Citta, Manō, Viññāna – Nine Stages of Mind Contamination

A mind becomes active only upon receiving a sensory input (nimitta.) The mind of a puthujjana (average human) will automatically attach to that nimitta, turning it into an ārammaṇa. However, strong kamma accumulation (with all nine steps) occurs only if the mind goes through the “taṇhā paccayā upādāna” stage. Even though all of them get to the viññāṇak­khan­dha stage, many may not go through all nine stages.

January 24, 2018; rewritten with new title August 30, 2024

All Nine Stages Contamination May Not Happen

1. The reference to the “nine stage of mind progression” is in the “Paṭic­ca­samup­pāda­ Vibhaṅga”: “Tattha katamaṃ saṅ­khā­ra ­pac­cayā viññāṇaṃ? Yaṃ cittaṃ mano mānasan hadayan paṇḍaran mano manāyatanaṃ manindriyaṃ viññāṇaṃ viññā­ṇak­khan­dho tajjā­mano­viñ­ñā­ṇa­dhātu—idaṃ vuccati “saṅ­khā­ra­pac­cayā viññāṇaṃ.” 

• The brief utterance (uddesa) of the steps — without a detailed explanation — is in answer to the question: “What is meant by ‘saṅ­khā­ra ­pac­cayā viññāṇaṃ’? OR “How does viññāṇa evolve with saṅ­khā­ra”? The nine steps are mentioned as the answer to that question. The generation/accumulation of saṅkhāra does not happen in one step; it could happen over relatively long times. 
• Therefore, the nine steps of “mind progression” should be analyzed in that context, i.e., when a mind gets attached to a sensory input and becomes increasingly defiled.
• This progression may not involve all nine steps in all cases. Furthermore, some sensory events last only a fraction of a second, while others may occupy a mind for minutes and even hours, depending on the specific sensory input and one’s mindset at that time.

Importance of Understanding the “Mind Contamination” Sequence

2. Answering the question “What is meant by ‘saṅ­khā­ra ­pac­cayā viññāṇa’?” leads to the clarification of several critical concepts in Budha Dhamma. The following is a list of the most important:

1. A “suffering-free” (pabhassara) state of mind is hidden deep inside the mind of any living being. 
2. That pabhassara mind (or pabhassara citta) is covered by ten layers of saṁsāric bonds (saṁyojana.)
3. Those saṁyojanās automatically trigger attachment to any sensory input (attachment is to the “distorted saññā” associated with any sensory input.)
4. Depending on one’s gati at that time and the specific sensory input, the mind may go through several more stages of saṅkhāra generation. The mind gets further defiled at each step, and those nine terms refer to those stages. 
5. In kāma loka, all minds (except for Arahants and Anagamis) go through the first stage of attachment (“purāna kamma” stage with citta, mano, mānasan, and hadayan steps.) Also, see the chart in #10 below, which shows an alternative explanation with bahiddha/ajjhatta viññāṇa; they describe the same process.

• These details are necessary to understand how pañcupādānakkhandha accumulates via Idappaccayatā Paṭicca Samuppāda. It also helps explain the meaning of “sandiṭṭhika Dhamma.” 
• Until one understands this process, one may be unable to contemplate how to “recover the suffering-free mind” or Nibbāna. The “saṅkhāra generation” NEVER leads to recovering the suffering-free mind,” which is possible only via two steps: (i) Controlling the “nava kamma generation” (see the chart in #10 below) with indriya saṁvara (restraining sensory faculties), and (ii) cultivating wisdom (paññā), i.e., by understanding this “mind expansion/contamination” process (see the chart in #10 below.) 

