A description of maha-kusala cittas
For Abhidhamma class 6, 30 July 2002
Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd.
33 Brooking Street, Upwey, Victoria Australia
Created 29 July 2002 by John D. Hughes and Anita Hughes
This is the theoretical classification and description of maha-kusala cittas. It is not practice instructions of how these may be developed. Please note some puthujjanas cannot learn these this life, nor learn this listing this life, nor learn how to develop them in practice. (1)
This is because their hatred destroys scholarship.
“Hate has no room in people who are universal in thinking.” (Youssuf Karsh, 1973)
“I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, that they will be forced to deal with pain.” (James Baldwin, 1958)
A further reason is that "quotes" in the journalistic sense, celebrity opinions, snappy one-liners, arising from the age of mass media, instant communication means the flood of contemporary information is simply too vigorous, too unremitting, to allow time for the development of a honing process as has happened in the earlier more venerable "quotes".
The line between scholarly and popular culture persist, indeed the two maybe far more distant but now the less scholarly areas can claim their own validity. As Jonathon Green has stated: for better or for worse, more people want to hear from Bernie Wise than Wittgenstein.
This mass culture has come to be the predominant culture and if its audience lacks the intellectual cachet of more rarefied zones it is still the culture that sways more and more of the media.
The Abhidhamma classification will not be found in the mass media: in press clippings in magazines, books and periodicals, in interviews, in slogans, in film or television, or radio scripts.
If we have a verbal picture of the last century the multitude of attitudes and the several thousand points of view sound overall pessimistic albeit reasonably humourous but there is no doubt that reflections of this view does not lead you to the classification of the Abhidhamma theory listed below.
The mind that can repeat "drinka pinta milka day" or "wakey-wakey" or "didn't he do well?" is ghastly, so irrelevant that no articulate compliment could be paid to their authors. For such authors certainly seem to have had the last word (except for us generating a contrary view). The world would be more terrifying if the ghastly irrelevant gamut or rock stars, film stars, radio and television "personalities", sports men and women, architects, photographers, painters, sculptors, actors, psychoanalysts, entrepreneurs and the rest was all there was.
"It doesn't seem inaccurate to say that most people in this society who aren't actively mad are at best reformed or potential lunatics". (Susan Sontag, 1968)
Studying higher order classifications in extenso could open a path to stop Father Time kicking sand in our face.
Dag Hammarskjold (1965) said, "Time goes by, reputation increase, ability declines".
We have a nine year program that is unlikely to be taught again. Turn yourself into an able and steadfast person who will follow the path. If you do not do it today, you will regret it tomorrow.
Maha-kusala cittas arise when ordinary world-lings (puthujjanas) and ariyas with the exception of Arahats perform meritorious deeds such as dana (alms-giving), sila (morality) and bhavana (meditation).
There are 24 kama-sobhana cittas (beautiful consciousness of the sense sphere). They are divided into three classes:
1) 8 maha-kusala cittas = great moral consciousness
2) 8 maha-vipaka cittas = great resultant consciousness
3) 8 maha-kiriya cittas = great functional resultant
consciousness
Here ‘maha = great’ means ‘greater in number’.
Maha-kusala citta is also known as kamavacara-kusala citta.
There are 8 kamavacara-kusala cittas, 5 rupavacara-kusala cittas, 4 arupavacara-kusala cittas and 4 lokuttara-kusala cittas.
The number of kamavacara-kusala (maha-kusala citta) is greatest.
Maha-vipaka cittas are the kamma-results of maha-kusala cittas of past lives.
Maha-kiriya cittas arise in Arahants when they perform wholesome deeds. Arahants expect no rewards from their wholesome deeds, so their actions are just functional and will not bear any kamma-results in future.
The eight maha-kusala cittas are designated with names that resemble those of the eight lobha-mula (consciousness rooted in greed) cittas.
They are translated in the same way as the eight lobha-mula (consciousness rooted in greed) cittas except that we replace ‘ditthi’ (wrong view) with ‘nana’ = ‘knowledge or insight.’ This ‘knowledge’ or ‘insight’ means the knowledge of knowing the existence of kamma – result.
1) Somanassa - sahagatam nana - sampayuttam asankharikam ekam.
