What is Abhidhamma ?
- Abhi
means higher or sublime
- Dhamma means Ultimate Realities/Truth
● This
study helps us to understand how the mind works
● Helps to shed the illusion “I” or of a permanent self
● Meditation based on Abhidhamma helps one to
let go of the intense clinging to the “I” ego.
There are 2 types of TRUTHS
1. Conventional Truth
2. Ultimate Truth
● Conventional truth refers to something of gross
existence but not as irreducible realities
Example: tree, animal, human being
● Ultimate Truth is something that cannot be
changed or subdivided into other things.
● Something that really exists by reason of its
own intrinsic nature
Example: Heat is intrinsic in fire element
In Abhidhamma, Ultimate Reality is fourfold:
1.Consciousness ) conditioned
2.Mental Factors ) dhamma
3.Matter
)
4.Nibbana (unconditioned dhamma)
“All conditioned things are impermanent
All conditioned things are dukkha
All conditioned or unconditioned things are non-self.”
Mental factors include Perception, Volition & Feeing
Four Elements ( Matter) Meditation
Through access concentration, one will be able to see lights from grey to
white, then the whole body appears as a white form; finally transparent.
The body is made up of thousands of billions of particles smaller than an
atom, called rupa kalapas ( ultimate realities).
The pure Octad Kalapa
1. Earth element
2. Water element
3. Fire element
4. Wind element
5. Colour
6. Smell
7. Taste
8. Nutritive essence
Each particle (rupa kalapa matter) contains a group of
8,10 or more elements
This matter is produced by
temperature. In each kalapa,
when the fire element
reaches the static stage
produces new generation of
rupa kalapas, called matterproduced-by temperature.
Rupa Kalapas in the body
Four Elements ( Matter) Meditation
Each element in the pure Octad Kalapa are the final, irreducible
components of existence.
Consciousness and mental factors, together are called nama, the mind.
Combination of nama & rupa is a human being, a deva, a brahma.
The pure Octad Kalapa
1. Earth element
2. Water element
3. Fire element
4. Wind element
5. Colour
6. Smell
7. Taste
8. Nutritive essence
The Body Decad Kalapa
1. Earth element
2. Water element
3. Fire element
4. Wind element
5. Colour
6. Smell
7. Taste
8. Nutritive essence
9. Life-faculty
10. Body sensitivity
Rupa Kalapas in the body
CONSCIOUSNESS
•∞ It is just awareness of an object.
(The ability to know objects through the sense base.)
- Functions as a forerunner of mental factors
- It manifests as a continuity of processes.
- Consciousness arise only in combination with mental factors & matter
- It arises at tremendous speed, each consciousness going
through the same 3 stages: arising (birth), static (decay)
and dissolution (death)
- At any one moment, only one consciousness arise.
In conventional truth, one lives from conception to death,
However in the ultimate sense one live only for one
conscious moment.
With each moment of Consciousness, we are reborn and we die.
STATIC
( Decay )
ARISING
( Birth )
DISSOLUTION
( Death )
CONSCIOUSNESS
4 Classifications according to its nature:
1.Unwholesome
2.Wholesome
3.Resultant
4.Functional
CONSCIOUSNESS 4 classifications
1. Unwholesome
●12 types of unwholesome consciousness
▫ 8 rooted in Greed
- (accompanied either by joy or neutral feeling
eg. sexual misconduct with underaged person
and this action rooted in greed & delusion)
▫ 2 rooted in Hatred
- (always accompanied by displeasure
eg. harsh language in rage rooted in
anger & delusion )
▫ 2 rooted in Delusion
- (associated with doubt and restlessness
and associated only by neutral feeling)
CONSCIOUSNESS 4 classifications
1. Unwholesome
● Greed and Hatred cannot coexist in the same Mind moment
● They naturally oppose each other
- Greed has nature of grasping and holding
- Hatred has nature of pushing away and destroying
▫Important: Delusion is always the underlying root
in every Unwholesome state
-
Unwholesome consciousness is mentally unhealthy,
morally blameworthy, leads to one’s own or others’
grief or both, & produce painful results in present
& future lives.
CONSCIOUSNESS 4 classifications
2. Wholesome
Non-Greed (generosity),
Non-Hatred (loving-kindness) ,
Non-Delusion (wisdom)
- Can be rooted in 2 or 3 of the roots of rebirth.
Example: a boy fully offering alms with joy and knowing the
merits derived, will be reborn a rich person with wisdom.
