Citta – The Mind’s Essential Knowing Nature
心即覺知之本質
以下選錄摩訶布瓦尊者對「心的本質」之論述：
心（citta）是世間最重要的事物，這裡說的心指的是內心活動中最基本的功能－覺知。不帶任何引申含意的覺知，只是單純的覺知：能知便是心（citta）。人們熟悉的複雜心理活動，譬如對善惡、對世間價值觀的判斷，這些都是心的外顯活動。在一些情況下，心會外顯成為正念；在另一些情況下，心會外顯成為人們所謂的智慧。但是，真正的單純心不從事任何活動，也沒有不同的面貌，它就只是知道而已。在內心生起的事物，善惡、苦樂、褒貶，都是單純心向外流出的心識，它們依循各自的狀況條件，而有各自的名稱。由於必須依靠各自的狀況條件，這些心識活動不斷地生起與滅去，它們是短暫且不穩固的存在。
人們意識中對各種現象的覺知與理解就是佛教所謂的識。譬如，外界的色聲香味觸與我們的眼睛耳朵鼻子舌頭皮膚相遇時，觸受、命名與聯想、調適與修正，這些心理活動會在一瞬間接續或同時生起。於是，對外在刺激與內在心理活動的覺知將會形成人們的識；而依照刺激的不同，便有所謂的眼識耳識鼻識舌識與身識。這些識都是依據當時的因緣條件生起，等到因緣消散，它們便會消失。總之，識是單純心的一種狀態與表現。類似地，單純心也可表現為行蘊與想蘊，它們同樣是心在一定條件下的狀態。若浸淫在心理活動之中，想行識三蘊可以彼此接續生起，不斷地蔓延演化，永不停止。由於受想行識一直連續不斷，人們難以發覺自己的心還有一個極單純的狀態；只有等到波瀾平息，心能知的本質才會變得明顯。
然而，一般人的心與阿羅漢聖者的單純心仍有著根本性的差異。一般人的內心總有煩惱賊的蹤跡，而阿羅漢諸漏已盡，心無垢無染，聖者們的知是一種純粹且簡單的覺知，沒有任何摻假。不帶污染的覺知是至高無上的，這是一種真實的、能帶來喜樂的覺知，它適切於阿羅漢的絕對清淨。單純覺知所帶來的喜樂並非世俗的快樂，它永不變異。世間的事物是因緣和合而成，無可避免地帶有無常、苦、無我的性質。阿羅漢聖者已經放下對因緣和合事物的執著，於是他們的喜樂也不再能夠以無常、苦、無我的性質去描述。
能知的心構成了輪迴的基礎，心可由一處死亡轉而至另一處出生，心是生死輪迴的創造者與推動者。我們以輪迴來描述生與死，是因為它們的運作依循著一個不曾改變的業果法則。心受業果支配，心必須按照業果所刻劃的路徑前進，即使那是一圈又一圈的迴路。只要還未找到一個能超脫業果的方法，沒有人能夠脫離輪迴。阿羅漢的心是唯一的例外。聖者們已經超越業果，切斷與世俗事物的聯繫，世俗間相對事實的判定標準再也不會干擾心。不論外境如何，阿羅漢聖者的心始終如如不動。
只有去除所有垢染後，心才能夠依循本質，單純地覺知內在與外在的世界；也是在此狀態下，心才能發揮出它所有的力量。心因為純淨潔白而證得完美。在這之後，永恆的輪迴便結束了。行者不再沉浮於六道之中，不再有生老病死，永不停止的旅程抵達了終點。為什麼會有結束的一刻？因為那些滲入心中並驅使心東奔西跑的雜染已經消除，而單純心不會經歷生與死。
然而，心在未達到純白潔淨之前，生與死是不可避免的旅程。有些人對死後有輪迴這件事半信半疑，不置可否；有些人抱持無輪迴可能的滅斷論，堅不承認輪迴的存在。不論這些觀點有多少種變化、有多少人相信，它們終究是戲論而已。心的本質即是覺知，人們的懷疑不能改變什麼，因為事實不需參照人們的觀點，也不需要人們的同意。就如同業果法則適用於所有三界眾生，「心即覺知」是我們生命的本質，是不可撼動的實相。
