When a sense object, which is rúpa, impinges on one of the sensedoors, it is experienced by several cittas arising in a sense-door process. Counting from the "past bhavanga", there are seventeen moments of citta if the sense-door process of cittas runs its full course. Rúpa lasts as long as seventeen moments of citta, and thus it falls away when that process is over. The seventeen moments of citta are as follows:
1. atíta-bhavanga (past bhavanga).
2. bhavanga calana (vibrating bhavanga).
3. bhavangupaccheda (arrest bhavanga), the last bhavanga arising before the object is experienced through the sense-door.
4. five-sense-door-adverting-consciousness (pañcadvåråvajjana-citta), which is a kiriyacitta.
5. sense-cognition (dvi-pañcaviññåùa, seeing-consciousness, etc.), which is vipåkacitta.
6. receiving-consciousness (sampaìicchana-citta), which is vipåkacitta.
7. investigating-consciousness (santírana-citta) which is vipåkacitta.
8. determining-consciousness (votthapana-citta) which is kiriyacitta.
9-15 seven javana-cittas ("impulsion", kusala citta or akusala citta in the case of non-arahats).
16. registering-consciousness (tadårammaùa-citta) which may or may not arise, and which is vipåka citta.
17. registering-consciousness.
After a sense object has been experienced through a sense-door it is experienced through the mind-door, and then that object has just fallen away. Before the mind-door process begins there are bhavanga-cittas and the last two of these are specifically designated by a name. There are the following cittas: bhavanga calana (vibrating bhavanga) bhavangupaccheda (which is, in this case, the mind-door through which the cittas of the mind-door process will experience the object) mind-door-adverting-consciousness (mano-dvåråvajjana-citta) which is kiriyacitta Seven javana-cittas Two tadårammaùa-cittas (which may or may not arise). After the mind-door process has been completed there are bhavanga-cittas again.
The cittas of the eye-door process, namely the eye-door adverting-consciousness, seeing-consciousness, receiving-consciousness, investigating-consciousness, determining-consciousness, the javana-cittas and the tadålambana-cittas (retention), experience visible object which has not fallen away yet. They do not have a concept as object.
The cittas of the ear-door process experience sound which has not fallen away yet, they do not have a concept as object. It is the same with the cittas of the nose-door process, the tongue-door process and the body-door process.
When the víthi-cittas of a sense-door process have fallen away, there are many bhavanga-cittas in between, and then there are cittas of the mind-door process. The first series of cittas of the mind-door process which arise after a sense-door process experience a sense object which has only just fallen away, they do not have a concept as object.
In each series of mind-door process cittas there are two
or three kinds of víthi-cittas, namely: one moment of mind-door
adverting-consciousness, seven moments of javana-cittas and two moments
of tadålambana-cittas. When the first series of mind-door process
cittas has fallen away, there are many bhavanga-cittas in between, and
then there is a another series of mind-door process cittas, which can have
as object a concept (such as shape and form, or the image of something
as a “whole”) on account of a sense object. When this series of mind-door
process cittas has fallen away there are bhavanga-cittas in between, and
then there are more rounds of mind-door process cittas which follow. They
know the meaning of something, they know words and names. In between the
different series there are bhavanga-cittas. When we know that we see people
or different things, the citta experiences a concept, not a paramattha
dhamma which is rúpa. The object which is a paramattha dhamma appearing
through the eyes are only different colours. When the víthi-cittas
of the mind-door process know that there are beings, people and different
things, then the cittas have paññattis, concepts, as object.
They know what a particular thing is.
For more of the writings of Sujin Boriharnwanaket, see Dhamma Study.