An object which impinges on one of the senses can be visible object, sound, odour, flavour or tangible object. Each of these objects is rupa. They arise and fall away, but they do not fall away as rapidly as nama. As we have seen (in chapter 12), rupa lasts as long as seventeen moments of citta. When a sense object which is rupa impinges on one of the senses, a process of cittas occurs which arise in a particular order and perform each their own function while they experience that sense object. The first citta of that process, the panca-dvaravajjana-citta, five-door-adverting-consciousness, does not arise immediately. First there have to be bhavanga-cittas and these are: atita-bhavanga, past bhavanga, bhavanga-calana, vibrating bhavanga, and bhavangupaccheda, arrest-bhavanga or last bhavanga before the current of bhavanga-cittas is arrested. These bhavanga-cittas do not experience the rupa which impinges on one of the senses. The panca-dvaravajjana-citta, which is a kiriyacitta, adverts to the object and is then succeeded by one of the dvi-panca-vinnanas (seeing-consciousness, hearing-consciousness, etc.) which is vipaka, the result of a good deed or a bad deed. There is, however, not only one moment of vipaka in a process, but several moments. The dvi-panca-vinnana is succeeded by sampaticchana-citta (receiving-consciousness) which is vipaka and this citta is succeeded by santirana-citta (investigating-consciousness) which is also vipaka. The santirana-citta is succeeded by the votthapana-citta (determining-consciousness) which is kiriyacitta. This citta is succeeded by seven javana-cittas which are, in the case of non-arahats, akusala cittas or kusala cittas. All cittas, starting with the panca-dvaravajjana-citta, experience the object which impinges on one of the senses. Counting from the atita-bhavanga, fifteen moments of citta have elapsed when the seventh javana-citta has fallen away. If the rupa which has impinged on one of the senses arose at the same time as the atita-bhavanga, that rupa can survive two more moments of citta, since the duration of rupa equals seventeen moments of citta. Thus, after the javana-cittas there can be two more moments of citta which directly experience the object. These cittas, which are vipakacittas, are tadarammana-cittas or tadalambana-cittas. They perform the function of tadarammana or tadalambana, which is translated as registering or retention. Tadarammana literally means that object; the citta hangs on to that object. When the tadarammana-cittas have fallen away the sense-door process has run its full course. There is, however, not always a complete sense-door process. When the rupa which impinges on one of the senses has arisen before the atita-bhavanga, the process cannot run its full course. Since rupa does not last longer than seventeen moments of citta, it falls away before the tadarammana-cittas could arise. Thus, in that case there are no tadarammana-cittas.
Only in the sensuous plane of existence kamma can, after kamavacara javana-cittas (of the sense-sphere), produce the vipakacittas which are the tadarammana-cittas, hanging on to the sense object. For those who are born in rupa-brahma-planes where there are less conditions for sense-impressions, and for those who are born in arupa-brahma-planes where there are no sense-impressions, there are no tadarammana-cittas.
Summarizing the cittas which succeed one another when a rupa impinges on one of the senses and becomes the object of cittas of a sense-door process which runs its full course:
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