Compared to one who does the same offer without
knowledge of kamma and with neutral feelings.
This is rooted in 2 roots of rebirth and person will be born
a rich person but dull-witted.
CONSCIOUSNESS 4 classifications
2. Wholesome
▫Three ways one can achieve the 3 wholesome roots are:
i) Those who practise concentration and attain absorption
ii) Those who are able to distinguish the 3 characteristics
of impermanence, suffering and non–self nature of
mentality and materiality.
iii) Understand the Law of Kamma
▫The benefit:
Productive pleasant result in both present & future life
CONSCIOUSNESS 4 classifications
3. Resultant Consciousness
- Both wholesome and unwholesome consciousness constitu
- They arise due to past wholesome and unwholesome kamm
Examples are:
Eye-sensitivity – sight; Ear -,Nose -, Tongue -, Skin-sensit
Rebirth consciousness
Bhavanga consciousness
CONSCIOUSNESS 4 classifications
4. Functional Consciousness
- It involves activities that is not capable of producing kamma
Example:
i) Five-Door adverting consciousness which advert to the
five sense base
ii) When an Arahant performs action like teaching Dhamma
COGNITIVE PROCESS
Consciousness operates in 2 ways:
1. Cognitive Process
i) Five-Door Cognitive process
ii) Mind-Door Cognitive process
2. Process-freed
i) Rebirth
ii) Bhavanga
iii) Death
What is Bhavanga ?
▫It is resultant consciousness produced by previous kamma
▫It is the process-freed passive phase of consciousness
compared to the cognitive process.
Function:
▫ To preserve the continuity of the individual for the duration
of any single existence, from conception to death.
Reason:
▫ Mental stream cannot stop flowing
– the kamma that produces this life is not yet exhausted.
▫ Bhavanga consciousness arise between 2 cognitive
processes to maintain the continuity of consciousness
Bhavanga
▫It takes as its object the sign of near-death cognitive process
of the immediate past life.
▫Because the object is of the past life, one is not aware of the
existence of the bhavanga
▫Bhavanga arise and pass away in every moment including
deep sleep state and when meditators lacking mindfullness
fall into Bhavanga states
▫Arahants can temporarily cut off Bhavanga state in
Attainment of cessation.
FIVE-DOOR COGNITIVE PROCESS
Visible Object – 14 moments of consciousness act as cognitive process
Process-freed
P
V
Eye-door cognitive process
A
F
E
Rc
I
D
J
J
J
J
J
J
J
Rg Rg
Wholesome and unwholesome
kamma are performed at the
Javana stage
Key: P=past bhavanga, V=vibrating bhavanga, A=arrest
bhavanga, F=5-Door adverting consciousness, E=eye
consciousness, Rc=Receiving consciousness, I=investigating
consciousness, D=determining consciousness, J=javana,
B=bhavanga.
The visible object and
Eye-sensitivity perish
Together with Rg
consciousness
B
FIVE-DOOR COGNITIVE PROCESS
Visible Object – 14 moments of consciousness act as cognitive process
Process-freed
P
V
Eye-door cognitive process
A
F
E
Rc
I
Consciousness
4.Five Door
5.Eye (sense base)
6.Receiving
7.Investigating
8.Determining
B
D
Activity
Mind enquiring
‘What is this ?’
Seeing colour only
receives that object
investigates that object
determines that object
Nature
Functional
Resultant
Resultant
Resultant
Functional
▫ 4 – 8, arise automatically
▫ Resultant consciousness are the effects of kamma in past life
In the Eye-Door Cognitive Process
Consciousness
Where Consciousness arise
5.Eye (sense base) Eye-sensitivity
6.Receiving
Heart base
7.Investigating
Heart base
8.Determining
Heart base
FIVE-DOOR COGNITIVE PROCESS
Javana (running swiftly) Consciousness
Process-freed
Eye-door cognitive process
J
J
J
J
J
J
●9–15; Seven Javana Consciousness
-All seven are of the same kind of consciousness;
(unwholesome rooted in greed, hatred & delusion,
or wholesome in generosity, loving kindness & wisdom)
-This is when object is fully experienced
-Javana most important, since good or bad kamma is originated
-One react towards objects according to accumulated tendencies
(hatred tendency likely to arise when visible object is unpleasant)
J
Rg Rg
B
Eye-Door Cognitive Process
Visible Object
Consciousness
Occurrence
High Impact
1st – 3rd
Process-Freed
Object
4th – 17th
Cognitive Process
Medium Impact
16th – 17th
Do not arise
Low Impact
8th
Stops at Determining
Very Low Impact
Nil
No cognitive process
Only Bhavanga
vibrates for a few
moments
FIVE-DOOR COGNITIVE PROCESS
Process-freed
Eye-door cognitive process
J
● Registering Consciousness
- After 7 Javanas, registering consciousness arise to slow down
their force.
