#abhidhamma

The Quest for Buddhism (106)

Buddhist cosmology

Mental Factors in Buddhism (Ref)

Mental factors (Skt: caitasika, Pali: cetasika), in Buddhism, they are identified within the teachings of the Abhidhamma  (Buddhist psychology, 3rd century BCE and later). They are defined as aspects of the mind that apprehend the quality of an object, and that have the ability to colour the mind. Alternate translations for mental factors include "mental states", "mental events", and "concomitants of consciousness". Within the Abhidhamma, the mental factors are categorised as formations (Skt: samskara) concurrent with mind (Skt: citta).

Mental factors are aspects of the mind that apprehend the quality of an object and have the ability to colour the mind.

The caitasika dharma, means phenomena arising from the mind, suggesting that the mental factors are not primary to the mind but arise within a larger framework. A mental factor, again, is defined as the aspect of the mind that apprehends a particular quality of an object. Because it is characterised by the qualities of activity and non-neutrality, it has the ability to color the mind in dependence on the way it manifests. Hence, a feeling of desire from seeing what is conceived as a beautiful object affects the other mental factors that are present at that time, and this colors the whole mind.

The relationship between the main mind (Sanskrit: citta) and the mental factors can be described by the following metaphors:

The main mind is like screen in a cinema, and the mental factors are like the images projected on the screen. In this analogy, we typically do not notice the screen because we are so caught up on the images.

The main mind is like a king who sits passively on a throne, and the mental factors are like the king's busy ministers. It was suggested that the main distinction between the mind and mental factors is that the mind apprehends an object as a whole, whereas mental factors apprehend an object in its particulars.

[Photo top & below: Eleven-faced Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Nara National Museum, Japan]

仏教の探求 (106)

仏教の宇宙論

心所(しんじょ)〜 仏教における心的要因（参照）

心所 (しんじょ、梵: ﾁｬｲﾀｼｶ、巴: ﾁｪｰﾀｼｶ) とは、仏教における心的要因のことを意味しており、阿毘達磨 (あびだつま、梵: ｱﾋﾞﾀﾞﾙﾏ、巴: ｱﾋﾞﾀﾞﾝﾏ、紀元前3世紀以降の『ダルマの研究(仏教心理学)』）の教えの中で識別されいる。それらは目的の質を理解し、心を着色する機能がある心の側面として定義される。心所の代替訳としては「精神状態」、「意識」の付随物および「心的なでき事を含んでいる」などが含まれる。アビダンマの中では、心所は、本心 (梵語：ｼｯﾀ)と同時に形 (梵語：ｻﾑｽｶｰﾗ)として分類される。

心所の法 (梵: ﾁｬｲﾀｼｶ･ﾀﾞﾙﾏ) とは、対象の質を理解する心の側面であり、心を彩る能力を持つものである。

心所 (心的要因) は、心から生じる現象を意味し、心の要素が一義的ではなく、より大きな枠組みの中で生じていることを示唆している。この心的要素とは、やはり、ある対象の特定の性質を理解する心の側面と定義される。それは活動性と非中立性という性質を持つため、その現れ方によって心を彩ることができる。したがって、美しいと思ったものを見て欲求を感じると、そのときの他の心的要素に影響を与え、心全体を彩ることになる。

本心 (梵語：ｼｯﾀ)と心所 (心的要因)の関係は、次のような比喩で表現することができる:

The Theravada Abhidhamma with Bhikkhu Bodhi (Class #2, 7 Mar 2018)

32,954 views  Sep 30, 2018  

The Theravada Abhidhamma with Bhikkhu Bodhi 2018

Dharma Realm Buddhist University Extension hosted Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi for a lecture series at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Ukiah, CA. The Abhidhamma is the philosophical psychology of Early Buddhism, dealing with such topics as types of consciousness, the 52 mental factors, processes of cognition, and the development of the mind’s higher potentials. Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi is an American Buddhist monk with many important publications to his credit, either as author, translator, or editor, including the main text for this class. 

The Quest for Buddhism (105)

Buddhist cosmology

Panchangika – Mastery of the 5 mental factors to resist the 5 hindrances(Ref)

Mental factors (Skt: caitasika, Pali: cetasika), is a component and function of the mind and spirit in Buddhism.

In the Southern Tradition of Theravada Buddhism, in accordance with the Abhidhammattha Sangaha, there are a total of 52 mental factors. The Abhidhamma (Buddhist psychology) states that the practice of the 5 mental factors in that list in opposition to the five hindrances is the practice of the Rupa Jhanas (Ref1). The general term for each of these stages in Sanskrit is ‘Panchangika’ (lit. five branches), and the types are as follows :

Vitakka - Application of thought

Vicāra – Examining (Subtle thought)

Pīti – Rapture

Sukha – Ease, Happiness, or Bliss

Ekaggatā - One-pointedness (tranquility of mind), but also "unification of mind."

