The Mind or the Citta

Durangamam, ekacaram, asariram, ghuahasayam

Ye sittam sannamesanti mokkhanti marabandhana

Fairing far, wandering alone, bodiless, lying in a cave, is the mind.

Those who subdue it are freed of Mara

Wandering alone No two thought moments are alike but changeable and move fast

Bodiless Mind is not understood as of material form

Lying in a cave No particular association with a site or an organ (brain for example). Conditional association with the body and dependent on material things

Yam rupam nissaya Dependent on material form (in the form of life-existence)
Mara Described as of five kinds in Buddhism

1. Death
2. Passions
3. Activities both moral and amoral
4. Association with sense organs (eye, ear, nose, tongue and skin–touch)
5. Extremes of passions

Translated by Reverend Narada Thera of Vijirarama, Sri-Lanka

Pali Verse-37

My comments (Asoka):

The first sentence of this verse addresses the nature of the mind in descriptive terms.

The second sentence addresses the needs of its control.

There are no terms like conscious, subconscious, personality, id, ego and superego. The concepts when analyzed with the three basic tenets of Anatta, Dukka and Anatma (devoid of permanence, satisfactoriness and person) ingrained in Dhamma are quite the opposite of western psychological analysis. The representation of the behavior of the mind is lucid and simple. The mind resides in the cave (material body) but has no formal material form but quite free to wander on its own. The seat of its residence is neither indicated as to the brain nor the heart. This is also quite significant since in medical parlance the mind and its various perceptual functions are mapped to various anatomical regions in the brain.

Yam rupam nissaya– further reinforces this impression that the mind depends (arising from) on material thing (form) but not specifically localized in terms of reference to any focal point of origin.

Buddhist psychology has a distinctive form and with opposing themes of no-self, no soul or having any permanent substantial entity but subjected to eternal vagaries of change. To borrow a scientific notion, similar to the behaviour of energy (which cannot be made from nothing nor destroyed altogether), the mind in its subtle form that arises within biological forms (having an organized neural system) is dynamic in nature.

As going by modern psychology of not having a personal, emotional and cognitive elements to represent the behaviour of my memory, thoughts, beliefs and prejudices, I am really stuck and at cross roads.

I have only one option left though, but to delve into Abhidhamma. The fear aroused in me was much more than when I started experimenting with Linux. In experimenting with Linux I had windows to fall back to, if I failed. In this scenario I have nothing to fall back to except to my own insecurity. In any case the plunge was considered worthwhile.

I organized myself into certain compartments.

1. Contemporary physiological psychology of Mind
2. Behavioural psychology of Mind in Abhidhamma Context
3. Application if any?

The content of the Abhidhamma is colossal and the following discussion is very selective. Patisandhi, Bhavanga, Avajjana, Pancavinnana, Javana and Cuti were the essential words mentioned in Abhidhamma out of 14 characteristics. One unexpected finding was Sutta explanation include six elements or essentials.

Solid Pathavi

Liquid Apo

Heat Tejo

Motion Vayo

Space Akasa

Consciousness Mano

Abhidhamma explanation of six psycho-physiological elements are

Eye Visible Object Visual Perception

Ear Sound Audible Perception

Nose Odour Smell

Tongue Food Taste

Body Touch Sensory Perception

Mind-element Thinking Thought Process

(Mano-dhatu) (dhamma-dhatu) (Mano-vinnana-dhatu)

1. Bhavanga

This is the essential mental accompaniment of every conditional of existence. It consists of succession of three components, arising, formation (development) and decay of thought moments. Arising and perishing it flows like a stream not remaining the same for two consecutive moments and is called by Bhavanga-sota (stream of consciousness). It has a past, present and a future course and is present in both wakeful and sleep states in a dynamic continuum.

2. Avajjana

In its formal existence the stream of consciousness Bhavanga-sota is subjected to attention and focus of a new thought process coming from all six senses. The stream is disturbed (Bhavanga-calana) and arrested momentarily (Bhavanga-upacchheda)

3. Pancavinnana

The six senses take over the perception (a physiological process) depending on the attention (avarjjana) focused. The three processes, the reception (Sampaticchana) of the (impulse or the impression), investigation (Santirana) and determination (Vothappana) of the impulse set forth an important mental activity called Javana.