All Minds Have a “Suffering-Free State” Deep Inside

3.  As we have discussed, there is a “suffering-free, pabhassara sate” of the mind deep inside the mind of any sentient being, but it is covered with ten layers of saṁsāric bonds (saṁyojana.) See “Uncovering the Suffering-Free (Pabhassara) Mind.“

• Because of the presence of the ten layers of saṁyojana, the mind cannot discern the “real nature of the sensory input.” Instead, the ten saṁyojana force the mind to “see/discern” an “altered version of the sensory input.” 
• Based on the number of saṁyojana associated with a given mind, it automatically generates sankappa (mano saṅkhāra). It is the first stage of kamma accumulation with very subtle and weak kamma due to ignorance of the “real nature of things” or “yathā bhūta.” (Here, “yathā” means “truth” and “bhūta” refers to “all living and inert things.”) See “Bhūta and Yathābhūta – What Do They Really Mean.”

4. Since Arahants have cultivated yathā bhūta nana, their minds do not reach the purāna kamma stage for sensory inputs.

• They experience the “distorted saññā” associated with any sensory input (at the “bahiddha viññāna” stage), but their minds do not get attached.
• Note that bahiddha viññāna (which comes with “distorted saññā“) is not the same as the “pabhassara citta,” but it is still defilement-free (no rāga, dosa, moha.) An Arahant can experience the “pabhassara citta” while in Arahant-phala Samāpatti. That is a technical detail and not critical to understand.

The Nine Stages of “Expansion/Contamination” of a Mind

5. Knowing the nine possible steps is beneficial. Let us take a specific event: Suppose the sensory input (ārammaṇa) is seeing a beautiful woman. The following is a simple account, leaving out some details that are not necessary here.

• As we said above, at the first citta stage, one is only aware that a thought object came to the mind via the eyes and the brain.
• Then, in the manō stage, the mind “measures” or “compares” (that is why it is called the “manō” stage) with past experiences to decide whether the object is a tree, a car, a man, a woman, etc. In this case, it determines that it is a woman.
• The “mānasan” stage decides on specific connections or features of the nimitta. In this case, it turns out that it is a woman. Furthermore, it is specific: it perceives the woman as “beautiful.” In the same way, the mind of a human (whether an average human or an Arahant) perceives honey to be sweet, the odor of feces is repulsive, etc. Thus, such “saññā” are built-in for anyone born human. This subject requires an in-depth analysis: “Sotapanna Stage via Understanding Perception (Saññā).
• All the above steps occur in a split second; no “conscious thinking” is involved.

6. The first two steps occur for any human, including an Arahant or the Buddha. In particular, in the “mānasan” stage, anyone born human will automatically generate specific saññā common to all humans.

• For example, the Buddha was able to differentiate between Ven. Ananda, Ven. Sāriputta, Lady Visāka, or King Kosala, and addressed them accordingly. Furthermore, he would see Lady Visāka as a beautiful woman or Ven. Lakuṇḍakabhaddiya as ugly by “human standards”: “Lakuṇḍakabhaddiya Sutta (SN 21.6).”
• In fact, in the “Metta Sutta (Kp 9)“: “Mānasan bhāva ye aparimāṇaṁ..” means to cultivate “mānasan” to the optimum level. That way, one can quickly figure out how to deal with any situation.
• See “Saññā – What It Really Means” and “Saññā Gives Rise to Most of the Vedanā We Experience.”
• However, the mind of a Buddha or Arahant will not reach the next stage through attachment to that ārammaṇa.

7. At the next step of the “hadayan” stage, an average human may attach to the “saññā” generated at the  “mānasan” stage. This step also occurs automatically, determined by the saṁyojana associated with a given mind.

• In our example of a beautiful woman, people attach to that sight at different levels, some more than others.
• However, whether they will pursue that woman will depend on the person’s mindset (gati) and other conditions present at that time. For example, a lustful man, while drunk, may generate lustful thoughts about the woman. 

8. Proceeding to the next stage of “paṇḍaran,” that feeling established at the “hadayan” stage strengthens depending on the conditions at that time. This is similar to the “taṇhā paccayā upādāna” step in Paṭicca Samuppāda.

• In the above example, the drunk, lustful man may start generating thoughts about raping the woman if no one is around.
• It is also important to note that it may go the opposite way for an arch-enemy. Here, one will generate bad feelings about such a person. If such feelings intensify, one may think about hitting that person.