Means: one consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by joy, and associated with knowledge.
May be illustrated further: A lady with the knowledge of kamma and joy offers flowers to a pagoda on her own accord.
2) Somanassa-sahagatam nana-sampayuttam sasankharikam ekam.
Means: one consciousness, prompted, accompanied by joy, and associated with knowledge.
May be illustrated further: A girl, after being persuaded by her companion, goes to listen to a Dhamma talk with joy and with the knowledge of kamma.
3) Somanassa-sahagatam nana-vippayuttam asankharikam ekam.
Means: one consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by joy, and dissociated with knowledge.
May be illustrated further : A boy spontaneously gives some money to a beggar with joy without the knowledge of kamma.
4) Somanassa - sahagatam nana - vippayuttam sankharikam ekam.
Means: one consciousness, prompted, accompanied by joy, and dissociated with knowledge.
May be illustrated further: A man, after being requested by the head master to donate some money to the school, donates one hundred dollars joyfully without knowing kamma and its result.
5) Upekkha - sahagatam nana - sampayuttam asankharikam ekam.
Means: one consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by indifference, and associated with knowledge.
May be illustrated further: A girl sweeps the floor with neutral feeling but knows it is a wholesome thing to do.
6) Upekkha - sahagatam nana - sampayuttam sasankharikam ekam.
Means: one consciousness, prompted, accompanied by indifference, and associated with knowledge.
May be illustrated further: A man prompted by another, chops wood with neutral feeling but knowing it to be a meritorious deed.
7) Upekkha - sahagatam nana - vippayuttam asankharikam ekam.
Means: one consciousness, unprompted, accompanied by indifference, and dissociated with knowledge.
May be illustrated further: A woman reads a Dhamma book on her own accord without understanding the meaning and without understanding kamma and its results.
8) Upekkha - sahagatam nana - vippayuttam sasankharikam ekam.
Means: one consciousness, prompted, accompanied by indifference, and dissociated with knowledge.
May be illustrated further: A girl prompted by her mother, washes her parents clothes without joy and without thinking of the kamma and kamma-result.
There are only two types of cittas that bear kamma-seeds and will give rise to kamma-results. They are akusala cittas and kusala cittas.
Thus if we can control our mind to be free of the influence of lobha (greed), dosa (hatred) and moha (delusion), we will have kusala cittas.
When we give and have no attachment (alobha) to the gift, and give with good will (adosa) for the person receiving the gift, plus we have knowledge (amoha) of the kamma and the kamma-result at the time of giving, then we have all three wholesome roots to accompany our cittas. Wholesome roots will always give rise to sobhana cittas.
If we offer alms without being prompted by anyone and if we also feel glad at the time of offering, the kusala citta will be somanassa - sahagatam nana - sampayuttam asankharika maha-kusala citta.
If a young child, without the knowledge of kamma-result pay homage to a Buddha image after being prompted by their parents ‘somanassa-sahagatam nana-vippayuttam sasankarika maha-kusala citta’ will arise.
Endnote:
(1) For meaning of Pali words see earlier documents given out in Abhidhamma classes. We have omitted diacritical marks of Pali words.
References:
Dr. Mehm Tin Mon, The Essence of Buddha Abhidhamma, Publisher: Mehm Tay Zar Mon, Yadanar Min Literature (3455), 15/19 U Wisara Qr., Dagon, Yangon, April 1995.
Green, Jonathon (Compiler), (1982) A Dictionary of Contemporary Quotations, David & Charles, Newton Abbot, London.
Karsh, Youssuf (1973) Cited in A Dictionary of Contemporary Quotations, Jonathon Green (Compiler), David & Charles, Newton Abbot, London, 1982.
Baldwin, James (1958) Cited in A Dictionary of Contemporary Quotations, Jonathon Green (Compiler), David & Charles, Newton Abbot, London, 1982.
Sontag, Susan (1968) Cited in A Dictionary of Contemporary Quotations, Jonathon Green (Compiler), David & Charles, Newton Abbot, London, 1982.
Hammarskjold, Dag (1965) Cited in A Dictionary of Contemporary Quotations, Jonathon Green (Compiler), David & Charles, Newton Abbot, London, 1982.
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