4. Javana

Javana which consists of 4 to 7 thought moments is the most important part of the mental activity as far as Buddhist psychology is concerned. Javana means dynamic and running and this is the psychological stage where the Buddhist ethical concepts stand out prominently. Good and the bad, in effect the Kamma Concept (moral and immoral Javanas) is ingrained in this mental activity. The quality of the Javana is dependent on the intensity of the Sanna which is graded into four intensities. While feeblest of Sanna does not give rise to Javana.

In Jhana absorptions there are five (5) thought moments. This is quite acceptable concept in physiological responses (all or none) as the threshold and sub-threshold impulses. However the grades are finely defined in Abhidhamma into 5 grades.

5.Tadaramnna

The object of the Javana thought process in effect get registered in the stream of consciousness soon after. After tadarammana the stream of consciousness lapses into Bhavanga.

6. Patisandi (relinking) and Cuti (death consciousness)

The Kamma Concept is invariably associated with rebirth and the other two mental activities are rebirth consciousness (Patisandi-relinking) and death consciousness (Cuti) or the passing away from one life to another. As Patisandhi is the initial thought moment of life, so is cuti the final thought moment. The Bhavanga-sota flows into the next cycle of existence and carry with it the immense potentials of past Kamma Energy. If one is to accept the Abhidhamma Concepts the personality and emotionality of an individual is based on the mental activity that is neither destroyed nor different from the previous existence. Na ca so na ca anno; the identical stream of Kammic Energy.

Thought Moments

The contentious issue is the duration of a single thought moment which is considered very, very small. I do not intend to delve into time since it is a linear concept of only two dimensions which is not adequate to measure a multi-dimensional concept called the “thought process”. It is said that there are 17 thought moments for the impulse of the Sanna to alert awareness in Mind (consciousness). If one takes the transmission time of an impulse along a long un-myelinated (slowest conducting) nerve fiber, what we are talking about is in milli-seconds. One should not have any difficulty in perceiving that, the normal (ordinary) thought processes having fraction of a second duration.

What one is not sure is how finer is these measurements when somebody is in Jhana absorptions. If we are to take time as a relative concept as in modern physics this difficulty is imaginary.

Memory

It is a striking fact that there is paucity of discussion about memory in Buddhism. Sati does not correspond to western conception of memory and mindfulness is better equivalent. Samma-sati in fact is right consciousness and not memory. Similarly, Sanna is only a precursor of memory. The characteristic of Sanna is cognition of an object by way of its special attributes (mark of recognition-colour, rose). The stage of tadarammana(registering)in thought process can be considered as the final stage of memory (imprint) construction.

Could it be that the Kamma that is the vehicle for memory in Buddhist connotation?

In other words memory cannot be compressed into a one single existence. Similarly, the habits that one inherits, is the composite of many previous existences of personalities and not a single product of a single existence. It seems that the Buddhist thinking is quite at variance with the modern behavioural psychology.

The attempt at localizing memory to certain parts of the brain is made in physiological psychology. Certain parts of the brain seem to localize short term and long term memory but the chemical mediators (memory proteins) that are proposed as modifiers of this function are not identified convincingly as yet.

Are we barking at the wrong tree?

How is that some individuals who are exceedingly gifted with fluency in many languages (but ordinary people at best can master two or three languages)?

One should realize that I have not given conclusive evidence for or against the Abhidhamma Concepts. The intention was to present Dhamma concepts as it is in the scriptures without corrupting and rendering my interpretations. However, I have posed appropriate questions that come to my mind as a starting point for an apprentice wayfarer which I am.

Perception of Nature or Nurture

Modern psychology gives greater significance to behavioural modification assuming that nearly 50% is inherited and other 50% nurtured. This equation has outlasted its practical use. In modern day analysis in every matter with some obscurity related to biological phenomena that include mind, three elements have to be taken into account. There are genetic, environmental and unknown factors to consider (roughly 30% as far as intelligence is concerned) when analyzing scientifically.

The above simple equation has to be modified if one is to apply the Abhidamma Concepts for personality, emotion and behaviour. Instead of two factors at least three factors which include unknown elements should be considered in evaluation of mind and its behaviour.

Significantly Abhidhamma does not waste its energies on mundane affairs and its concentration is on wholesome Kammas and attainment of higher mental states leading to Nibbana. One should not waste time in discovering mundane psychological facets in Abhidhamma. Instead one should concentrate on developing Sati and concentrating on four Satipatthanas (Kaya, Vedana, Citta and Dhamma).

Bhavana is the only way