A Manual of Abhidhamma

by Nārada Thera | 80,494 words | ISBN-13: 9789380336510

In the Abhidhammattha Sangaha there is a brief exposition of the Law of Dependent Origination, followed by a descriptive account of the Causal Relations that finds no parallel in any other philosophy. Edited in the original Pali Text with English Translation and Explanatory Notes by Narada Maha Thera....

Beautiful Consciousness of the Sensuous Sphere

sobhana cittāni

§ 6.

Pāpāhetukamuttāni - Sobhanāni'ti vuccare
Ek'ūnasatthicittāni - ath'ekanavutī'pi vā

(atthā kāmāvāccara kusala cittāni)

  1. Somanassa-sahagatam ñānasampayuttam asankhārikam ekam,
  2. Somanassa-sahagatam ñānasampayuttam asankhārikam ekam,
  3. Somanassa-sahagatam ñānavippayuttam asankhārikam ekam,
  4. Somanassa-sahagatam ñānavippayuttam sasankhārikam ekam,
  5. Upekkhā-sahagatam ñānasampayuttam asankhārikam ekam,
  6. Upekkhā-sahagatam ñānasampayuttam sasankhārikam ekam,
  7. Upekkhā-sahagatam ñānavippayuttam asankhārikam ekam,
  8. Upekkhā-sahagatam ñānavippayuttam sasankhārikam' ekan' ti

 Imāni attha' pi sahetuka kāmāvacarakusalacittāni nāma.

(atthā kāmāvācara vipāka cittāni)

  1. Somanassa-sahagatam ñānasampayuttam asankhārikam ekam,
  2. Somanassa-sahagatam ñānasampayuttam sasankhārikam ekam,
  3. Somanassa-sahagatam ñānavippayuttam asankhārikam ekam.
  4. Somanassa-sahagatam ñānavippayuttam sasankhārikam ekam,
  5. Upekkhā-sahagatam ñānasampayuttam asankhārikam ekam,
  6. Upekkhā-sahagatam ñānasampayuttam sasankhārikam ekam,
  7. Upekkhā-sahagatam ñānavippayuttam asankhārikam ekam,
  8. Upekkhā-sahagatam ñānavippayuttam sasankhārikam ekan'ti.

 Imāni attha' pi sahetuka kāmāvacara-vipākacittāni nāma.

(attha kāmāvacara kriyā cittāni)

  1. Somanassa-sahagatam ñānasampayuttam asankhārikam ekam,
  2. Somanassa-sahagatam ñānasampayuttam sasankhārikam ekam,
  3. Somanassa-sahagatam ñānavippayuttam asankhārikam ekam.
  4. Somanassa-sahagatam ñānavippayuttam sasankhārikam ekam,
  5. Upekkhā-sahagatam ñānasampayuttam asankhārikam ekam,
  6. Upekkhā-sahagatam ñānasampayuttam sasankhārikam ekam,
  7. Upekkhā-sahagatam ñānavippayuttam asankhārikam ekam,
  8. Upekkhā-sahagatam ñānavippayuttam sasankhārikam ekan'ti,

Imāni attha'pi sahetuka-kāmāvacara-kriyācittāni nāma.
Icce' vam sabbathā'pi sahetuka-kāmāvacara-
kusala vipāka kriyā cittāni samattāni.

vedanā-ñāna-sankhāra - bhedena catuvīsati
sahetū-kāmāvacara - puññapākakriyā matā.
kāme tevīsapākāni - puññā' puññāni vīsati
ekādasa kriyā c'āti - catupaññāsa sabbathā.

 

(translation)

§ 6.

Excluding those that are evil and without Hetu, the rest are called "Beautiful".
They number either fifty-nine or ninety-one.

(Eight Types of Moral Consciousness)

  1. One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by pleasure, associated with knowledge,
  2. One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by pleasure, associated with knowledge.
  3. One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by pleasure, dissociated with knowledge,
  4. One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by pleasure, dissociated with knowledge,
  5. One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by indifference[1], associated with knowledge.
  6. One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by indifference, associated with knowledge,
  7. One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by indifference, dissociated with knowledge,
  8. One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by indifference, dissociated with knowledge.

These are the eight types of moral consciousness, with Roots, of the sensuous sphere.