基於心即覺知與業果法則這兩項事實，所有眾生都將在生命結束後轉生為另一生命，這是一個無從選擇的過程。眾生可能會成為地大元素明顯的生命，譬如陸地、海洋、或空中的生物；眾生也可能轉生為更精細的鬼眾、諸天、或梵天，人類的肉眼看不見這些地大元素極其稀少的生命。精細或粗鄙不是問題，只要有適切的業果，心就能夠在各個境界中出生。可以說，輪迴是業果法則的具體表現，受業果推動的心只得在輪迴裡經歷數不盡的出生與死亡。
心是一種極其微妙的事物，人們很難理解什麼是心。只有處在禪定的平靜時，心的真實本性才會顯現出來。世間有一群熱衷探索心靈的人們，他們可能曾嘗試各種方式，試著找出心靈的基本要件。但我要潑他們一下冷水，因為除非他們能夠證得初禪，否則所有粗淺的嘗試都只是白費工夫而已。
心存在於身體之內，偏偏人們觀察不到心，這是心的微妙之一。因為心可以延伸至整個身體，以至於人們無法區分哪部分屬於心，哪部分屬於身。身心關係太密切了，唯有精熟於禪定的行者才能將身與心區分開來。透過禪定的幫助，行者可以看到，身體是身體，心是心，兩者是不同的存在。此時的行者達到入門階段，已具有區分能力。但在此階段時，行者必須讓心進入禪定，接著才有能力觀察身與心的本質；一旦心退出禪定狀態，身與心又會交混在一起。
到了下一階段，行者可以將心與身體完全分離，但是行者還未達到能將心與過往個人特質分別清楚的程度。受、想、行、識，是構成人們個人特質的成分，它們與單純心的連結相當深，不容易將它們分離。另外，此階段後禪定非必須，因為智慧已經開展，行者能夠以智慧分辨出身體與心。此時的行者也將破除身見，永不生起關於身與心的任何邪見。尙未突破的關卡是，行者還無法將受、想、行、識等心法與單純心分開。等到智慧臻於完美，這些因緣而生的心所與單純心的差異將愈趨明顯，行者清楚地看出五蘊是五蘊，而單純心與它們無涉。這階段的行者已證得了智者自知（sandiååhiko），可說心達到了第三階段的分離。
分離的最終階段，行者將注意力轉向所有妄想的源頭，那即是佛教所稱的無明（avijjã）。人們或許聽說過無明，但人們沒有意識到無明就在我們的心裡面。事實上，無明就像一隻最會躲藏、最為陰險的毒蛇，人們看不到它，但它就在那裡。在這個階段的一開始，行者必須提起最極致的正念、智慧、與精進對抗無明。漸漸地，行者的正念與智慧提升成為無上正念與無上智慧。到這時，最狡猾陰險的無明也無法躲藏了。等到行者將心中一切污垢清除乾淨，行者便完成了最極致的分離。這分離是一種永久且充分的分離，之後不需再做什麼了－這是真正的自由、心的自由。若此時身體生病，行者清楚地知道只有身體受影響，他不會為病情或症狀所煩惱。在一般人的狀況，身體的病痛必會導致心的苦痛。但只要心得到自由，即使身體遭遇強烈的苦痛，行者仍能保持不變異的快樂。行者清楚知道身體、痛苦、與心是三種獨立的面向，所以他不會苦惱。明確斬斷三者間的連結之後，身體或感受再也無法偽裝為心的一部分，這是心的絕對自由。
心的本質是明亮與清晰，它總是做好接觸事物的準備。雖然一切有為法都具備無常、苦、無我三種特性，但心的真實本性並不能用無常、苦、無我描述，心不受這些規律的支配。若說心會受到無常、苦、無我的支配，那只是受三法印支配的事物涉入了我們的心，心開始與事物一起旋轉。但與緣起緣滅的事物不一樣，雖然會跟著旋轉，但是心永不會滅去，心是不會瓦解的。所以，讓心與所有事物截然不同的特性即是：心是能知，心不會滅去。這兩項特性讓心完全超越無常、苦、無我的範疇。可惜人們無法瞭解心的本質，人們活在「相對事實的世俗」中，對事物的認識必須依賴另一件事物的參照，而這注定一般人只能看到無常、苦、無我面向的心。
