Mind – Terminologies in Suttās versus Abhidhamma

One must have a good understanding of the Buddha’s teachings to clarify various usages of terms in the suttās. On the other hand, terminology in Abhidhamma is precise. We start with an analysis of the terms related to the mind.

June 28, 2025

Citta, Mano, Viññāṇa – Entities Related to the Mind

1. The words citta, mano, and viññāṇa are entities associated with the mind. The “Assutavā Sutta (SN 12.61)” states, “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 mind-related entities of ‘citta,’ ‘mano,’ and ‘viññāṇa,’ an unlearned ordinary person is unable to become disillusioned, dispassionate, or freed.”

• Note that the English translation in the link tries to translate the three words as ‘mind,’ ‘sentience,’ and ‘consciousness’ respectively. However, the terms ‘citta,’ ‘mano,’ and ‘viññāṇa’ do not have equivalent English terms (just like anicca, for example). 
• Keep in mind that citta is pronounced “chiththa.” In the 1800s, the Pāli Text Society adopted a convention to write Pāli words with the English alphabet to minimize the word length; see “‘Tipiṭaka English’ Convention Adopted by Early European Scholars – Part 1.”
• Let us consider a few suttās to extract the meanings of those terms. As we will see, only the term “citta” is used differently in suttās compared to Abhidhamma.

Citta – Loose Meaning of ‘Mind’

2. The first short sutta in “Accharāsaṅghātavagga (AN 1.51-60)“ states: “Pabhassaramidaṃ (Pabhassaram idaṃ), bhikkhave, cittaṃ. Tañca kho āgantukehi upakkilesehi upakkiliṭṭhaṃ. Taṃ assutavā puthujjano yathābhūtaṃ nappajānāti. Tasmā ‘assutavato puthujjanassa cittabhāvanā natthī’ti vadāmī”ti.

Mano – One of the Six Āyatana

3. An Arahant has six types of “pure sense faculties” (indriya): cakkhu indriya through mana indriya. Those are used to experience the world, and rāga, dosa, or moha would not arise when Arahants use them.

• However, a puthujjana NEVER uses those sense faculties that way. They are ALWAYS used with at least moha (or avijjā) in mind. Then they are called “āyatana“: cakkhu āyatana (cakkhāyatana) through mana āyatana (manāyatana).
• In most suttās, “mano” is used to convey the above meaning. See, for example, “Upādāya Sutta (SN 35.105).” From marker 3.4 through marker 15.1, verses refer to cakkhu āyatana through mana āyatana. Thus, mano, mana āyatana, and manāyatana all mean the same.
• When referring to an average human, mano is used to describe the “mind” of a person. It is ALWAYS defiled!

Mano Ceases to Exist in an Arahant

4. Upon reaching the Arahant stage (i.e., at the Arahant phala moment), all six āyatanās cease to exist. They all become “pure sensory faculties” or the six indriya.

• Imagine someone listening to a discourse by the Buddha and reaching the Arahant stage during that discourse. There will be no outward change in the physical body, but all six of his āyatana would have become the corresponding indriya.
• This is clearly stated in the “Cetanā Sutta (AN 4.171)“: “avijjāya tveva asesavirāganirodhā so kāyo na hoti yaṁpaccayāssa taṁ uppajjati ajjhattaṁ sukhadukkhaṁ, sā vācā na hoti yaṁpaccayāssa taṁ uppajjati ajjhattaṁ sukhadukkhaṁ, so mano na hoti yaṁpaccayāssa taṁ uppajjati ajjhattaṁ sukhadukkhaṁ” or “But when ignorance fades away and ceases with nothing left over, kāya, vācā and mano cease to exist, conditioned by which that (mind-made) pleasure and pain arise in oneself.”
• Note that the English translation in the link is, “But when ignorance fades away and ceases with nothing left over, there is no body and no voice and no mind, conditioned by which that pleasure and pain arise in oneself.” If that were true, one would have lost their physical body and disappear at the moment, becoming an Arahant!
• Thus, an Arahant has mana indriya but not mano or manāyatana.