(Eight types of Resultant Consciousness)

  1. One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by pleasure, associated with knowledge,
  2. One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by pleasure, associated with knowledge,
  3. One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by pleasure, dissociated with knowledge,
  4. One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by pleasure, dissociated with knowledge,
  5. One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by indifference, associated with knowledge,
  6. One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by indifference, associated with knowledge,
  7. One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by indifference, dissociated with knowledge,
  8. One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by indifference, dissociated with knowledge,

These are the eight types of Resultant Consciousness, with Hetus, of the sensuous sphere.

(Eight types of Functional Consciousness)

  1. One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by pleasure, associated with knowledge,
  2. One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by pleasure, associated with knowledge.
  3. One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by pleasure, dissociated with knowledge,
  4. One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by pleasure, associated with knowledge,
  5. One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by indifference, dissociated with knowledge,
  6. One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by indifference, associated with knowledge,
  7. One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by indifference, dissociated with knowledge,
  8. One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by indifference, dissociated with knowledge,

These are the eight types of Fundamental Consciousness, with Roots, of the sensuous sphere.

Thus end, in all, the moral, resultant, functional types of consciousness, with Hetus, of the sensuous sphere.

(Summary)

The moral, resultant, and functional types of consciousness of the sensuous sphere, with Hetus, which differ according to feeling knowledge, and inducement, should be understood as twenty-four.

In the sensuous sphere twenty-three are "Resultant", twenty "Moral" and "Immoral", and eleven are "Functional", fifty-four in all.

 

Notes:

28. Sobhana - so called because they yield good qualities, and are connected with blameless roots such as generosity, loving-kindness, and knowledge. Com.

29. Pāpa - is that which leads to misery. Evil or bad is a better rendering than sin which has a Christian outlook.

30. Hetuka - All the cittas that are to be described hereafter, are called sahetukas, with Roots, opposed to the ahetukas of the foregoing section. Of the twenty-four kāmāvacara sobhana cittas, twelve are connected with two good Roots: generosity (alobha) and loving-kindness (adosa); twelve with three good: hetus - generosity, loving-kindness, and knowledge (amoha).

31. Fifty-nine or ninety-one:

  • Kāmāvacara - 24
  • Rūpāvacara - 15
  • Arūpāvacara - 12
  • Lokuttara - 8

When the eight lokuttara cittas are developed by means of each of the five kusala rūpa jhānas, as will be explained at the end of this chapter, they total forty.

Then 24 + 15 + 12 + 40 = 91.

32. Ñāna - is that which understands the reality (Com.) Here ñāna is synonymous with wisdom, reason, or knowledge. It is opposed to moha (ignorance, delusion, or stupidity).

33. Asankhārika - unprompted (See note 12, p. *)

According to the commentary one does a good act on the spur of the moment without any particular inducement either from within or without, owing to physical and mental fitness, due to good food, climate, etc., and as a result of having performed similar actions in the past.

34. All good acts are done by one of these first eight cittas. Their corresponding effects are the eight resultant cittas. The eight ahetuka vipāka cittas are also the due effects of these kusala cittas. It, therefore, follows that there are sixteen vipāka cittas corresponding to eight kusala cittas, whereas in the case of twelve akusala cittas there are only seven ahetuka vipāka cittas.

The Buddhas and Arahats also experience all these twenty-three types of vipāka cittas as they are bound to reap the good and bad effects of their past actions till they die. But they do not experience the first eight kusala cittas as they do not accumulate fresh kamma that has any reproductive power, since they have eradicated all fetters that bind oneself to existence. When they do any good act, instead of the usual kusala cittas, they experience the eight kriyā cittas which possess no reproductive energy. Ordinary persons and even Holy Ones of the first three grades of Saint ship do not experience these eight cittas.

35. Illustrations for the first eight kusala cittas:

  1. One understandingly gives something to a beggar at once with joy.
  2. One understandingly gives something to a beggar with joy, after deliberation, or being induced by another.
  3. A child, without any understanding, joyfully salutes a monk at once. Joyfully a person automatically recites a Sacred Text without understanding the meaning.
  4. A child, without any understanding, joyfully salutes a monk, as instructed by the mother. A person joyfully repeats a Sacred Text, as taught by another, without understanding the meaning.

The remaining four types should be understood in the same way, substituting indifference for joy.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

See Note 10, p *, here upekkhā may be equanimity too.

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