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Prepared by
John D. Hughes, Anita Hughes and Evelin Halls


Language knowledge mandalas of Abhidhamma


Abhidhamma Class No. 10, 27 August 2002

Ovid 43 BC to AD 17 thought that the fact of conscientiously studying the liberal arts refines behaviour and does not allow it to be savaged. If we cannot make our language hearable and understandable to ourselves, we are probably in trouble. Reverend Martin Luther King 1929 – 1968 said “a riot is at bottom the language of the unheard”. It is worthwhile getting language correct.

Samuel Johnson 1709-1784 stated that “Language is the dress of thought”; Benjamin Whorf 1897-1941 said “...Language is not simply a reporting device for experience but a defining framework for it, and Ezra Pound 1885-1972 quoted that “Great literature is simply language charged with meaning to the utmost possible degree”.

The patternings of the language of Abhidhamma into mandalas to help our memory is a very useful thing to study.

The conventions that we will use for the Pali language are as follows:

Pali words are written in lower case letters.

read – as negative

read + as positive

The value symbol (- or +) goes in front of the property.

- (negative) denotes ‘with indifference’

+ (positive) denotes ‘with joy’

Because in English plus and minus are so familiar they are easier to learn than “with indifference” and “with joy”. Intuitively we give indifference a negative value and joy a positive value.

+ denotes somanassa-sahagatam
- denotes upekkha sahagatam

somanassa = mentally pleasant feeling, joyful

sahagatam = together with, accompanied by

upekkha = indifferent or neutral feeling


The symbol ^ is used to denote body consciousness accompanied by painful feeling.

^ is pronounced as a short ‘a’ as in son.

The symbol V is used to denote body consciousness accompanied by indifference.

V is pronounced as voiced ‘v’ as in view.

There exists no plural ‘s’ in the Pali language. For this reason, the plural of the Pali word citta is citta.

akusala citta
(immoral consciousness)


lobha-mula citta
(8) consciousness rooted in greed or attachment

‘a’ is the abbreviation for asankharikam meaning unprompted

‘sa’ is the abbreviation for sasankharikam meaning prompted

ditthi = wrong view taking that kamma and its effect do not exist

asankharikam = spontaneous, unprompted, automatic
sasankharikam = prompted by oneself or others, volitionally inactive

1.somanassa – sahagatam ditthigata – sampayuttam asankharikam ekam,
2.somanassa – sahagatam ditthigata – sampayuttam sasankharikam ekam,
3.somanassa – sahagatam ditthigata – vippayuttam asankharikam ekam,
4.somanassa – sahagatam ditthigata – vippayuttam sasankharikam ekam,
5.upekkha – sahagatam ditthigata – sampayuttam asankharikam ekam,
6.upekkha – sahagatam ditthigata – sampayuttam sasankharikam ekam,
7.upekkha – sahagatam ditthigata – vippayuttam asankharikam ekam,
8.upekkha – sahagatam ditthigata – vippayuttam sasankharikam ekam.


1.One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by joy, and connected with wrong view
2.One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by joy, and connected with wrong view
3.One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by joy and disconnected with wrong view
4.One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by joy and disconnected with wrong view
5.One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by indifference and connected with wrong view
6.One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by indifference and connected with wrong view
7.One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by indifference and disconnected with wrong view
8.One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by indifference and disconnected with wrong view

dosa-mula citta
(2) citta rooted in dosa (hatred or illwill)

* = dosa

1.domanassa – sahagatam patigha – sampayuttam asankharikam ekam,
2.domanassa – sahagatam patigha – sampayuttam sasankharikam ekam


domanassa = mentally painful feeling, displeasure

patigha = dosa = hatred, illwill, resentment


1.domanassa – sahagatam patigha – sampayuttam asankharika dosa-mula citta
2.domanassa – sahagatam patigha-sampayuttam sasankharika dosa-mula citta


1.One consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by displeasure, and connected with illwill
2.One consciousness, prompted, accompanied by displeasure, and connected with illwill

moha-mula citta
citta rooted in moha (ignorance or delusion)

1.upekkha – sahagatam vicikiccha – sampayuttam ekam.
2.upekkha – sahagatam uddhacca –sampayuttam ekam.

vicikiccha = sceptical doubt about the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha and the Training.

uddhacca = restlessness

1.One consciousness, accompanied by indifference, and connected with sceptical doubt.
2.One consciousness, accompanied by indifference, and connected with restlessness.


These two citta are of equal strength, neither one being more spontaneous than the other, they are not differentiated by asankharika and sasankharika.

ahetuka citta
(rootless consciousness)


The seven akusala vipaka citta are given the following symbols and names:

-cak is the abbreviation for cakkhuvinnanam
(eye-consciousness)
-so is the abbreviation for sotavinnanam
(ear-consciousness)
-gha is the abbreviation for ghanavinnanam
(nose-consciousness)
-ji is the abbreviation for jivhavinnanam
(tongue-consciousness)
^a is the abbreviation for kayavinnanam
(body-consciousness accompanied by pain)
Vka is the abbreviation for kayavinnanam
(body-consciousness accompanied by indifference)
-sam is the abbreviation for sampatticchana-cittam (receptive consciousness)
-ti is the abbreviation for santirana-cittam
(investigating consciousness accompanied by indifference)
+ti is the abbreviation for santirana-cittam
(investigating consciousness accompanied by joy).

