First, I would like to provide the necessary background.
Contextual Meaning of Pāli Words
1. In my comment on April 29, 2026, at 7:09 pm, I explained that the root “sota” is used with three different meanings in the following three contexts:
- In ‘Sotāpanna,’ ‘sota‘ refers to the Noble Path; one who starts on the Noble Path is a ‘sota āpanna‘ or a ‘sotāpanno.’ Paṭisotagāmi (‘paṭi sota gāmi’) also means to bind to the Noble Path (‘sota‘) and follow it to Nibbāna.
- ‘Bhava sota‘ refers to the ‘stream of rebirth,’ exactly the opposite of being on the Noble Path. See “Mahaddhana Sutta (SN 1.28).” The word ‘anusotagāmi’ (‘anu sota gāmi’) means to stay engaged with (“anu”) the flow of the rebirth process (‘sota’).
- Sota in ‘sota indriya‘ means the faculty of hearing, entirely different from both of the above meanings.
- The meanings are obvious in those cases, and I have not seen anyone misinterpret those.
Saṅkhāra – Many Possible Meanings
2. Let us consider the word saṅkhāra. It can have different meanings depending on context, which most translators do not see.
- First, “avijjā paccayā saṅkhāra” in Paṭicca Samuppāda implies that saṅkhāra arise with ignorance as a condition, and thus can be loosely translated as ‘defiled thoughts,’ i.e., rāga, dosa, or moha/avijjā are associated with them.
- In the “Vibhaṅga Sutta (SN 12.2),” the Buddha defined saṅkhāra as “kāya saṅkhāra, vacī saṅkhāra, and citta saṅkhāra.” The same definition is in the “Cūḷavedalla Sutta (MN 44).”
Saṅkhāra That Arise in an Arahant – Cūḷavedalla Sutta
3. Let us examine the subsequent verses in the Cūḷavedalla Sutta, which provide more information. @marker 14.2 it says: “Assāsapassāsā kho, āvuso visākha, kāyasaṅkhāro, vitakkavicārā vacīsaṅkhāro, saññā ca vedanā ca cittasaṅkhāro’ti.” That means “kāya saṅkhāra = assāsapassāsā, vacī saṅkhāra = vitakka and vicāra, citta saṅkhāra = saññā and vedanā.”
- Then, @marker 15.2, it explains further: “Assāsapassāsā kho, āvuso visākha, kāyikā ete dhammā kāyappaṭibaddhā, tasmā assāsapassāsā kāyasaṅkhāro” OR “assāsapassāsā are associated with the physical body; that is why they are called kāya saṅkhāra.” Thus, here, it is reasonable to assume that ‘kāya‘ is ‘physical body’ and ‘kāya saṅkhāra‘ are ‘in and out breaths.’
- @marker 15.3, it explains vacī saṅkhāra: “Pubbe kho, āvuso visākha, vitakketvā vicāretvā pacchā vācaṁ bhindati, tasmā vitakkavicārā vacīsaṅkhāro” OR “First one thinks via vitakka and vicāra, and then speaks; therefore, vitakka and vicāra are vacī saṅkhāra.”
- @marker 15.4, it explains citta saṅkhāra: “Saññā ca vedanā ca cetasikā ete dhammā cittappaṭibaddhā, tasmā saññā ca vedanā ca cittasaṅkhāro’ti” OR “saññā and vedanā are associated with citta; therefore, saññā and vedanā are citta saṅkhāra. This is clear in Abhidhamma, where a ‘pure citta‘ (also called a ‘pabhassara citta‘) is defined to encompass/contain six cetasika: Phassa (contact), saññā (perception), vēdanā (feeling), cētanā (intention), ekaggata (one-pointedness), jivitindriya (life faculty), and manasikāra (memory). See “Pabhassara Citta, Radiant Mind, and Bhavaṅga.”
4. An Arahant in Arahant-phala samāpatti experiences this ‘pure citta‘ which is devoid of ‘kāma saññā.’ In daily life, an Arahant experiences not so pure (but still undefiled) citta with ‘altered saññā,’ i.e., ‘kāma saññā.’
- Next, the conversation in the Cūḷavedalla Sutta switched to ‘nirodha samāpatti‘ (which is the same as ‘saññā avedayita nirodha samāpatti‘ because in nirodha samāpatti, thoughts (citta) cease to arise; thus, saññā and vēdanā, as well as other components of citta, do not arise). This is where the Arahant‘s mind is fully dissociated from the world of 31 realms. This is the situation after the death of an Arahant: no more cittās arise!
- Then, @marker 17.1, the question is asked: “Saññāvedayitanirodhaṁ samāpajjantassa panāyye, bhikkhuno katame dhammā paṭhamaṁ nirujjhanti—yadi vā kāyasaṅkhāro, yadi vā vacīsaṅkhāro, yadi vā cittasaṅkhāro’ti?” OR “In what sequence do kāya saṅkhāra, vacī saṅkhāra, and citta saṅkhāra stop when an Arahant enters nirodha samāpatti?”