被煩惱佔據的心必定經歷生與死，人們無法看清這個真相。說到底，煩惱就是因我們的無知而生，當然我們看不出這真相－生死源自於煩惱。人們都有一個重大問題，就是缺少追求單純心所需要的決心與毅力。人們總是把虛假的事物當成我們的心，心未曾有機會做出契合單純心的行為。相反地，心安於接受煩惱的指揮，施展各種把戲與手段，誤以為這就是所謂的心。人們有追求心的本質的趨向，所作所為卻背離了單純心，矛盾的結果便是人們躲不開焦慮與恐懼。所有的事物都能讓心害怕：它怕生，它怕死，它擔心老去，它擔心生病，每一件事都能干擾到心。雖然恐懼和憂慮不該是本性，但它們卻在心中恣意成長茁壯。
等到心除去干擾、達到某種程度的潔淨後，我們才能看到無有恐懼的心。之後，恐懼和勇氣不再出現，只留下心的真實本性。非關時間或空間，心獨立存在，只有這樣，再沒有別的。這是心的原貌，真實的心。
我在此使用了「真實的心」一詞，這詞彙是用來描述心的絕對清淨，只有證得涅槃的阿羅漢聖者配得這個詞彙。世間沒有其它事物能夠被稱為「真實的心」。若非描述聖者，我會盡量避免使用這個詞彙。
以下我將說明一些其它關於心常用的詞彙。「本心」一詞是指在輪迴中不斷旋轉的心的本性（original citta）。 佛陀說：「諸比丘，本心原應清淨，但因過往雜染而染污。」就這個意義上，「本心」是指順應世俗實相（sammuti）的心，而不是已達清淨的心，這個本字與心的清淨（parisuddhi）沒有關係。
當提到本心時，佛陀僅僅說：「這顆心光芒四射」（Pabhassaramidam cittam bhikkhave）。Pabhassara 的意思是光芒四射，而非清淨之意。這句話無瑕疵，是絕對的正確。若本心就是清淨心，人們可以提出異議：「若心本是清淨，那麼心為何會開始輪迴呢？」異議者的著力點在於阿羅漢聖者必須先淨化自己的心，之後才能夠脫離輪迴。但若心本是清淨，為什麼要淨化它呢？這幾乎是一個無從辯駁的異議了。回到佛陀所說「本心光芒四射」上：儘管光芒四射，這顆心仍可以再淨化，因為心的光芒其實不是清淨，光芒反而是無明的真實本質。行者難以理解這件事，直到他超越光芒並達到絕對解脫（vimutti）的那一刻，行者才能體悟。之後，心將不再追求光芒，而行者已證悟了關於心的無上真理。
心的清淨非一蹴可幾，但只要心已足夠清淨（中譯者：可能是得阿那含果之後），明亮與清晰便是心不變的特徵。若處在一個安靜的場所，譬如一個寂靜的夜裡，即使並未收攝進入定境，行者心覺知的程度，極其細膩精緻，難以形容。這種微妙的覺知或許可形容為一種向四面八方延伸出去的光輝。
不必憑藉禪定，行者便能不受色、聲、香、味、觸、法的干擾，心直接覺察到心自己的真實起源－一種聖潔、純粹的覺知。獨立於身體，這覺知單獨地存在於心的領域。在這個階段之中，心的微妙與純粹是如此明顯。覺知幾乎是遍布一切，根本不需要圖像或聲音的幫忙，覺知完全是本能。這是此階段的心的一般表現。
若這已足夠清淨的心進入禪定，等到停止思考時，就能夠看到心的另一個面向。心停止了所有活動，思想與想像完全停止，這是徹徹底底的休息－滅盡定。此時，只剩下這精細的覺知，一種似乎能涵蓋整個宇宙的覺知還存在著！與恆星的光芒不同，恆星光芒是受限制的，根據能量的強度或近或遠；心的流動沒有限制，沒有近或遠的分別。譬如，電燈的亮度取決於瓦數。瓦數高，亮度大，照明範圍大；瓦數低，亮度小，照明範圍小。心的流動則完全不同，距離不是需要考慮的條件。準確地說，心超越了時間和空間的限制，心可以涵蓋一切。遠與近相同，因為心不遵守空間的概念。在滅盡定中出現的覺知，是一種非常精微、遍及整個宇宙的覺知。整個世界似乎都充滿了覺知，別的事物似乎消失不見。當然，事物依然存在著，而且其實是清晰異常的，因為事物外貌上的的污垢已被清除，清楚呈現在覺知之前。這是「已足夠清淨之心」的能耐。
