of purified water without any contaminant. It has only seven cetasika (mental factors): Phassa (contact);   vedanā (feeling); saññā (perception); cetanā (volition); ekaggatā (One-pointedness) can become Sammā Samādhi; jīvitindriya (life faculty); manasikāra (memory).

▪If we add a bit of sugar to that glass of water, the water becomes sweet. That is like adding “good” (sobhana) cetasika, like compassion, to a citta.

▪But if we add a bit of dirt to that pure water, it becomes dirty. That is like adding “bad” (asobhana) cetasika, like anger, to a citta.

▪Yet, we may still call either glass of water a “glass of water.”

▪In the same way, we commonly refer to any thought as a citta. However, technically, only the first stage can be called a citta, Thus, “any thought” is a viññāṇa (a contaminated citta.)

The Nine Stages of the Evolution of a Citta

5. The initial, pure stage of citta becomes contaminated within an unbelievable short time. It evolves through nine steps in the following sequence: citta, mano, mānasaṁ, hadayaṁ, paṇḍaraṁ, mano manāyatanaṁ, māna indriyaṁ, viññāṇa, viññāṇakkhando. [Yaṁ cittaṁ mano mānasaṁ hadayaṁ paṇḍaraṁ mano manāyatanaṁ manindriyaṁ viññāṇaṁ viññāṇakkhandho...]

▪By the time it gets to the viññāṇa stage, it is a contaminated citta. As we will discuss below, how contaminated it gets, depends on the thought object and one’s gati.

▪What we experience is that last stage.

6. Before we proceed with the discussion, let me provide a reference to the above verse, which is in the “WebLink: suttacentral: Paṭiccasamuppāda Vibhaṅga,” in Section WebLink: suttacentral: 2.5.1. Akusalacitta : “Tattha katamaṁ saṅkhāra paccayā viññāṇaṁ? Yaṁ cittaṁ mano mānasaṁ hadayaṁ paṇḍaraṁ mano manāyatanaṁ manindriyaṁ viññāṇaṁ viññāṇakkhandho tajjāmanoviññāṇadhātu—idaṁ vuccati “saṅkhārapaccayā viññāṇaṁ.”

▪Note that “saṅkhāra paccayā viññāṇaṁ” happens in different ways depending on whether it is a “good thought” or “bad thought.”

The “Nine Stages of Evolution” Can Only be Seen by a Buddha

7. That fast process can be seen only by a Buddha. It is perceptible discernible (gocara) only to the highest purified mind.

▪The Buddha explained that first to Ven. Sāriputta, when he first explained the key ideas of Abhidhamma to Ven. Sāriputta and it took several hundred years of effort by “the bhikkhus of the Sāriputta lineage” to do a systematic compilation of all mental phenomena.

▪That is why the Abhidhamma Piṭaka was finalized only at the third Sangāyanā (Buddhist Council.) See “Abhidhamma – Introduction.”

8. It is best to describe the actual process to understand these steps. Let us go back to the evolution of a single citta in nine steps.

▪It starts with the citta stage, the purest stage (it has only the seven universal cetasika or mental factors). One is aware that one is alive.

▪These deeper aspects are discussed in “Pabhassara Citta, Radiant Mind, and Bhavaṅga.”

9. Now that we have stated that technical point (which is not critical for this discussion), we can proceed to the next stages.

▪At the first stage of citta, the mind just knows that the world exists. That there is a sense impression coming through either of the five physical senses (cakkhu, sota, jivhā, ghāṇa, or kāya indriya) or the māna indriya.

The Nine Stages of Evolution

10. Let us take a specific event: Suppose it is seeing a woman.

As we said above, at the first citta stage, one is only aware that a thought object came to the mind via the eyes (cakkhu indirya).

▪Then in the mano stage, the mind “measures” or “compares” (that is why it is called the “mano” stage) with past experiences to decide whether the object is a tree, a car, a man, a woman, etc. In this case it determines that it is a woman.

▪The next “mānasaṁ” stage is to decide a specific connection to him/herself. In this case, it turns out that it is a woman.

11. Now, those steps occur for any human, including an Arahant or even the Buddha. One cannot live without getting to this stage. The Buddha was able to differentiate between Ven. Ānanda, Ven. Sāriputta, Visaka, or King Kosala, and addressed them accordingly.

▪In fact, in the Karaniyamatta Sutta, “mānasambhāva ye aparimānaṁ..” means to cultivate “mānasaṁ” to the optimum level. That way, one can quickly figure out how to deal with a given situation.

12. At the next step, an average human will generate the “saññā about the person seen” and may make a definite identification of that woman and generate some affection. See “Saññā – What It Really Means.” That is called the “hadayaṁ” stage. Remember that all nine steps happen in a short time and do not involve conscious thinking.

