The Foundations of Buddhism

(Sean Pound) #1
The Abhidharma 213

consciousness involves forty-five of these classes of conscious-


ness. Of the other forty-four, eighteen concern the mind that has


attained ordinary jhana (either in meditation or as a result of rebirth

in one of the Brahma worlds), eight concern the mind that has


attained transcendent jhana (at the moment ot" attaining one

of the paths and fruits of stream-attainment, once-return, non-


return or arhatship ), and eighteen are restricted to the con-


sciousness of one who is awakened.


The forty-five classes of normal consciousness fall into four
broad groups: seventeen rootless (ahetuka), twelve unwholesome
(akusala) consciousnesses, eight wholesome (kusala) classes of

consciousness, and eight consciousnesses that are the karmic


results ( vipiika) of wholesome consciousness. The seventeen

rootless classes of consciousness are so called because they are


motivated neither by greed, aversion or delusion, nor by non-


attachment, friendliness, or wisdom; they are considered to


operate in a largely mechanical way in the processes of simply

seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting; or touching something. Of the


remaining kinds of consciousness, the unwholesome and whole-


some are bound up with the way we react to what we experience
through the senses, while the eight resultants principally oper-


ate as bhavmiga, our basic state of mind when no active mental


process is occurring (for example, in deep, dreamless sleep).

Thus if we crave or cling to what we see, hear, smell, taste, or


touch then we experience one of the eight types of conscious-

ness rooted in greed; if we feel annoyed or irritated by it we


experience one of the two types of consciousness rooted in aver-

sion; if we simply feel dull or confused then we experience one


of the two types of consciousness rooted in delusion. On the other


hand, instead of feeling attached, irritated, or dull, we may feel


generous, friendly, and awake.


One aspect of the Buddhist conception of a wholesome or


'healthy' mind is made particularly clear in the Abhidharma. That

is that we should not confuse enjoyment with greed or desire.


According to the Buddhist analysis feeling is of five basic types:


painful physical sensation, enjoyable physical sensation, men-


tal pleasure, mental displeasure, and neutral feeling. Painful or

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