9. Now comes the next stage of “manō manāyatanam.” Here, one’s mind becomes an “āyatana” and “receptive” to proceeding with the rape and may start giving it serious thought. He will begin planning how to proceed.

• All this time, he keeps watching the woman, and his lust will also grow, and at some point, all else will be forgotten to give priority to the task of raping the woman. This is the “mana indriyam“ stage. This corresponds to the “parilāha stage,” where the mind becomes impatient to “proceed with the task” or  “a sense of urgency to act on it.” See #7 of “Contamination of a Human Mind – Detailed Analysis.”
• At the viññāna stage, one’s mind is removed from “ñāna” or wisdom or “the reality of nature.” As long as one has worldly desires (i.e., cravings), one has not stopped the viññāna stage (i.e., until one becomes an Arahant).
• The last stage of viññānakkhandha embodies the fact that viññāna has taken into account the past events (atīta) and future expectations (anāgata), as well as the conditions at the current (paccuppanna) moment. It has taken into account the ajjhatta and bahiddda stages (that we recently discussed in detail). It has also taken into account the coarse (olārika) and fine/subtle (sukuma) kamma accumulated, all lower (hīna) and higher (paṇīta) realms it has experienced, whether that mind is far away from Nibbāna (dure) or close to (santike) it. In other words, it represents the current (paccuppanna) status of the mind based on all those factors.
• Note that the 11 categories discussed above apply to each entity (rupa, vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra, viññāṇa) in the five aggregates: “Khandha Sutta (SN 22.48).”

Nine Steps Occur in Two Stages: Purāna and New Kamma

10. The process can be separated into two distinct stages called “purāna kamma” and “nava kamma.” Furthermore, the “nine-step process” can be described in different ways. We have used the following chart to discuss the “progression of the mind” somewhat differently in “Purāna and Nava Kamma – Sequence of Kamma Generation.”

Download/Print: “Purāna and Nava Kamma – 2- revised“

• The point is that an average human ALWAYS proceeds away from the “bahiddha viññā­ṇa” stage (which is close to the “suffering-free mind”) and toward the viññānakkhandha (contaminated) stage. 
• The “evolvement” or the progression of a citta to viññā­ṇak­khan­dha is a “progression in the wrong direction” away from the “suffering-free mind.” That is the mindset of a puthujjana to “go with the flow” or “anusotagāmī.”
• Only a Noble Person (at or above the Sotapanna stage) can proceed toward the “suffering-free mind” or Nibbāna. That is “paṭisotagāmī,” the opposite of anusotagāmī. See “Anusota Sutta (AN 4.5).” One must comprehend this to practice Satipaṭṭhāna.
• Now, let us discuss some issues with the terminology.

Citta – Meaning in Abhdhamma Versus suttās

11. In Abhidhamma analyses, citta represents a “unit of cognition” that lasts only a billionth of a second and has only seven cetasika (mental factors that arise with it). However, in most cittās, citta refers to the “mind” in general. 

• For example, the “Rūpādivagga (AN 1.1-10)” states,  “Nāhaṁ, bhikkhave, aññaṁ ekarūpampi samanupassāmi yaṁ evaṁ purisassa cittaṁ pariyādāya tiṭṭhati yathayidaṁ, bhikkhave, itthirūpaṁ.” OR “Bhikkhus, I do not see a single sight that occupies a man’s mind like the sight of a woman.”
• All ten suttās point out some key features of men’s and women’s minds. The word “citta” is used here not to represent the basic unit of cognition (as in Abhidhamma) but to refer to the “mind” in general.
• Furthermore, in the suttās, all three words citta, mano, and viññāna may be used to indicate “mind.” See, for example, “Assutavā Sutta (SN 12.61)” where it says, “Yañca kho etaṁ, bhikkhave, vuccati cittaṁ itipi, mano itipi, viññāṇaṁ itipi, tatrāssutavā puthujjano nālaṁ nibbindituṁ nālaṁ virajjituṁ nālaṁ vimuccituṁ.” OR “But when it comes to which is called ‘citta,’ ‘mano’ or ‘viññāṇa’ (all refer to the mind), an unlearned ordinary person is unable to become disillusioned, dispassionate, or freed (because one considers it to be ‘one’s own’).”
• It is easier to remember as follows: The mind starts at the citta stage, inevitably goes through the “mano” stage, and ends up in the viññāna stage. That is why those three terms are interchangeably used in the suttās.