The Ekaggatā (one-pointedness) within the Panchangika (mastery of 5 mental factors) is the main body of samadhi as a state of deepened concentration in jhanas. The process of removing the other 4  panchangika step by step, while guarding against from the five hindrances and other vexations, and finally bringing it to the strengthened state of Ekaggatā, 'one-pointedness (tranquility of mind)' alone, is the Rupa Jhanas.

The eighth, the right path (Pali: sammā-samādhi, Skt: samyak-samādhi), which the Buddha teaches in the Eightfold Path (Ref2), is the attainment of this Rupa Jhanas.

仏教の探求 (105)

仏教の宇宙論

五禅支(ごぜんし) 〜五蓋(ごがい参照)に反発するための五心所(ごしんじょ)の修得

心所 (しんじょ、梵: ﾁｬｲﾀｼｶ、巴: ﾁｪｰﾀｼｶ) とは、仏教における心・精神の構成要素・機能、すなわち心的要因のこと。

南伝の上座部仏教では、『摂阿毘達磨義論(しょうあびだつまぎろん、巴: ｱﾋﾞﾀﾞﾝﾏｯﾀ･ｻﾝｶﾞﾊ)　』に従い、全52種の心所があるとされてる。その中の5つの心所 (心的要因) を五心所といい、五蓋にに対抗してこの五心所の修習が、四禅 (しぜん、梵: ﾙｰﾊﾟﾃﾞｲﾔｰﾅ参照１)の修習であると、阿毘達磨 (あびだつま、梵: ｱﾋﾞﾀﾞﾙﾏ、巴: ｱﾋﾞﾀﾞﾝﾏ、仏教心理学) では記載されている。この各段階の総称を五禅支(ごぜんし、梵: ﾊﾟﾝﾁｬﾝｷﾞｶﾞ) といい、種類は以下の通り:

尋（じん、梵: ヴィタッカ）思考 (認識対象把握)

伺（し、梵: ヴィチャーラ）微細な思考 (認識対象維持)

喜（き、梵: ピーティ）喜悦

楽（らく、梵: スカ）安楽

一境性（いっきょうしょう、梵: エーカッガター）一点集中 (心の静寂)、心の統一

五禅支の内の「一境性」が、禅定 (梵: ﾃﾞｲﾔｰﾅ、巴: ｼﾞｬｰﾅ)における集中が深まった状態としての三昧 (さんまい、梵: ｻﾏｰﾃﾞｨ)の本体となるものである。五蓋や煩悩から護りながら、他の五禅支(1～4)を段階的に除去していき、最終的に「一点集中 (心の静けさ) 」のみの強化された「一境性」を単独状態にしていく過程が、四禅 (しぜん、梵: ﾙｰﾊﾟﾃﾞｲﾔｰﾅ)である。

O Abhidhamma Piṭaka constitui a 3ª divisão do Cânone Páli. O termo Abhidhamma (Páli, Abhidharma em Sânscrito) é traduzido como “Ensinamento Superior” ou “Meta-Ensino” (abhi significando superior ou acerca de, e dhamma significando fenómeno ou doutrina). Este sistema foi desenvolvido para fornecer uma sistematização técnica e exata da doutrina dispersa nos suttas, formando uma análise…

A mente ocupa uma posição de primazia inquestionável na doutrina budista. Os versos iniciais do Dhammapada proclamam: “Manopubbaṅgamā dhammā, manoseṭṭhā manomayā” – “A mente antecede todos os estados mentais. A mente é o seu criador, pois são todos forjados pela mente.”1Esta afirmação realça a convicção budista de que a mente é um fator determinante na experiência da realidade, incluindo a…

"The Abhidhamma is a body of literature that emerged shortly after the lifetime of the Buddha, comprising the third of the “three baskets” (Tipitaka) of the early Buddhist canon. The word also refers broadly to a body of thought whose roots are in the psychological teachings and meditation practices of the suttas (the discourses) and whose branches reach far into the mature philosophical discussions of the Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna traditions.

The Abhidhamma is essentially an attempt to systematize the Buddha’s teachings about the dynamics of moment-to-moment experience as it unfolds in the stream of consciousness. The following pages offer a brief outline of some of the main components of the system. More detail of the Pali version presented here can be found in Bhikkhu Bodhi’s excellent Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma (BPS/Pariyatti).

In summary, the Abhidhamma describes how 28 physical phenomena co-arise with 52 mental factors, manifesting as 89 types of consciousness, which unfold in series of 17 mind moments, governed by 24 types of causal relation. One of its methods is to take a single thought-moment of experience, accessible by means of (rather advanced capabilities of) insight meditation, and then identify the characteristics of that moment of consciousness." - Andrew Olendzki