Exploring the Path - Pāli Course

Kāme tevīsa pākāni,¹ puññāpuññāni² vīsati.

Ekādasa kriyā ceti, catupaññāsa sabbathā.

The resultant states in the sense-sphere are twenty-three,³

And twenty are wholesome and unwholesome,

Functional are eleven, so all number up to fifty-four.

The mental states, or states of consciousness, that occur in the kāmāvacara sphere are fifty-four. So to understand the complete number of eighty-nine it means that all other (missing) states are occurring in the other spheres of existence. Here fifteen kinds of consciousness are found in the fine-material-sphere, twelve in the immaterial-sphere and the remaining eight refer to those states that are called supramundane and are experienced only by someone who achieves the four stages of liberation.

The side-by-side tables depict these remaining types of consciousness, developed cittāni, also called mahaggatacittāni:

a) There are fifteen types of five wholesome, five resultant and five functional consciousnesses in the fine-material-sphere (pannarasa rūpāvacarakusalavipākakiriyacittāni). The Abhidhamma accounts five stages of absorption compared to the four in the Sutta Piṭaka.⁴ These five stages refer first to a meditator who achieves these and thus experiences the described consciousness or respective mood in this existence during his meditation. As a result of one’s attainment of any of these jhānas, one will achieve rebirth in the field of the fine-material world respectively where the same mood prevails. The functional cittāni refer to fully enlightened Arahants who may dwell in these stages during their meditation.

The descriptive terminology of these rūpāvacaracittāni remains the same but the respective stages are labelled accordingly by exchanging kusala to vipāka and kiriya:

pañcapi rūpāvacarakusalacittāni: paṭhamajjhānakusalacittaṃ … -

pañcapi rūpāvacaravipākacittāni: paṭhamajjhānavipākacittaṃ … -

pañcapi rūpāvacarakiriyacittāni: paṭhamajjhānakiriyacittaṃ ... .

b) There are twelve types of four wholesome, four resultant and four functional consciousnesses in the immaterial-sphere (dvādasa arūpāvacarakusalavipākakiriyacittāni). These refer to the meditative stages that may be reached by a meditator who practises the jhāna-absorptions which are called the sixth to the ninth jhāna. Here consciousness gets expanded into mere mental fields with the meditative object according to the descriptions provided in the designations of the stages of absorption. Thus when the designation for the sixth is ākāsānañcāyatanakusalacittaṃ then the object of the meditator is the field of space (ākāsā). If the object of meditation turns to the sphere of infinite consciousness (viññāṇañcāyatana) then the object is the expansion of consciousness.

Also here the descriptive terminology remains the same by only exchanging kusala to vipāka and kiriya:

cattāripi arūpāvacarakusalacittāni: ākāsānañcāyatanakusalacittaṃ … —

cattāripi arūpāvacaravipākacittāni: ākāsānañcāyatanavipākacittaṃ … —

cattāripi arūpāvacarakiriyacittāni: ākāsānañcāyatanakiriyacittaṃ ... .

c) The remaining eight states refer to those meditators who achieve any of the four stages of liberation (aṭṭha lokuttarakusalavipākacittāni). These supramundane achievements are twofold as wholesome path-consciousness (lokuttarakusalacittāni) and resultant fruition-consciousness (lokuttaravipākacittāni).

These eight states of supramundane consciousness can be achieved through any of the five jhāna-absorptions. Based on the jhāna one attains liberation, the path and the fruit, there may occur five times four (20) path-consciousness and also five times four (20) fruit-consciousness.

These are then considered as forty different types of citta. When these forty are added up to the already described eighty-nine, one has to deduct those previously considered eight types of path-consciousness and fruit-consciousness then the number becomes one hundred and twenty-one: (89 – 8) + 40 = 121.