November 30, 2024 at 6:38 pm
#52762
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.