More Examples – Citta as Mind

12. The “Paduṭṭhacitta Sutta (Iti 20)” states, “Idhāhaṁ, bhikkhave, ekaccaṁ puggalaṁ paduṭṭha cittaṁ evaṁ cetasā ceto paricca pajānāmi: imamhi cāyaṁ samaye puggalo kālaṁ kareyya yathābhataṁ nikkhitto evaṁ niraye’.” OR “Bhikkhus, when I see the “corrupt mind” of a person, I understand (or I can see): If this person were to die right now, they would be born in hell (niraya).”

• In the “Maṅgala Sutta (Kp 5)“: “Phuṭṭhassa lokadhammehi, cittaṁ yassa na kampati” OR “When touched by worldly conditions, their mind does not tremble.” 
• In all those examples, “citta” does not refer to the “unit of cognition” but to a “mind” in general.
• Therefore, in the Sutta Piṭaka, the words citta, mano, and viññāna all refer to a “mind.” A mind’s “nine stages of expansion/contamination” may occur over a relatively long time. 

Examples – Mano as Mind

13. The “Manonivāraṇa Sutta (SN 1.24)“: 

“Yato yato mano nivāraye,                                                                       “Whatever you’ve shielded the mind from
Na dukkhameti naṁ tato tato;                                                                    can’t cause you suffering. 
Sa sabbato mano nivāraye,                                                                          So you should shield the mind from everything,
”Sa sabbato dukkhā pamuccatī”ti.                                                            then you’re freed from all suffering.

“Na sabbato mano nivāraye,                                                                       “You needn’t shield the mind from everything.
Na mano saṁyatattamāgataṁ;                                                                    When the mind is under control, 
Yato yato ca pāpakaṁ,                                                                                   you need only shield the mind 
”Tato tato mano nivāraye”ti.                                                                        from engaging in pāpa kamma.”

• The Buddha frequently used the word “mano” for the mind in general. 
• I quoted the complete sutta because it is informative in other ways, too. The first verse was cited by a Deva, who says the mind should not be exposed to anything. But the Buddha, in the second verse, says the mind should not be exposed only to pāpa (or akusala) kamma.We need to expose the mind to Buddha Dhamma to be free of suffering!

One Must Understand the “Suffering-Free” Mind to Cultivate Satipaṭṭhāna

14. The “Accharāsaṅghātavagga (AN 1.51-60)“ has two very short suttās. Here is the first sutta: “Pabhassa­ra­midaṃ, bhikkhave, cittaṃ. Tañca kho āgantukehi upakkilesehi upakkiliṭṭhaṃ. Taṃ assutavā puthujjano yathābhūtaṃ nappajānāti. Tasmā ‘assutavato puthujjanassa cittabhāvanā natthī’ti vadāmī”ti.

What Is a Pabhassara Citta?

15. What is meant by “pabhassara“?

• The word comes from three sounds at the root: “pa” means again and again, “bha” is related to “bhava, “and “sara” means “to engage/participate” (“සැරිසැරීම” in Sinhala.) Thus, a “pabhasara citta” with only one “s” in the word (NOT pabhassara) is a contaminated citta that will lead to the saṁsāric journey or the rebirth process.
• The opposite of “pabha sara” is “pabha assara,” where “assara” means “not take part in.” It rhymes with “pabhassara.“
• Thus, someone who has cleansed the mind to generate “pabhassara citta” is not liable to be reborn among the 31 realms, i.e., only an Arahant can generate “pabhassara citta.”
• See “Pabhassara Citta, Radiant Mind, and Bhavaṅga” for details.

Note: This is a rewritten version of an old  post, “Citta Evolving To Viññāna And Viññākkhanda In Nine Steps.”