-At this point, cognitive process ends, visible objects & eye
sensitivities fade away. The mind then lapse into bhavanga.
Rg Rg
B
FIVE-DOOR COGNITIVE PROCESS
17 moments of consciousness in the cognitive process
Process-freed
P
V
Eye-door cognitive process
A
F
E
Rc
I
D
J
J
J
J
J
J
Wholesome and unwholesome
kamma are performed at the
Javana stage
●Five-Door cognitive process occurs in a series of
17 separate moments consciousness, not at random.
●In accordance with fixed law of consciousness.
●Because life span of matter (rupa) lasts for 17
moments of consciousness.
J
Rg Rg
B
We can become our own master
High impact
Object
Person
Greed/Hatred reaction arise
●Reacting continuously, one reinforce unwholesome root & condition
the mind
●However, unwholesome Javanas are not fixed
●One can exercise control over mental state, and change to
wholesome javanas through wise attention and making it a habit.
How to generate habitual
wholesomeness
Impermanence
Unsatisfactoriness
Non-self
Person
(seeing things as they really are)
Object
Cultivating an alert mind
●The number of bhavanga moments between 2 cognitive processes
shows the alertness of the mind.
●The shorter the better.
P
V
A
B
B
P
V
B
A
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
MIND-DOOR COGNITIVE PROCESS
Process-freed
P
V
Mind-door cognitive process
A
M
J
J
J
J
J
J
Wholesome and unwholesome
kamma are performed and
strengthened at the Javana stage
Key: P=past bhavanga, V=vibrating
bhavanga, A=arrest bhavanga, M=MindDoor consciousness, I=investigating
consciousness, J=javana,
B=bhavanga.
J
Rg Rg
B
MIND-DOOR COGNITIVE PROCESS
Process-freed
Mind-door cognitive process
Past Object
P
Eye-Door
Cognitive
Process
V
A
M
J
J
J
J
J
J
Wholesome and unwholesome
kamma are performed and
strengthened at the Javana stage
J
Rg Rg
B
MIND-DOOR COGNITIVE PROCESS
1st
M
2nd
B
M
3rd
B
M
Colour
Is clearer
4th
B
M
5th
B
M
6th
B
M
7th
B
M
B
Kamma performed
is heavier than in
Recognise
Name
Recognise
5 Door cognitive
process
Form
Begin to develop
Likes & Dislikes
Consciousness rooted in wholesome/unwholesome bodily, verbal or
mental actions will rise successively at high speed
Unaccountable billions of latent Kamma to ripen when conditions permit
Take note, even small unwholesome acts multiply
MIND-DOOR COGNITIVE PROCESS
Process-freed
Mind-door cognitive process
weak
P
V
A
First javana generates
immediately effective kamma,
which can only produce its
effect in this very life.
M
J
weak
J
J
J
J
Second through 6th
javana generate
indefinitely effective
kamma, which can
produce its effect at any
time along samsara
until one reaches
Parinibbana
J
J
Rg Rg
7th javana
generates
subsequently
effective kamma,
which can
produce its results
in the immediate
future life.
B
Kamma performed at sense-sphere
javana stage
Unwholesome bodily actions:
1. Killing
2. Taking what is not given
3. Sexual misconduct
Unwholesome verbal actions
1. Telling lies
2. Slander
3. Harsh speech
4. Frivolous talk
Unwholesome mental actions
1. Greed
2. Ill-will
3. Wrong view
Right effort in cultivating
good mind states
1. The effort to prevent the arising of
unarisen evil
2. The effort to discard evil that has
already arisen
3. The effort to arouse unarisen
wholesome states
4. The effort to develop and bring to
perfection the wholesome states
that have already arisen
Right effort in cultivating good mind states
1. The effort to prevent the arising of unarisen evil
- Unarisen evil includes killing, taking what is not
given, sexual misconduct, false speech,
slandering, harsh speech, taking intoxicants.
- One can prevent these by abstaining these evil
actions.