最後該說到絕對清淨之心，但我不知該如何描述它。絕對清淨無法定義，不能套用世間的表達方式，它已不在世俗相對事實的範疇。阿羅漢聖者、辟支佛、佛陀了知絕對清淨，唯有聖者能夠知悉它的真貌。絕對清淨猶如是不向外開放的私人招待所，只願意接待超越世間者。因此，我就不嘗試用言語描述了。
為什麼我們會說「世俗的心」與「絕對清淨之心」呢？它們是兩種不同的心嗎？其實不是，這兩種都是同一顆心。當心被各種煩惱與無明控制時，這是心的一種世俗狀態。但是，等到行者開始用智慧沖刷內心，心外面的雜質便會一一脫落。真正的法與真正的心能承受住智慧的沖刷，躲藏在心中的煩惱則經不住沖刷。具備無常、苦、無我的世俗事物是留不下來的，最後留下來的便是「絕對清淨之心」。
不論多麼微細，煩惱們一定能夠用無常、苦、無我的性質來描述；因此，煩惱必定是世俗現象。等到所有世俗之物都瓦解之後，真正的心，即超越世俗之心，就會顯現出來。我們稱之為心的絕對解脫，也可稱為心的絕對清淨。與之前的所有聯繫都被永遠切斷，心得到了清淨，心的「能知」終於獨自存在。
我們不能指出心的「能知」位在身體的哪一個部位。在證得絕對清淨之心之前，行者反而能感覺到「能知」的中心點。譬如，一進入禪定，行者便能知道「能知」位在胸口的正中央，那裡是覺知的源頭，寧靜與光芒都是從胸口向四方散發的，這是禪者們的共通經驗。只要願意向外界說明，所有禪者都會指出「能知」位在胸口的正中央，他們不會宣說覺知位於大腦。一般人對此事可能會有些意見，因為人們總認為大腦是處理我們一切覺知的器官。
但是，只要行者證得絕對清淨之後，那個覺知的中心點反而消失了！我們不能指出心位在身體的任一個部位，心當然也不會在身體的上下前後左右。那只是一種純粹的覺知，精緻且微妙，任何字句都無法用來描述它。當然，「精緻且微妙」是我們不得不使用的一種描述，它無法描繪出關於心的任何實相，這些字句只是世俗的概念而已。
由於這覺知沒有一個中心點，自然不能宣說絕對清淨之心的位置。只有單純的覺知，再沒有雜質混在其中。雖然仍是同一個身體，同樣的色受想行識五蘊，但心不再與它們有瓜葛，那是不同維度的世界。直到這個時候，行者才能體悟佛陀所說，身體、五蘊、心，每一項都是不同且獨立的實相。
關於英譯者：
Richard E. Byrd, Jr.，於西元1948年出生於維吉尼亞洲溫徹斯特。大學畢業後，Richard前往印度與斯里蘭卡尋找人生的目的，並接受了一些佛教的訓練。於1977年，Richard在泰國曼谷重新受具足戒，法名Bhikkhu Sïlaratano（戒寶尊者）。出家後，他一直居住在泰國，在阿姜摩訶布瓦的指導下修行（現戒寶尊者已回到維吉尼亞洲並成立了森林頭陀僧團）。
Citta – The Mind’s Essential Knowing Nature
The following comments about the nature of the citta have been excerpted from several discourses given by Ãcariya Mahã Boowa.
