Can you explain about ‘citta’?

The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

8 August 2023

Question:  Can you explain about ‘citta’?

Than Ajahn:  Sometimes the word ‘citta’ is misunderstood. Citta has two different meanings: the citta as the ‘one who knows’; and the citta as the thing that rises and ceases, like your emotions, your feelings. Both are called ‘citta.’ When your mind is calm, this is citta. When your mind is restless, this is also citta. They are two separate things that you have to understand.

When we talk about ‘citta as the one who knows’, we’re talking about the mind itself. When we talk about the mind in the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, we’re talking about the conditions of the citta that keeps changing – one day you are happy, one day you are sad, one day you are restless, and one day you are calm. These are the conditions of the citta, which sometimes is called, ‘citta.’ So, it can be misleading because when we say the citta, it can also mean ‘the one who knows’.

You have to understand the context of how the word ‘citta’ is used. It can be used to refer to the mind itself or to the conditions of the mind. 

The word ‘citta’ can be both: it can be the mind, and it also can be the conditions of the mind. If it’s the conditions of the mind, then it’s aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ, anattā. But if it’s the mind itself, it’s not aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ, anattā because the mind doesn’t disappear. The mind itself is permanent. It lasts forever.

After the body dies, the mind separates from the body. If the mind still has defilements, if it still has cravings and desires, it will take up a new body. But if you can get rid of your cravings and your desires, then the mind will not go after a new rebirth. That’s when the mind becomes nibbāna, the ‘pure citta’. The mind that has no defilements is called, ‘the pure mind’ or ‘the pure citta.’

“Dhamma in English, Apr 5, 2018.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com

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