The Experience of Objects through different doorways

Seeing is an ahetuka vipā kacitta that experiences visible object through the eye-door. Hearing is an ahetuka vipākacitta that experiences sound through the ear-door. Each of the sense-cognitions experiences an object through the appropriate doorway. There is not only one citta that experiences visible object, or one citta that experiences sound, but each of the sense-cognitions arises in a series or process of cittas succeeding one another and sharing the same object. They all cognize the same object, but they each perform their own function. Seeing is preceded by the eye-door adverting-consciousness, which adverts to visible object. It does not see but it merely turns towards the visible object that has just impinged on the eyesense (1)This citta is an ahetuka kiriyacitta (inoperative citta), it is not akusala citta, not kusala citta and not vipākacitta. Seeing, which is an ahetuka vipākacitta, is succeeded by two more ahetuka vipākacittas which do not see but still cognize visible object that has not fallen away yet. They perform a function different from seeing while they cognize visible object. Visible object is rūpa and it lasts longer than citta. These cittas are receiving-consciousness (sampaṭicchana-citta), that receives visible object and investigating-consciousness (santīraṇa-citta), that investigates the object. The investigating-consciousness is succeeded by the determining-consciousness (votthapana-citta), which is an ahetuka kiriyacitta. This citta is followed by seven javana-cittas that are, in the case of non-arahats kusala cittas or akusala cittas. There is a fixed order in the cittas arising within a process and nobody can change this order. There is no self who can determine whether the determining-consciousness will be succeeded by akusala cittas or kusala cittas. Cittas arise and fall away succeeding one another extremely rapidly and nobody can make kusala citta arise at will. Kusala performed in the past is a condition for the arising of kusala at present. When the sense-door process of cittas is finished, the sense object experienced by those cittas has also fallen away. Very shortly after the sense-door process is finished, a mind-door process of cittas begins, which experience the sense object which has just fallen away. Although it has fallen away, it can be object of cittas arising in a mind-door process. The first citta of the mind-door process is the mind-door adverting-consciousness (mano-dvārā vajjana-citta) which adverts through the mind-door to the object which has just fallen away. The mind-door adverting-consciousness is neither akusala citta nor kusala citta; it is an ahetuka kiriyacitta. After the mind-door adverting-consciousness has adverted to the object it is succeeded by either kusala cittas or akusala cittas (in the case of non-arahats), which experience that same object. When visible object is experienced through the mind-door the cittas only know visible object, they do not pay attention to shape and form or think of a person or a thing. But time and again there are also other mind-door processes of cittas which think of people or things and then the object is a concept, not visible object. The experience of visible object conditions the thinking of concepts of people and things which arises later on. All the time sense objects impinge on the different doorways. They appear just for a moment, and then they fall away. The Buddha pointed out the dangers of being infatuated with the objects we experience through the six doors. He taught people to develop the wisdom which knows the realities experienced through the six doors as nāma and rūpa, phenomena which are impermanent and non-self. What is impermanent is “dukkha”, it cannot be happiness. When we come to know things as they are, we will be less infatuated with objects.