Daniel wrote: “According to Bhikkhu Bodhi, some Citta Vitthi do not even go to the stage of “Pancadvara citta”, e.g. the very slight object at page 161.”
– ALL 15 types listed on p. 161 are listed under “Pancadvara citta vithi”. However, if that arammana is very weak, the pancadvara does not even open. The bhavanga tries to break off but does not, and goes back to the “bhavanga state.”
Daniel asked: “But Bhikkhu Bodhi also calls the” Vibrational Bhavanga citta” a resultant, which I translate as vipaka?”
– Bhavanga vibration is initiated by a pañcadvāravajjana or a manōdvāravajjana arammana.
Daniel asked: “It would mean the dhamma that initiates the cuti-patisandhi transition in arupa-realm is not a vipaka?”
– I explained above that my initial premise was not correct. The premise was that all sensory inputs are due to kamma vipaka. I made that statement you quoted based on that wrong premise.
– Here is the bottom line: A sensory event (in any realm) can take place as a vipaka or it can happen due to other reasons. Please read my comments carefully before commenting. Otherwise, it can get confusing. A dhamma that initiates the cuti-patisandhi transition in arupa-realm is a vipaka but there can be other sensory inputs that are not vipaka. To repeat: A sensory event is initiated by a pañcadvāravajjana or a manōdvāravajjana citta, and those are functional citta; see the Table on p. 43 of CMA book.