Of foremost importance is the citta, the mind’s essential knowing nature. It consists of pure and simple awareness: the citta simply knows. Awareness of good and evil, and the critical judgements that result, are merely activities of the citta. At times, these activities may manifest as mindfulness; at other times, wisdom. But the true citta does not exhibit any activities or manifest any conditions at all. It only knows. Those activities that arise in the citta, such as awareness of good and evil, or happiness and suffering, or praise and blame, are all conditions of the consciousness that flows out from the citta. Since it represents activities and conditions of the citta that are, by their very nature, constantly arising and ceasing, this sort of consciousness is always unstable and unreliable.
The conscious acknowledgement of phenomena as they arise and cease is called viññãõa. For instance, viññãõa acknowledges and registers the sense impressions that are produced when sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile sensations contact the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body respectively. Each such contact between an external sense sphere and its corresponding internal base gives rise to a specific consciousness that registers the moment at which each interaction takes place, and then promptly ceases at the same moment that the contact passes. Viññãõa, therefore, is consciousness as a condition of the citta. Sankhãra, or thoughts and imagination, is also a condition of the citta. Once the citta has given expression to these conditions, they tend to proliferate without limit. On the other hand, when no conditions arise at all, only the citta’s inherent quality of knowing is apparent.
Still, the essential knowing of the average person’s mind is very different from the essential knowing of an Arahant. The average person’s knowing nature is contaminated from within. Arahants, being khïõãsava, are free of all contamination. Their knowing is a pure and simple awareness without any adulteration. Pure awareness, devoid of all contaminants, is supreme awareness: a truly amazing quality of knowing that bestows perfect happiness, as befits the Arahant’s state of absolute purity. This Supreme Happiness always remains constant. It never changes or varies like conditioned phenomena of the world, which are always burdened with anicca, dukkha, and anattã. Such mundane characteristics cannot possibly enter into the citta of someone who has cleansed it until it is absolutely pure.
The citta forms the very foundation of saÿsãra; it is the essence of being that wanders from birth to birth. It is the instigator of the cycle of existence and the prime mover in the round of repeated birth and death. Saÿsãra is said to be a cycle because death and rebirth recur regularly according to the immutable law of kamma. The citta is governed by kamma, so it is obliged to revolve perpetually in this cycle following kamma’s dictates. As long as the citta remains under the jurisdiction of kamma, this will always be the case. The citta of the Arahant is the sole exception, for his citta has completely transcended kamma’s domain. Since he has also transcended all conventional connections, not a single aspect of relative, conventional reality can possibly become involved with the Arahant’s citta. At the level of Arahant, the citta has absolutely no involvement with anything.
Once the citta is totally pure, it simply knows according to its own inherent nature. It is here that the citta reaches it culmination; it attains perfection at the level of absolute purity. Here the continuous migration from one birth to the next finally comes to an end.
Here the perpetual journey from the higher realms of existence to the lower ones and back again, through the repetitive cycle of birth, ageing, sickness, and death, totally ceases. Why does it cease here? Because those hidden, defiling elements that normally permeate the citta and cause it to spin around have been completely eliminated. All that remains is the pure citta, which will never again experience birth and death.
Rebirth is inevitable, however, for the citta that has yet to reach that level of purity. One may be tempted to deny that rebirth follows death, or one may doggedly hold to the nihilistic viewpoint that rejects all possibility of life after death, but such convictions cannot alter the truth. One’s essential knowing nature is not governed by speculation; nor is it influenced by people’s views and opinions. Its preeminence within one’s own being, coupled with the supreme authority of kamma, completely override all speculative considerations.
