Abhidhamma Papers |
Abhidhamma does not deny that it is possible to experience states of great peace and happiness but points to their impermanence. There are, however, a number of critical points that can occur in a person's life which can fundamentally change the quality of his experience. The first of these is death, which for all beings is unavoidable and for most proceeds to rebirth. The second is the attainment of the meditations, which is of special interest to ail those who practice samatha meditation. Finally there is attainment of the first of the four stages of sainthood when the nature of nibbana is penetrated for the first time and the end to all dissatisfaction is assured. All these three crucial points are of considerable interest to those who practise the Buddha's teaching, especially when they are contrasted with the mechanical flow of ordinary experience. They are points at which the possibility of fundamental change arises.
It is possible to extract from the text of the Abhidhammattha-sangaha information regarding the crucial points and in particular to look at the thought processes that occur when they arise. This information is not only of academic interest but may be of use to us in practice, when we eventually face our deaths, or when the opportunities of jhana or sainthood arise.
Whatever plane a being is born in, eventually he will die. This inescapable fact forms part of the first noble truth and an understanding of it will eventually enable us to penetrate that truth. Death, however, is not the end of all existence, as consciousness possesses a momentum (kamma) which causes it to arise in a new existence after death has occurred. Only in the case of the arahat is there no further momentum to cause the arising of a new existence; only he is free from the process of continued existence and the dissatisfaction that is inherent in it. When we look at death in terms of the thought process, we notice that it is heralded by one final citta (cuti). It is identical to all the bhavanga cittas that have occurred in that individual's life. Thus each of these cittas has the same object and qualities. If a life is compared to a piece of music, this particular citta could be compared to the note in whose key the music is played. Throughout life, if no objects arise at the five sense doors or at the mind door, it is this citta which is experienced and it is the nature of this citta which originally determined the plane in which the individual's life arose.
The javanas immediately preceding the cuti, of which there are only five compared to the normal seven, are identical to the patisandhi, bhavanga and cuti cittas of the next existence, and therefore determine its fundamental quality in the same way as the key note of a piece of music. In all there are nineteen resultant cittas that can perform this function, and the one that becomes operative depends on the object of the javanas of the final thought process in the previous life. This object can be of three kinds, either a past kamma, a kamma nimitta, or a gati nimitta.
A past kamma is the citta that arose in the mind on the occasion of the performance of an action sometime during the life, usually one of great significance, either skilful or unskilful. A kamma nimitta is a symbol of such an action, either a sight, sound, taste, bodily sensation or thought. A gati nimitta is a symbol of the next existence the individual's death will lead to. All three types of object can be skilful or unskilful. If unskilful, the individual will be reborn in one of the existences inferior to that of the human. If it is skilful but belonging to the normal sense plane, then he will be reborn as a human being or in one of six heavens. If it belongs to the plane of rupa, then the next existence will be in the plane of rupa, and finally if it belongs to the plane of the arupa, then in that plane. It can be seen, therefore, that one particular citta that arises during life is of crucial importance at the time of death, for it can determine the quality of the next existence. For example, if one is fortunate enough to attain to jhana during one's life, that experience can become the object of the javana of the final thought process causing one to be reborn in the plane of rupa. It must be understood, however, that there is no permanent self that transmigrates from one life to the next, although for the sake of easy explanation references have been made to the rebirth of an individual. The process of rebirth is merely the continuation of the ever-changing flux of consciousness in which can be found no permanent identity.
When an individual attains to jhana, there is a similar disruption in the form of the normal thought process as that which occurs at death and in some senses it can be seen as an at least equally significant event. A fundamental change in the level of experience occurs as it can when the transition is made from one mode of existence to another at the moment of death. Jhana arises as a result of making the mind one-pointed upon a suitable object of meditation. When all the hindrances to this development have been suppressed and the five mental factors of vitakka, vicara, piti, sukha and ekaggata are sufficiently strong, then the following thought process occurs: the citta which turns to the mind door arises, followed by three or four javanas that are limited to the sense sphere which take the meditation object (patibhaga-nimitta) as their object. They are known as preparatory, access, adaptation and membership respectively. The first may or may not occur depending on the purity of the meditator. It can be seen as a preparation for the experience of a state of mind completely new and superior in quality. It is followed by access citta which leads on and lies close to that experience. The adaptation citta links the access citta to the membership citta which finally effects what is described in the texts as a 'change of lineage' from the sense plane to the rupa plane. It is followed by the appana citta whose characteristic is absolute one-pointedness of mind. It belongs to the plane of rupa in contrast to those cittas that immediately preceded which belong to the sense plane. The thought process then subsides into bhavanga once again. The same thought process arises before all jhanas, the appana citta differing in each case according to the level of jhana experienced.