Kāya and Vaci Saṅkhāra Also Cease to Exist in an Arahant

5. By the way, losing kāya and vācā in the verse in #4 above refers to the stopping of kāya and vaci abhisaṅkhāra! In fact, in most suttās, saṅkhāra refers to abhisaṅkhāra or defiled saṅkhāra. This is also why kāya saṅkhāra in most contexts does not refer to “breathing in and out,” and the verse “assāsapassāsā kāyasaṅkhāro” does not mean that “breathing in and out” is equivalent to kāya saṅkhāra. An Arahant would still breathe in and out even though kāya saṅkhāra ceases, per the Cetanā Sutta in #4 above.

• This is why it is critically important to be able to grasp he meaning of a word in the context of the material discussed in a sutta.
• In some suttās, “kāya” is used to refer to the physical body. For example, “kāya kamma” refers to actions performed by the body (such as stealing or sexual misconduct). 
• For example, the “Kammanirodha Sutta (SN 35.146)” states “Yaṁ kho, bhikkhave, etarahi kammaṁ karoti kāyena vācāya manasā” OR “The (defiled) deeds you perform by way of body, speech, and mind.” Here, “kāyena” means “with or using kāya.”
• Again, the English translation in the link above is incorrect. These refer to “nava kamma” performed in the “nava kamma stage” as discussed in “Purāna and Nava Kamma – Sequence of Kamma Generation;” see #8 in that post discusses this sutta.
• However, in many suttās (including those that discuss Satipaṭṭhāna or Ānāpānasati), “kāya” does not refer to the physical body. For example, kāyānupassanā is not about contemplating the physical body. It is the contemplation of the “purāna kamma stage” or where the ‘initial kamma generation” takes place without conscious thinking. We will discuss that in upcoming posts.

Viññāṇa – Defiled State of Mind

6. Viññāṇa represents the “state of a defiled mind.” As we have discussed, rupa, vedanā, saññā, and saṅkhāra are all “mental entities” or “entities that arise in a mind” upon receiving a sensory input. See “Rupa, Vedanā, Saññā, Saṅkhāra, Viññāṇa – Mostly Misunderstood.”

• Those are the first four of the “five grasping aggregates” (pañca upādānakkhandha). We could say that viññāṇa is the “result of those four.” Due to the involvement of the defilements in rupa, vedanā, saññā, and saṅkhāra, a mind reaches wrong conclusions, and viññāṇa represents the wrong conclusions and one’s expectations based on them.
• The word “viññāṇa” means “absence of ñāṇa“ or “absence of wisdom about the true nature of the world.”
• See “Viññāṇa – What It Really Means” for details.

Viññāṇa Includes “Rupa Grasped by the Mind”

7. This is an aspect that I have not discussed explicitly so far. It is beneficial to discuss this at least briefly.

• As we have discussed, a sensory experience can be described by the pañca upādānakkhandha. Upon receiving sensory input, the mind composes its version of the external rupa; here, “rupa” refers to sights, sounds, tastes, and so on. That “mind-made version” is the rupa upādānakkhandha. “Distorted saññā” (saññā upādānakkhandha) is the root cause for compiling that “mind-made rupa.“  See “Rupa, Vedanā, Saññā, Saṅkhāra, Viññāṇa – Mostly Misunderstood.”
• Based on that “mind-made rupa,” the mind generates “mind-made vedanā” (samphassa-ja-vedanā), and that is vedanā upādānakkhandha.
• Then, based on all three of them, the mind generates (abhi)saṅkhāra, and that is saṅkhāra upādānakkhandha.
• Viññāṇa upādānakkhandha is the net result. It incorporates all those four; in particular, it is viññāna that combines the “nāma aspects” in vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra with the “rupa aspect” and synthesizes “nāmarupa.” This is the “viññāna paccayā nāmarupa” step in Paṭicca Samuppāda. This “nāmarupa formation” stops at the Arahant stage. 

Rupa, Vedanā, Saññā, Saṅkhāra, Viññāṇa – Refer to the “Aggregates”

8. It is critical to undestand that rupa, vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra, and viññāna almost always refer to the respective upādānakkhandhās. 