As a consequence, all living beings are compelled to move from one life to the next, experiencing both gross incarnations, like the creatures of land, sea and air, and the more refined incarnations of ghosts, devas and brahmas. Although the later are so ethereal as to be invisible to the human eye, the citta has no difficulty taking birth in their realms. The appropriate kamma is all that is required. Kamma is the determining factor; it is the power that propels the citta on its ceaseless journey in saÿsãra.
The citta is something so extremely subtle that it is difficult to comprehend what actually constitutes the citta. It is only when the citta attains a state of meditative calm that its true nature becomes apparent. Even experienced meditators who are intent on understanding the citta are unable to know its true nature until they have attained the meditative calm of samãdhi.
Even though the citta resides within the body, we are nevertheless unable to detect it. That’s how very subtle it is. Because it is dispersed throughout the physical body, we cannot tell which part or which aspect is actually the true citta. It is so subtle that only the practice of meditation can detect its presence and differentiate it from all the other aspects associated with the body. Through the practice of meditation we can separate them out, seeing that the body is one thing and the citta is another. This is one level of separation, the level of the citta that is experienced in samãdhi, but its duration is limited to the time spent practicing samãdhi.
At the next level, the citta can totally separate itself from the physical body, but it cannot yet disengage from the mental components of personality: vedanã, saññã, sankhãra, and viññãõa. When the citta reaches this level, one can use wisdom to separate out the body and eventually become detached forever from the belief that one’s body is oneself, but one is still unable to separate the mental factors of feeling, memory, thoughts, and consciousness from the citta. By using wisdom to investigate further, these mental factors can also be detached from the citta. We then see clearly for ourselves – sandiååhiko – that all five khandhas are realities separate from the citta. This is the third level of separation.
At the final level, our attention turns to the original cause of all delusion, that extremely subtle pervasion of ignorance we call avijjã. We know avijja’s name, but we fail to realize that it is concealed there within the citta. In fact, it permeates the citta like an insidious poison.
We cannot see it yet, but it’s there. At this stage, we must rely on the superior strength of our mindfulness, wisdom, and perseverance to extract the poison. Eventually, by employing the full power of mindfulness and wisdom, even avijjã can be separated from the citta.
When everything permeating the citta has finally been removed, we have reached the ultimate stage. Separation at this level is a permanent and total disengagement that requires no further effort to maintain. This is true freedom for the citta. When the body suffers illness, we know clearly that only the physical elements are affected, so we are not concerned or upset by the symptoms. Ordinarily, bodily discomfort causes mental stress. But once the citta is truly free, one remains supremely happy even amid intense physical suffering. The body and the pain are known to be phenomena separate from the citta, so the citta does not participate in the distress. Having relinquished them unequivocally, body and feelings can never again intermix with the citta. This is the citta’s absolute freedom.
Being intrinsically bright and clear, the citta is always ready to make contact with everything of every nature. Although all conditioned phenomena without exception are governed by the three universal laws of anicca, dukkha, and anattã, the citta’s true nature is not subject to these laws. The citta is conditioned by anicca, dukkha, and anatta only because things that are subject to these laws come spinning in to become involved with the citta and so cause it to spin along with them. However, though it spins in unison with conditioned phenomena, the citta never disintegrates or falls apart. It spins following the influence of those forces which have the power to make it spin, but the true power of the citta’s own nature is that it knows and does not die. This deathlessness is a quality that lies beyond disintegration.
Being beyond disintegration, it also lies beyond the range of anicca, dukkha, and anattã and the universal laws of nature. But we remain unaware of this truth because the conventional realities that involve themselves with the citta have completely surrounded it, making the citta’s nature thoroughly conform to theirs.