For the meditator who goes on to develop insight, an even greater opportunity may arise, usually after great effort. He has the chance to attain the first of the four stages of sainthood, that of the stream enterer. At this time nibbana is experienced for the first time and complete enlightenment is ensured. This entails an even greater change, for the individual ceases to be what the texts describe as a worldling and becomes an ariyan, or one who has complete confidence in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, and will never again violate the five precepts.
The same thought process arises as in one who is about to attain jhana, although the object of the javana cittas is one of the three marks of existence - impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and no-self according to inclination. The membership citta then takes nibbana as its object for the first time in the individual's life although it does not have the power to destroy defilements. This power belongs to the citta which follows known as the path (magga), which again has nibbana as its object. One magga is followed by two or three cittas known as fruit (phala) which are the direct results of magga and again have nibbana as their object. Two phalas arise if a parikamma is present in the thought process: if not, three are experienced. Each of the four paths is experienced only once in a lifetime, although the fruits can be experienced for a whole day continuously. The last stage of sainthood is the occasion on which arahatship is attained, which leaves the individual free from all future death and rebirth. In both the case of the jhanas and the stages of sainthood, the javanas of the thought process will be one of the skilful cittas of the sense plane accompanied by knowledge.
The Abhidhammattha-sangaha contains more detailed information about the thought processes that arise at the three crucial points described. It can be seen, however, that death is merely the continuation of an existing process, although it can change the quality of an individual's experience.
The attainment of jhana means that one has fundamentally changed that quality within a single lifetime, enabling one to know a completely new plane. In order to put an end to the process altogether, it is necessary to develop the four stages of sainthood finally culminating in arahatship.
Ken
With regard to the first of these points, death, the essay points out the distinction between the first citta of an individual's life (patisandhi), the last (cuti) and the bhavanga citta. These three are similar, as the essay points out, in having the same object and qualities. They also differ in certain respects - patisandhi has the nature of reaching out, while cuti has the nature of falling. Bhavanga is stable, a passive continuum. The three may therefore be seen as in some way complementary.
The essay also emphasizes that the thought process of death involves only five javana cittas compared to the seven of the normal thought process. The explanation for this could hardly be that the moment of death is a weak or insignificant one. On the contrary, these five javanas determine the basis of the next lifetime. One suggestion was that the series of javanas are still near to their maximum strength at the fifth one, while the sixth and seventh are subsiding. At death, therefore, the javanas are cut off at this maximum strength, and their momentum is thus sufficient to continue to the next lifetime. The 'cutting-off' function of cuti, as noted above, is obviously relevant here.
In this context, the possible importance of people's reports of near-death experiences was discussed. These seem to suggest that generally the thought process just prior to actual death is concerned with summing up the most significant aspects of that person's life. This may have some bearing on the suggestion in the commentaries that powerful states of mind, whether positive or negative, tend to recur at this point. It is also said that if some minor element in the person's life arises, then it will not be strong enough to sustain a long existence - that is, the life following that death will not be very long.
Proceeding to the second possible point of change, that of jhana, the nature of the thought process culminating in jhana was discussed. Once initiated with the mind door adverting citta, does this thought process inevitably flow on until the appana citta, which belongs to the plane of jhana? While there does seem to be a sense of an inevitable current, the texts also indicate that the thought process may not have enough momentum actually to reach the appana citta: they are not simply 'preliminary' cittas but have specific functions or characteristics of their own. The anuloma citta, for example (adaptation or conformity), cleanses and purifies the mind, so that it becomes simpler and more natural.
Finally, we found worth noting, in the context of jhana and sainthood, the aptness of the simile of 'changing lineage'. If the world is seen as a vast 'clan', whose life all tends in one direction, the change of lineage is the point of detachment or release from the general flow, which a completely different order of existence is experienced. There is now membership of a new 'clan', 'family' or 'lineage'.