ABHIDHAMMA IN A NUTSHELL - V:
The Sixth Sense
Imagine a situation where you had become emotional. You were burning with anger or weeping with sadness or laughing with joy. At such instances you may have experienced that change in your blood circulation and your chest area becomes hot or you would feel the situation in your heart.
Recall a situation where you are concentrating hard to solve a difficult mathematical problem. Even though you had seen the mathematical problem from your eyes many things happen inside your head and you will feel some pain, toughness or hardness in your head.
In a written examination you will see the problem from your eyes. But when you answer, from where you recall and retrieve all the required materials?
When you sleep you dream. You hear sounds when dreaming. Do you really acquire objects from five senses when you dream?
When you are relaxing you will recall many things happened in past. You would go to many places from mind. You would call these things as “Memories”.
To acquire forms, sounds, odour, taste and touches we have five sense organs. But from where the above explained objects are acquired? The “Sixth Sense” comes into act at this instance.
Objects enter through the five sense organs. Therefore they are known as “Doors” (Dhvara) and the five sense organs are also known as “Five Sense-doors” (Panchadhvara).
The sixth sense which acquires any other object and subject to any of the scenarios explained above is know as “Mind-door” (Manodhvara) and the objects acquired by the mind-door are known as Dhamma. For example what we call as “Memory” is acquired and processed by the mind-door.
However, whenever an object interacts with any of the five sense-doors it strikes the mind-door as well which is to be explained in future with thought process (chiththa vithi).
Rootless Functional Consciousness - Ahethuka Kriya Chiththas
15 Types of rootless resultant consciousness (ahethuka vipaka chiththas) were discussed in the last article. Following are the 3 types of rootless functional consciousness;
Kriya Chiththas (3)
Functional Consciousness (3)
16. Upekkha Sahagatha Panchadhvarawajjana Chiththa
Five Sense-door adverting consciousness accompanied by indifference
17. Upekkha Sahagatha Manodhvarawajjana Chiththa
Mind-door adverting consciousness accompanied by indifference
18. Somanassa Sahagatha Hasithuppadha Chiththa
Smile-producing consciousness accompanied by pleasure
It was explained in the previous article that dvipanchavinna chiththas arise at the moment of five sense-object interaction and receiving-consciousness (sampatijjana) arises to receive or accept the object and thereafter investigating-consciousness (santhiranaya) arises to investigate the object received by sampatijjana.
If the object is a five sense-object, the consciousness turned towards one of them is Five Sense-door adverting (Panchadhvaravajjana) consciousness, accompanied by indifference (upekkha sahagatha). If it turns towards the mind-door, then it is Mind-door adverting (Manodhvaravajjana) consciousness, accompanied by indifference (upekkha sahagatha).
The ways of smiling
There are six classifications of smile according to Buddhism. (1) Sita - a smile manifesting itself in expression and countenance; (2) Hasita - smile consisting in the slight movements of the lips just enough to reveal the tips of the teeth; (3) Vihasita - laughter giving out a light sound; (4) Upahasita - laughter accompanied by the movement of the head, shoulders, and arms; (5) Apahasita - laughter accompanied by the shedding of tears; and (6) Atihasita - an outburst of laughter accompanied by the forward and backward movements of the entire body from head to foot.
Arhaths smile only in the ways of Sita and Hasitha. The third kriya chiththa arises at the time an Arhath smiles (hasithuppadha) and it is accompanied by pleasurable feeling (somanassa sahagatha).
There are 20 functional consciousnesses on the 89 types of consciousness. The first two rootless functional consciousnesses (ahethuka kriya chiththas) are the only kriya chiththas arise for ordinary people (puthajjana). The rest of the 18 arise only for Arhaths.
To summarise, following are the 18 types of ahethuka chitthas which are categorised into three classes which was discussed in this article and the previous;
1. Immoral Resultant Consciousness (Akusala Vipaka Chiththa) - 7
2. Moral Resultant Consciousness (Kusala Vipaka Chiththa) - 8
3. Functional Consciousness (Kriya Chiththa) - 3
Reference
Abhidharma Margaya by Ven. Prof. Renukane Chandhawimala Thera,
A Manual of Abhidhamma by Ven. Narada Maha Thera
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