Accumulated inclinations

The first citta in a life span is the rebirth-consciousness or paṭ isandhi-citta. It is a vipā kacitta produced by kamma and it links the past life to the present life. As we have seen, there are nineteen types of vipākacitta that can perform the function of rebirth. The paṭ isandhi-citta is succeeded by the bhavanga-citta (life-continuum). The bhavanga-citta is the same type of citta as the paṭ isan-dhi-citta and it experiences the same object. As we have seen, this object is the same as the object experienced by the last javana-cittas of the previous life and it is conditioned by the kamma that produces the rebirth-consciousness of the following life. The bhavanga-citta keeps the continuity in a lifespan. So long as one is still alive, bhavanga-cittas arise and fall away during the time there is no sense-door process or mind-door process of cittas. Bhavanga-cittas arise in between the different processes of cittas which experience an object through one of the six doors. It performs its function of keeping the continuity in life until the dying-consciousness, the cuti-citta, arises and one passes away from this life. The dying-consciousness of a life that is ending experiences the same object as all the previous bhavanga-cittas and it is of the same type. Thus, the rebirth-consciousness, the bhavanga-citta and the dying-consciousness do not experience objects that impinge on the six doors like the cittas that arise in the different processes. The whole day cittas arising in processes experience objects through eyes, ears, nose, tongue, bodysense and mind-door and in between the processes there are bhavanga-cittas. Each citta is succeeded by a following citta in the long series of cittas in our life, there isn’t any moment without citta. In the course of life kammas produce different vipā kacittas which experience objects through the eyes, the ears, the nose, the tongue and the bodysense. Vipākacittas neither like nor dislike the object, they do not react to the object in an unwholesome or a wholesome way. However, shortly after they have fallen away there are cittas which react to the objects experienced through the senses either in an unwholesome way or in a wholesome way. Akusala cittas or kusala cittas arising in a sense-door process or mind-door process, are called javana-cittas (literally: readiness, impulse, going). They arise usually in a sequence of seven cittas of the same type. They fall away immediately but the inclination to akusala and kusala is accumulated so that there are conditions for the arising again of akusala citta and kusala citta. Since each citta is succeeded by the next citta without any interval, the process of accumulation can go on from moment to moment, from one life to a next life. Each moment of kusala citta or akusala citta arising today is a condition for the arising of kusala citta or akusala citta in the future. There are different types of kusala citta and of akusala citta. It is important to learn more about them in order to understand ourselves, about the way we behave towards others in action and speech, and the way we react towards pleasant and unpleasant events. It is citta which motivates good deeds and evil deeds and these will produce their results accordingly. The Buddha exhorted people to abstain from akusala, to perform kusala, to purify the mind, and his impressive words were a real support for people to follow his advice.