Reply To: Witness consciousness and Buddha nature

#52762
Lal
Keymaster

“I see, so at this stage, when a person thinks, is it ultimately the hadaya vatthu that consciously generates citta? “

  • Yes. Cittas are always generated in hadaya vatthu.

” I would surmise that thinking involves retrieving info from memory which is also why a permanent like experience is felt.”

  • Even a single citta takes into account of memories. That is how the mind recognizes a given person or an object.
  • Each citta arises with seven universal cetasika (mental factors): Phassa (contact);   vēdanā (feeling);  saññā (perception);  cētanā (volition); Ekaggata (One-pointedness);  jivitindriya (life faculty);  manasikāra. Recollection happens via a bit of a complex process (involving the brain) and recognition with saññā. See “Cetasika (Mental Factors).”
  • The Buddha stated that the mind is the fastest entity in the world. All of the above (and more) happens within a citta lasting a billionth of a second. Of course, a single citta does not arise by itself. They usually come in packets of 17 cittas, called a “citta vithi.” When we focus on an object, billions of such “citta vithi” can run through a mind in minutes.