Right effort in cultivating good mind states
2. The effort to discard evil that has already arisen
Buddha prescribed 5 ways to remove evil thoughts:
i) When evil thoughts arise, pay attention to the positive mental state
eg when angry with someone, what is it you are angry with? The
body is a combination of 32 parts ?Are you angry with the hair,nails?
ii) if 1st method fails, the consider this: “ these thoughts are
unwholesome, they are reprehensible, productive of painful results
for uncountable lifetimes….according to the Law of Kamma. “
iii) should this still arise, one should not give attention to them or
advert attention to other things.
iv) while trying to forget, unwholesome thoughts still arise, one
should enquire into the cause & keep enquiring till thoughts slacken
and eventually ceases.
iv) if it still arise, then with teeth clenched and the tongue pressed
against the roof of the mouth, one should beat down, constrain and
crush the unwholesome mind with the wholesome mind.
Right effort in cultivating good mind states
3. The effort to arouse unarisen wholesome states
- attending to parents and elders,
- observing the 5 or 8 precepts,
- giving and sharing what one has with others,
- practising meditation,
- observe 3-fold training in morality,
concentration and wisdom, to arouse the effort
with the understanding of the great benefit
arising from them.
Right effort in cultivating good mind states
4.The effort to develop and bring to perfection the
wholesome states that have already arisen.
- Continue to practice with great perseverance
the 3-fold training until one achieves
Arahantship.
Consciousness is
divided into six classes
1. Consciousness of sight
2. Consciousness of sound
3. Consciousness of smell
4. Consciousness of taste
5. Consciousness of touch
6. Consciousness of mental
or dhamma object
Five-Door C.P
Function
Mind-Door C.P
1. Of Sight
of seeing colour,but does not
Understand shape & form
understand white or red
2. Of sound
of hearing only
Understand meaning of sound
3. Of smell
of smelling smells only
Know type of smell
4. Of taste
merely tastes the taste
Know the types of taste
not knowing bitter,sweet
5. Of touch
6. Of mental
objects
merely knows the tangible object Can distinguish softness,
but cannot distinguish
hardness, hot or cold
Except 5 sense base, all
In the immaterial world,
consciousness arise dependent
mind consciousness arise
on the heart-base
without any base
No Consciousness will arise without taking an object
Consciousness divided into 4 groups by way of plane
• Sense-sphere
- where craving for sense pleasure dominates
• Fine-material-sphere
- jhana absorption,free from craving; the 5 hinderances obstructing mental
development suppressed
• Immaterial-sphere
- free from sensual & fine-material craving, mental stream is occupied with
wholesome consciousness pertaining to base of infinite space
• Supramundane
- it is Noble consciousness, gone beyond the 5 aggregates of clinging
- both Path & Fruition consciousness take Nibbana as object
31 PLANES OF EXISTENCE
•Realm of neither perception
nor Non-perception
4 Immaterial
•Realm of Nothingness
•Realm of infinite
Sphere planes
consciousness
•Realm of infinite space
7 planes of 4th Jhana
3 planes of 3rd Jhana
3 planes of 2nd Jhana
16 Fine-material
sphere planes
3 planes of 1st Jhana
6 Deva realms
1 Human realm
1 Asura realm
1 Peta realm
1 Animal realm
1 Hell beings realm
7 Sensual
blissful planes
4 woeful
planes
First Attainment of Path and Fruition
Object: either impermanent,
suffering, or non-self nature
of formations
Object: Nibbana
B…
V
A
M
Pr
Ac Cn Ch Pa Fr
Fr
Key:Pr=preparation; Ac=access; Cn=conformity; Ch=change-of-lineage; Pa=path;Fr=fruition
●After bhavanga, mind-door consciousness arise observing anicca or dukkha
formations
●Then one wholesome sense-sphere citta with knowledge arises as javana
i) preparation,ii) access, iii) conformity, iv) change-of-lineage
● Then passes out of lineage of worldlings into Noble Ones; piercing and exploding
the mass of greed, hatred and delusion. Path consciousness arise only once,
taking Nibbana as object.
● Thro 2-3 moments of Fruition consciousness, taking Nibbana as object;
One becomes a stream-enterer.
STREAM-ENTERER PATH CONSCIOUSNESS
● Uproots the 3 fetters:
i) Personality View
- No longer considers the 5 aggregates as I, mine or myself
ii) Attachment to rites and rituals
- No more rituals involving animal sacrifices
iii) Doubt
- Unshakable faith in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha
● Penetrate into the Four Noble Truths
● Path consciousness dries up ocean of suffering’ with 7 rebirths left
● Close all doors to 4 woeful states
● Actually experience the Seven Noble Treasures
● Gives its fruit immediately after its occurrence
Why is it important to study all the types of consciousness,
Mental factors and Matter ( Mind and Matter ) ?