▪For example, it might reach the “hadayaṁ” stage if it was a distant relative.

13. Proceeding to the next stage of “paṇḍaraṁ,” that feeling established at the “hadayaṁ” stage strengthens in the case of a close person like one’s mother. It is like allocating more “energy” to a closer person.

▪It is also important to note that it may go the totally opposite way for an arch-enemy. Here, one will have strong bad feelings about such a person.

14. Now comes the next stage of “mano manāyatanaṁ.” Here one’s mind becomes an “āyatana” or “be receptive” (or hateful) to that person depending on the level of attachment (revulsion) formed at the hadayaṁ and paṇḍaraṁ stages.

▪That is strengthened (to a level based on the feelings generated in the previous steps) at the “mana indriyaṁ” stage.

▪Note that this “mana indriyaṁ” stage is different from the mana indriya involved in “manañca paṭicca dhamme ca uppajjati manoviññāṇaṁ.”

15. At the viññāṇa stage, one’s mind is removed from “ñāṇa” or wisdom or “the reality of nature.” As long as one has worldly desires (i.e., cravings), one has not stopped the viññāṇa stage (i.e., until one becomes an Arahant).

▪Then at the last stage of viññānakkhandha, the mind strengthens attachments cultivated in the past, evaluates the current situation, and makes new hopes and plans for the future. That is the last stage.

▪That last stage is what we experience. We do not experience one such “citta” or “viññāṇa.” Thousands of citta vīthi may flow within a fraction of second before we become aware of it.

16. However, in the case of an Arahant, the process stops at the mānasaṁ stage and thus does not evolve further. The mind makes decisions based on recognizing a person, regardless of the connection between oneself and that person.

▪Even under the threat of being killed, feelings towards that person will be no different from feelings towards one’s mother. That is why I say that we cannot even imagine the mind of an Arahant.

The Initial Citta Stage is a Pabhassara Citta

17. Aṅguttara Nikāya 1; Accharāsaṅghātavagga; Sutta #51 is a very short sutta. Here is the complete sutta: “Pabhassaramidaṁ, bhikkhave, cittaṁ. Tañca kho āgantukehi upakkilesehi upakkiliṭṭhaṁ. Taṁ assutavā puthujjano yathābhūtaṁ nappajānāti. Tasmā ‘assutavato puthujjanassa cittabhāvanā natthī’ti vadāmī”ti.

Translated: “Bhikkhus, a (pure) citta has pabhassara nature. That citta is contaminated by defilements (keles or kielesa). A normal human who has not heard my Dhamma (assutavā puthujjano) is unaware of this true nature. I do not recommend citta bhāvanā to them.”

▪This sutta clearly states the importance of knowing that a pure citta becomes contaminated to the level of viññāṇa.

18. Once we have those basics, we can now build on that and try to make the picture clearer.

▪For example, when seeing an attractive object, the mind may become greedy by incorporating lobha, issa, etc. (asobhana cetasika) that bends the mind immorally.

▪Upon seeing a helpless person, one may generate compassionate thoughts by incorporating mettā, karuṇā, etc. (some sobhana cetasika).

Contamination of a Thought Depends on Gati and Ārammaṇa

19. Therefore, we can now see why two factors play important roles in how the thought process would evolve. One is one’s gati, and the other is how strong the thought object (ārammaṇa) is.

▪Someone with “lobha gati” can be easily influenced by a slightly attractive object or ārammaṇa. On the other hand, someone with less ‘lobha gati’ may not be perturbed by it. Possible situations are endless, depending on the sense -object and one’s gati. That is a good vipassanā subject to contemplate.

Saṅkhāra Paccayā Viññāṇa

20. Another important thing is that when one repeatedly thinks about a given sense object, then one’s viññāṇa (expectations) for that objects will be cultivated. That, in turn will cultivate one’s gati in that direction, thus becoming a self-feeding cyclic process. A good example is an innocent teenager who gets addicted to alcohol or drugs.

▪If we thought a bit more about the above case, we could see the involvement of “saṅkhāra paccayā viññāṇa.” When one starts thinking consciously (generating vacī saṅkhāra) about drinking and then also do it frequently (kāya saṅkhāra), then one’s “drinking viññāṇa” will grow in strength.

▪That is why we must be careful about letting our thoughts “go wild” or “daydreaming.” See “Correct Meaning of Vacī Saṅkhāra.”

▪One should think about one’s bad habits or “bad viññāṇa” that keep popping up in mind regularly. By being mindful, we can suppress such thoughts (by thinking about their adverse consequences or ādīnava) and reduce such bad gati. Similarly, one can strengthen one’s “good gati” by engaging more in similar activities.

▪That is the basis of Ānāpāna and Satipaṭṭhāna.