• Upon receving a sensory input, the mind “expands”, with those upādānakkhandhās growing at a rapid rate. If the mind stays on that sense input, it keeps repeatedly attaching to that sense input. That is what I tried to show in those charts with “two cones.” See #6 in “Purāna and Nava Kamma – Sequence of Kamma Generation.”
• The five upādānakkhandhās grow slowly in the ‘purāna kamma‘ stage, and the growth becomes rapid in the ‘nava kamma‘ stage when the mind starts consciously accumulating kamma.
• Also see “Rupa, Vedanā, Saññā, Saṅkhāra, Viññāṇa – Mostly Misunderstood.”
• In old posts, I referred to viññāṇa in the ‘purāna kamma‘ stage as “vipāka viññāṇa” and that in the ‘nava kamma‘ stage as ‘kamma viññāṇa.’ It is the same viññāṇa that continues to grow stronger. Even the ‘vipāka viññāṇa‘ is defiled; see “Is Cakkhu Viññāṇa Free of Defilements?” In that post, we discussed a “seeing event” as the sensory input.

Differences Between Sutta and Abhidhamma 

9. The above is a brief description of citta, mano, and viññāṇa in #1 above, as per the suttās.

• Now, we will address the issue of the word “citta” being used in a different context in Abhidhamma.
• Unless one is familiar with Abhidhamma, there is no need to read up to #12 from this point; one can skip to #12 below. It is fine to read through, but don’t be discouraged if you don’t understand.

Abhidhamma Provides a Clear-Cut Explanation

10. Suttās do not directly discuss the issue of where cittās (loosely translated as ‘thoughts’) arise.

• Abhidhamma states that cittās arise in hadaya vatthu (‘seat of the mind’) in the manomaya kāya (also called gandhabba). Here, ‘manomaya‘ means ‘generated exclusively by mano.” A new manomaya kāya is generated via kammic energy whenever a being grasps a new existence. That kammic energy was generated by ‘mano‘ (manāyatana) in previous lives.
• In contrast, our physical body (referred to as ‘cātumahābhūtikassa kāya‘ in the suttās) is made from the food we eat; ‘cātumahābhūtikassa kāya‘ means the ‘body made of the four great elements.’ See, for example, “Paṭhamakāmabhū Sutta (SN 41.5).”
• Many people become dissatisfied with their physical body and even commit suicide; they are fed up with their physical body. However, that does not end suffering since they will be reborn with another physical body.
• To end suffering, one must learn how the manomaya kāya arises based on potent kamma. Furthermore, potent kamma generation cannot be stopped until one stops the ‘initial kamma formation’ in the ‘purāna kamma‘ stage, which is stopped by removing the ten saṁyojana or saṁsāric bonds (this is the previously unknown teachings of a Buddha, and is the reason why ancient yogis could not reach ‘end of suffering’). See #21 through #23 in “Loka – Each Person Perceives the “External World” Differently.”

11. Abhidhamma is more precise in its use of words. For example, citta ALWAYS refers to the fundamental unit of cognition. It has at least seven cetasika arising with it. 

• A citta does not arise in isolation, i.e., a single citta cannot arise by itself. Invariably, a “series of cittās” (citta vithi) arises.
• A mind is inactive if it is not focused on a sensory input. For example, it is mostly inactive while we sleep. It is totally inactive if we are unconscious; for example, before a major operation, one is made unconscious. 
• Consider a sensory input coming to the mind. It ALWAYS generates a “recognition” of the sense input. The Buddha taught that it is ALWAYS  a “false recognition” or a “distorted saññā.” Within the first citta vithi itself, the mind attaches to that “distorted saññā” with like, dislike, or ignorance. Attachment to the “distorted saññā“ leads to the defiled “mano” state of the mind. This happens in the “purāna kamma” stage. This is when the mana indriya (or the ‘pure mind’) turns to mana āyatana/manāyatana/mano. This is “mano” in “mano pubbangama dhamma..” 

Don’t be Discouraged by These Issues

12. However, please don’t be discouraged by any unresolved or unclear issues. I had grappled with some of these issues over the past ten years. It is only within the past three years or so that I have started to gain some deeper insights, and things have become clearer.

• Additionally, there are numerous posts (especially older ones) on the website that require revision. However, I believe it is essential to address some key issues without delay. I intend to revise those posts once I finish this new section on Satipaṭṭhāna. If you encounter any difficulties with a contradiction in a post, please let me know, and I will revise it accordingly.
• The main thing is to keep trying to understand things a bit more. Don’t hesitate to ask questions. 
• If I do not answer a question, it is only because it may not be the right time to discuss it. Please don’t think I consider such questions “bad questions.” It is just that answering some questions may raise more issues than resolving the key issue involved. With time, such questions will be addressed or may not even arise.