1.upekkha – sahagatam cakkhuvinnanam
(eye-consciousness accompanied by indifference)
2.upekkha – sahagatam sotavinnanam
(ear-consciousness accompanied by indifference)
3.upekkha – sahagatam ghanavinnanam
(nose-consciousness accompanied by indifference)
4.upekkha – sahagatam jivhavinnanam
(tongue-consciousness accompanied by indifference)
5.dukkha – sahagatam kayavinnanam
(body-consciousness accompanied by painful feeling)
6.upekkha – sahagatam sampaticchana-cittam
(receptive-consciousness accompanied by indifference)
7.upekkha – sahagatam santirana-cittam
(investigating-consciousness accompanied by indifference)


The eight ahetuka kusala vipaka citta can be symbolised in a table as follows:

1.upekkha – sahagatam cakkhuvinnanam
(eye-consciousness accompanied by indifference)
2.upekkha – sahagatam sotavinnanam
(ear-consciousness accompanied by indifference)
3.upekkha – sahagatam ghanavinnanam
(nose-consciousness accompanied by indifference)
4.upekkha – sahagatam jivhavinnanam
(tongue-consciousness accompanied by indifference)
5.sukha – sahagatam kayavinnanam
(body-consciousness accompanied by indifference)
6.upekkha – sahagatam sampaticchana-cittam
(receptive-consciousness accompanied by indifference)
7.upekkha – sahagatam santirana-cittam
(investigating-consciousness accompanied by indifference)
8.somanassa – sahagatam santirana cittam
(investigating consciousness accompanied by joy)

ahetuka kiriya citta
(rootless functional consciousness)

1.upekkha – sahagatam pancadvaravajjana-cittam
(five-door adverting consciousness accompanied by indifference)
2.upekkha – sahagatam manodvaravajjana-cittam
(mind-door adverting consciosness accompanied by indifference
3.upekkha – sahagatam hasituppada-cittam
(smile-producing consciousness accompanied by joy)


kama-sobhana citta
(beautiful consciousness of the sense sphere)

1.maha-kusala citta (8)= great moral consciousness
2.maha-vipaka citta (8)=great resultant consciousness
3.maha-kiriya citta (8)=great functional consciousness

maha kusala citta

1. Somanassa - sahagatam nana - sampayuttam asankharikam ekam.
2. Somanassa - sahagatam nana - sampayuttam sasankharikam ekam.
3. Somanassa - sahagatam nana - vippayuttam asankharikam ekam.
4. Somanassa - sahagatam nana - vippayuttam sasankharikam ekam.
5. Upekkha - sahagatam nana - sampayuttam asankharikam ekam.
6. Upekkha - sahagatam nana - sampayuttam sasankharikam ekam.
7. Upekkha - sahagatam nana - vippayuttam asankharikam ekam.
8. Upekkha - sahagatam nana - vippayuttam sasankharikam ekam.


1.one consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by joy, and associated with knowledge
2.one consciousness, prompted, accompanied by joy, and associated with knowledge
3.one consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by joy, and dissociated with knowledge
4.one consciousness, prompted, accompanied by joy, and dissociated with knowledge
5.one consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by indifference, and associated with knowledge
6.one consciousness, prompted, accompanied by indifference, and associated with knowledge
7.one consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by indifference, and dissociated with knowledge
8.one consciousness, prompted, accompanied by indifference, and dissociated with knowledge

maha-vipaka citta and
maha-kiriya citta

The eight maha-vipaka citta as well as the eight maha-kiriya citta are named in the same way as the eight maha-kusala citta. When one wishes to differentiate between the three classes of citta, one may say like this:


(1)somanassa – sahagatam nana – sampayuttam asankharika maha – kusala citta,
(2)somanassa – sahagatam nana – sampayuttam asankharika maha – vipaka citta,
(3)somanassa – sahagatam nana – sampayuttam asankharika maha kiriya citta.


All the 54 types of kamavacara citta can arise in persons in the human abode.
Only 45 types of kamavacara citta arise in ordinary persons who are not Arahats.
hasituppada-citta and the eight maha-kiriya citta can occur only in Arahats.
A person may further acquire 5 rupavacara-kusala citta (rupa-jhana) and 4 arupavacara-kusala citta (arupa-jhana) if he or she is able to by undertaking samatha-bhavana (tranquility meditation).



References

Dr. Mehm Tin Mon, “The Essence of Buddha Abhidhamma”, publisher Mehm Tay Zar Mon, Yangon, 1995, pp. 20-41.

“The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations”, Third edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985, pp. 31, 296, 384, 571.

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