Birth and death have always been conditions of the citta that is infected by kilesas. But, since kilesas themselves are the cause of our ignorance, we are unaware of this truth. Birth and death are problems arising from the kilesas. Our real problem, our one fundamental problem – which is also the citta’s fundamental problem – is that we lack the power needed to be our own true self. Instead, we have always taken counterfeit things to be the essence of who we really are, so that the citta’s behavior is never in harmony with its true nature. Rather, it expresses itself through the kilesas’ cunning deceits, which cause it to feel anxious and frightened of virtually everything. It dreads living, and dreads dying. Whatever happens – slight pain, severe pain – it becomes afraid. It’s perturbed by even the smallest disturbances. As a result, the citta is forever full of worries and fears. And although fear and worry are not intrinsic to the citta, they still manage to produce apprehension there.
When the citta has been cleansed so that it is absolutely pure and free of all involvement, only then will we see a citta devoid of all fear. Then, neither fear nor courage appear, only the citta’s true nature, existing naturally alone on its own, forever independent of time and space. Only that appears – nothing else. This is the genuine citta. The term “genuine citta” refers solely to the absolute purity, or the sa-upãdisesa-nibbãna, of the Arahant. Nothing else can wholeheartedly and without reservations be called the “genuine citta”. I myself would be embarrassed to use the term in any other way.
The term “original citta” means the original nature of the citta that spins endlessly through the cycle of rebirth. The Buddha indicated this when he said: “Monks, the original citta is intrinsically bright and clear, but it becomes defiled by the commingling of the kilesas that come passing through.”
In this sense, “original citta” refers to the origin of conventional reality (sammuti), not the origin of Absolute Purity (parisuddhi).
When referring to the original citta, the Buddha stated: “Pabhassaramidam cittam bhikkhave.” Pabhassara means radiant, it does not mean pure. His reasoning is absolutely correct; it is impossible to argue against it. Had the Buddha equated the original citta with the pure citta, one could immediately object: “If the citta was originally pure, why then should it be born at all?” The Arahant, who has purified his citta, is one who never comes to birth again. If his citta were originally pure, why then would he need to purify it? This would be the obvious objection: What reason would there be to purify it? The radiant citta, on the other hand, can be purified because its radiance is nothing other than the essential, true nature of avijjã. Meditators will realize this truth clearly for themselves at the moment when the citta transcends this radiance to reach Absolute Freedom (vimutti). Then, the radiance will no longer appear in the citta. At this very point, one realizes the supreme truth about the citta.
Once the citta has become so well-cleansed that it is always bright and clear, then when we are in a quiet place, surrounded by complete silence – as in the still of the night – even though the citta has not ‘converged’ in samãdhi, the focal point of its awareness is so exceedingly delicate and refined as to be indescribable. This subtle awareness manifests as a radiance that extends forth in all directions around us.
We are unconscious of sights, sounds, odors, tastes, and tactile sensations, despite the fact that the citta has not entered samãdhi. Instead, it is actually experiencing its own firm foundation, the very basis of the citta that has been well-cleansed to the point where a mesmerizing, majestic quality of knowing is its most prominent feature. Seeming to exist independent of the physical body, this kind of extremely refined awareness stands out exclusively within the citta.
Due to the subtle and pronounced nature of the citta at this stage, its knowing nature completely predominates. No images or visions appear there at all. It is an awareness that stands out exclusively on its own. This is one aspect of the citta.
Another aspect is seen when this well-cleansed citta enters meditative calm, not thinking or imagining anything. Ceasing all activity, all movement, it simply rests for awhile. All thought and imagination within the citta come to a complete halt. This is called “the citta entering a state of total calm.” Then, the citta’s essential knowing nature is all that remains. Except for this very refined awareness – an awareness that seems to blanket the entire cosmos – absolutely nothing else appears. For unlike a beam of light, whose range is limited, reaching either near or far depending on the strength of the light, the flow of the citta has no limits, no “near” or “far”. For instance, the brightness of an electric light depends on its wattage. If the wattage is high, it shines a long distance; if low, a short distance. But the flow of the citta is very different. Distance is not a factor. To be precise, the citta is beyond the conditions of time and space, which allows it to blanket everything. Far is like near, for concepts of space do not apply. All that appears is a very refined awareness suffusing everything throughout the entire universe. The whole world seems to be filled by this subtle quality of knowing, as though nothing else exists, though things still exist in the world as they always have. The allencompassing flow of the citta that has been cleansed of the things that cloud and obscure it, this is the citta’s true power.