- The answer is: “First vacī saṅkhāra cease, then kāya saṅkhāra, and finally citta saṅkhāra stop arising.” Per the above discussion, we can say that “First conscious thoughts with vitakka and vicāra cease, then breathing stops, and finally cittās (pure awareness) also cease.”
- Therefore, the above explanation in the Cūḷavedalla Sutta is consistent with the following aspects: (i) Arahants also generate saṅkhāra; however, those are not the same saṅkhāra as those in“avijjā paccayā saṅkhāra” in Paṭicca Samuppāda. The Paṭicca Samuppāda process does not run in an Arahant‘s mind, ever. Thus, we can call ‘saṅkhāra of an Arahant‘ as ‘suddha saṅkhāra‘ or ‘undefiled saṅkhāra.’
Saṅkhāra in Paṭicca Samuppāda Start as Citta Saṅkhāra
5. Most people (especially those who have not read my recent posts) may not be aware of the following. Even for those who have, the following simplified explanation could be helpful. It could be a good idea to consult “Purāna and Nava Kamma – Sequence of Kamma Generation” and the chart in #6 of that post.
- A Paṭicca Samuppāda (PS) cycle starts (with a new sesnory input) with the transition of the mind from the ‘kāma dhatu‘ stage to the ‘bahiddha viññāṇa‘ state in ‘kāma loka.’ Then the following steps occur before the cycle reaches the ‘taṇhā paccayā upādāna‘ step (for a ‘seeing event’): (i) bahiddha viññāṇa, (ii) ajjhatta viññāṇa (same as cakkhu viññāṇa), (iii) kāma guna arise for enticing events (if not PS does not proceed any further), (iv) samphassa-ja-vēdanā arise, (v) taṇhā arises due to samphassa-ja-vēdanā (this is the ‘vēdanā paccayā taṇhā’ step in PS), (vi) ‘taṇhā paccayā upādāna‘ step.
6. All those steps belong to the ‘initial weak kamma generation’ stage, which the Buddha called the ‘purāna kamma‘ stage. See, “Kammanirodha Sutta (SN 35.146).”
- There, the Buddha pointed out that kamma generation occurs in two steps: ‘purāna (initial, weak) kamma generation’ in the ‘purāna kamma‘ stage and ‘potent/strong kamma generation’ occurring in the subsequent ‘nava kamma‘ stage.
- Without first stopping the ‘purāna kamma‘ stage, it is impossible to stop the subsequent ‘nava kamma‘ stage.
- Ancient yogis like Ālāra Kālāma, before the Buddha, were unable to stop the ‘kamma generation process’ because they were not aware of the complete ‘kamma generation process.’ They did not know about the ‘purāna kamma‘ stage. Most people today are also not aware of it. See “Kamma Nirodha – How Does It Happen?”
7. As mentioned in #5 above, only weak ‘citta saṅkhāra‘ arise in the ‘bahiddha viññāṇa‘ stage. In that first step, only weak ‘saṅkappa‘ arise, which are the weakest form of defiled ‘saṅkhāra.’ Even these do not arise in an Arahant.
- However, the mind further defiles to the ‘ajjhatta viññāṇa‘ (same as ‘cakkhu viññāṇa‘ automatically in the very next step). As we mentioned above, ‘cakkhu viññāṇa‘ is experienced by the mind, and thus is equivalent to ‘mano viññāṇa.’
- That is important because stronger ‘sara saṅkappa‘ and ‘mano saṅkhāra‘ can arise only with ‘mano viññāṇa.’
- Thus, it is at this point that stronger ‘sara saṅkappa‘ arise (which are still weak compared to ‘mano saṅkhāra‘), if the mind further attaches via kāma guna.
- To emphasize: ‘saṅkappa‘ are a form of ‘citta saṅkhāra‘, but they are defiled, and are different from the ‘citta saṅkhāra‘ that arise in an Arahant. In a PS process, ‘saṅkappa‘ arises only in the initial step when the mind enters ‘kama bhava/loka‘; see the chart in #6 of “Purāna and Nava Kamma – Sequence of Kamma Generation.“
Potent Kamma Are Done via Mano Saṅkhāra
8. Now, let us continue with the mind contamination PS process from #5 above for the same ‘seeing event.’
- The ‘taṇhā paccayā upādāna‘ step in PS initiates the ‘nava kamma‘ stage, where potent new kamma are generated with ‘mano saṅkhāra.’ Again, it is a good idea to consult “Purāna and Nava Kamma – Sequence of Kamma Generation” and the chart in #6 of that post.
