3.10.9.1

Lesson 3.10.9.1 Paṭṭhānapāli – Cetasikā, Part One – Beautiful Mental Concomitants – Dvipaññāsā Kāmāvacaracetasikā

Cetasikā are mental factors or mental concomitants that accompany each mental state, ‘imprinting’ its specific character. Citta and cetasikā arise and cease together and cannot be disjointed; they further focus on the same object and spring from the identical base. The Abhidhamma describes fifty-two cetasikā in all: some provide its unwholesome character to the citta while others endorse and determine wholesome character and thus are also called ‘beautiful’. Every state of consciousness consists of a certain number of mental concomitants that provide the specific character to the respective citta. It seems doubtful that even a developed meditator will be able to observe a single citta during the constant speedy flux of the rapidly exchanging states of consciousness. It seems likewise questionable that one may be capable to note the comprised cetasikā or their character. Nonetheless, the theoretical background about the components of the mental states as highlighted in this lesson may help to understand the complex mental processes that are constantly happening. The Dhammasaṅgaṇī, the first book in the Abhidhamma, explains each and every citta and provides a detailed description of the accompanying mental concomitants. These are first simply listed in reply to the question ‘what makes this citta wholesome?’ (or unwholesome, etc.) and after having introduced them a detailed explanation of each cetasika follows.