The citta that is absolutely pure is even more difficult to describe. Since it is something that defies definition, I don’t know how I could characterize it. It cannot be expressed in the same way that conventional things in general can be, simply because it is not a conventional phenomenon. It is the sole province of those who have transcended all aspects of conventional reality, and thus realize within themselves that non-conventional nature. For this reason, words cannot describe it.
Why do we speak of a “conventional” citta and an “absolutely pure”citta? Are they actually two different cittas? Not at all. It remains the same citta. When it is controlled by conventional realities, such as kilesas and ãsavas, that is one condition of the citta. But when the faculty of wisdom has scrubbed it clean until this condition has totally disintegrated, the true citta, the true Dhamma, the one that can stand the test, will not disintegrate and disappear along with it. Only the conditions of anicca, dukkha and anattã, which infiltrate the citta, actually disappear.
No matter how subtle the kilesas may be, they are still conditioned by anicca, dukkha, and anattã, and therefore, must be conventional phenomena. Once these things have completely disintegrated, the true citta, the one that has transcended conventional reality, becomes fully apparent. This is called the citta’s Absolute Freedom, or the citta’s Absolute Purity. All connections continuing from the citta’s previous condition have been severed forever. Now utterly pure, the citta’s essential knowing nature remains alone on its own.
We cannot say where in the body this essential knowing nature is centered. Previously, with the conventional citta, it formed a prominent point that we could clearly see and know. For example, in samãdhi we knew that it was centered in the middle of the chest because the knowing quality of our awareness stood out prominently there. The calm, the brightness, and the radiance appeared to emanate conspicuously from that point. We could see this for ourselves. All meditators whose level of calm has reached the very base of samãdhi realize that the center of “what knows” stands out prominently in the region of the heart. They will not argue that it is centered in the brain, as those who have no experience in the practice of samãdhi are always claiming.
But when the same citta has been cleansed until it is pure, that center then disappears. One can no longer say that the citta is located above or below, or that it is situated at any specific point in the body. It is now pure awareness, a knowing quality that is so subtle and refined that it transcends all conventional designations whatsoever.
Still, in saying that it is “exceedingly refined”, we are obliged to use a conventional figure of speech that cannot possibly express the truth; for, of course, the notion of extreme refinement is itself a convention.
Since this refined awareness does not have a point or a center, it is impossible to specifically locate its position. There is only that essential knowing, with absolutely nothing infiltrating it. Although it still exists amid the same khandhas with which it used to intermix, it no longer shares any common characteristics with them. It is a world apart. Only then do we know clearly that the body, the khandhas, and the citta are all distinct and separate realities.
Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge a special debt of gratitude I owe to Bhikkhu Khemasanto, who worked for several years to prepare a translation of this biography that was eventually entrusted to me for editing and revisions. After careful comparison with the original Thai text, I decided to begin from scratch and to translate the entire book myself. Bhikkhu Khemasanto’s efforts did, however, prove to be a useful source of reference. I am also indebted to Bhikkhu Piyadhammo who, having managed to decipher my often jumbled handwriting, worked tirelessly to type and format the entire manuscript.
And a special thanks must go to Swe Thant, without whose careful copy-editing and timely prompting the book would be far less polished than it is at present. I am also extremely grateful to all the generous people whose donations made possible the publishing of this gift of Dhamma. May they and all who read this book be blessed with faith in Ãcariya Mun, his life, and his teachings.
About the Translator
Born Richard E. Byrd, Jr. at Winchester, Virginia in 1948, Bhikkhu Sïlaratano was ordained as a Buddhist monk at Bangkok, Thailand in 1977, having already undergone several years of Buddhist training in India and Sri Lanka. Since his ordination, he has been resident in Thailand, practicing under the tutelage of Ãcariya Mahã Boowa.