Because these 3 are synonymous with the 5 aggregates that
we cling to as “I”, “mine”,”myself”
What is the Truth of Suffering ?
The 5 aggregates of Clinging are the truth of suffering.
What are the five aggregates ?
1. The aggregate of materiality
same as the 28 kinds of matter; past, present, future, internal,external, superior,
interior, gross, subtle, far, near
2. The aggregate of feeling
same as the mental factor of feeling
3. The aggregate of perception
same as mental factor of perception
4. The aggregate of mental formations
which, excluding feeling and perception are the remaining 50 mental factors
5. The aggregate of consciousness
equal to the 81 types of consciousness
THE NEAR-DEATH COGNITIVE PROCESS
One of these 3 objects will appear for all beings except an Arahant
1.Kamma
- it appears to mind door as if it were being done at that moment
eg a monk seeing himself preaching a sermon
2.Sign of Kamma (kamma nimitta)
objects appearing like pagoda, the knife, the oil lamp, flowers offered
eg seeing hospital and monastries as kamma nimitta
3. Sign of destination (gati nimitta)
signs that appear showing where one will be reborn.
eg rebirth in hell will see black dogs, hell wardens, or fire
rebirth as human will see red in mother’s womb,
as animals, will see forest
in heaven, will see celestial mansion or dieties or celestial objects
THE ORDER IN WHICH KAMMA BEARS RESULTS NEAR DEATH
1. Weighty Kamma
- is powerful kamma and rebirth in the immediate next life
Unwholesome one include:
i) Creating a schism in the Sangha
ii) Wounding a Buddha
iii) Murdering an Arahant
iv) Matricide
v) Patricide
2. Death proximate
- If no weighty kamma, this will ripen first.
- last dominating thought.
3. Habitual kamma
- a deed that one habitually performs; eg attending meditation retreats
4. Reserve Kamma
- excluding 3 above, potent enough to take on the role of generating rebirth
THE ORDER IN WHICH KAMMA BEARS RESULTS NEAR DEATH
WEIGHTY
KAMMA
DEATH
PROXIMATE
Kamma
HABITUAL
Kamma
Reserve
Kamma
NEAR-DEATH FIVE-DOOR COGNITIVE PROCESS
Without a gap
Last cognitive process
Obj=red colour (SD)
Obj=red colour
First cognitive process
Craving for new existence
Red
colour
Rb…B.P.V.A.F.E.Rc.I.D.J.J.J.J.J. Dh Rb B1…B16 M.J.J.J.J.J.J.J… B…Dh
past life
present life
Rebirth consciousness arise with its
Associated mental factors and matter
Result of past kamma:
•1 Consciousness + 33 mental factors
•30 Matter - (sex-decad kalapa)
- (body-decad kalapa)
-(heart-base-decad kalapa)
Key: Dh=death consciousness; Rb=rebirth consciousness; SD=sign of destination
Upon death of a human being
1.With the ceasing of death consciousness, the lifefaculty is cut off.
2.The material aggregate breaks up
3.The mental aggregate continues, rising & passing as
roots, until passing away as an Arahant.
4.The subsequent birth is not conditioned by this last
death consciousness but by productive kamma.
DEPENDENT ORIGINATION
In Abhidhamma, ignorance means not knowing the 8 facts:
1. The Truth of Suffering
2. The Origin of Suffering
3. The Cessation of Suffering
4. The Path Leading to the Cessation of Suffering
5. The past Five Aggregates
6. The Future Five Aggregates
7. The past and the future Five Aggregates together
8. About specific conditionality and conditionally-arisen states
including kamma and its consequences.
REFLECTIONS
●Not meeting the dispensation of the Buddha, one is devoid of the opportunity to
listen to the Dhamma, which is the essential factor for the attainment of
Stream- enterer.
●In the time it takes for one blink of the eye, thousands of billions of moments of
Consciousness arise and cease
●The momentary arising and cessation of Consciousness is necessarily marked
by impermanence (anicca). This is cause for unsatisfactoriness, suffering
and difficult to endure (dukkha). That which is impermanent, painful, subject to
change, can it rightly be regarded as:
“ this is mine (craving)
this is what I am (ego)
this is myself (wrong view)
No, they cannot.
SADHU
SADHU
SADHU