- This leads to several more steps (within the ‘upādāna paccayā bhava‘ step in PS) in this “nava kamma” stage, the mind passes through several stages (kāmacchanda, kāma pariḷāha, kāma pariyesanā; see #13 below) where attachment becomes increasingly intense. It culminates in the accumulation of strong kamma done through the body, speech, and mind (kammaṁ karoti kāyena vācāya manasā).
- It is in this ‘nava kamma‘ stage that the mind generates potent new kamma that can lead to rebirths! (For those who are familiar with Abhidhamma, javana citta are generated only in the ‘nava kamma‘ stage). This is where one generates kāya kamma (killing, stealing, sexual misconduct) and vaci kamma (four types, including musāvada). Concomitantly, the mind generates ‘mano saṅkhāra,’ which are stronger than the ‘saṅkappa‘ and ‘sara saṅkappa‘ that arise in the ‘purāna kamma‘ stage; see #7 above.
9. Those steps in #3 through #8 are discussed in the “Purāna and Nava Kamma – Sequence of Kamma Generation.”
- Therefore, saṅkhāra that involve potent kamma are normally ‘mano saṅkhāra’ and not ‘citta saṅkhāra.’ Citta saṅkhāra further defiles into mano saṅkhāra early in the ‘purāna kamma‘ stage.
- By the time potent kamma are done, a mind has been defiled to the ‘mano‘ (same as ‘manayatana‘). As we saw, this happens early in the ‘purāna kamma‘ stage, specifically when the ‘bahiddha viññāṇa‘ turns to ‘ajjhatta viññāṇa.’ For example, when seeing a sight, this ‘ajjhatta viññāṇa‘ is the same as cakkhu viññāṇa. Also, note that it is the same mind that sees, hears, etc. The birth of a cakkhu viññāṇa or sota viññāṇa is technically the same as mano viññāṇa. They all can generate mano saṅkhāra.
Conclusions for Citta Saṅkhāra and Mano saṅkhāra
10. I hope the above description provides some clarification on the distinction between ‘citta saṅkhāra‘ and ‘mano saṅkhāra.’
- The bottom line to remember is the following: Citta saṅkhāra can be those undefiled saṅkhāra that arise in an Arahant or the ‘weak defiled saṅkhāra‘ that arise in a puthujjana‘s mind in the ‘purāna kamma‘ stage.
- ‘Mano saṅkhāra‘ implies ‘potent saṅkhāra‘ that arises in the ‘nava kamma‘ stage and can lead to future rebirths.
Relevance to the Current Discussion
11. The essential takeaway from the above discussion for this discussion thread is the following.
- ‘Citta saṅkhāra‘ that arise in an Arahant are NEVER defiled.
- ‘Citta saṅkhāra‘ or ‘mano saṅkhāra‘ that arise in a puthujjana are ALWAYS defiled, even though those ‘citta saṅkhāra‘ are less defiled than ‘mano saṅkhāra.‘
12. That is why I stated the following in the first bullet in #3 above regarding the verse @marker 14.2 in the Cūḷavedalla Sutta: “assāsapassāsā are associated with the physical body; that is why they are called kāya saṅkhāra.” Thus, here, it is reasonable to assume that ‘kāya‘ is ‘physical body’ and ‘kāya saṅkhāra‘ are ‘in and out breaths.’
- In the same way, @marker 15.3, the explanation of vacī saṅkhāra as “First one thinks via vitakka and vicāra, and then speaks; therefore, vitakka and vicāra are vacī saṅkhāra” is also consistent. Here, vitakka and vicāra will not include any defiled versions, with even a trace of rāga, dosa, or moha/avijjā.
- @marker 15.4, the explanation of citta saṅkhāra as “saññā and vedanā are associated with citta; therefore, saññā and vedanā are citta saṅkhāra” is also correct. Those are saññā and vēdanā in a pabhassara (pure) citta of an Arahant entering or coming out of nirodha samāpatti.
‘Kāya‘ for a Puthujjana Is ‘Pañcupādānakkhandha Kāya‘
13. Now, the same definitions (in the Pali verse) must be interpreted differently for the case of puthujjana.
- For a puthujjana, the Buddha ALWAYS used the word ‘kāya‘ to refer to the ‘pañcupādānakkhandha kāya‘ and NOT the physical body.
- The “Ānāpānassati Sutta (MN 118) and the “Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta (DN 22) are focused on ways of removing defilements from the mind. That involves stopping the arising of the ‘pañcupādānakkhandha kāya.‘
- Anyone can ask questions on #1 through #12 above. After answering any such questions, I will discuss the ‘pañcupādānakkhandha kāya.‘ After that, anyone can ask questions about it.
- It is important to clarify these fundamental concepts, so don’t hesitate to ask questions if anything is unclear. Also, there could be typing errors, too, since I am doing this in a hurry.