When a sense object, which is rupa,
impinges on one of the sensedoors, it is experienced by several cittas
arising in a sense-door process. Counting from the "past bhavanga", there
are seventeen moments of citta if the sense-door process of cittas runs
its full course. Rupa lasts as long as seventeen moments of citta, and
thus it falls away when that process is over. The seventeen moments of citta
are as follows:
1 atita-bhavanga (past bhavanga)
2 bhavanga calana (vibrating bhavanga)
3 bhavangupaccheda (arrest bhavanga, the last bhavanga arising before the object is experienced through the sense-door)
4 five-sense-door-adverting-consciousness (pancadvaravajjana-citta), which is a kiriyacitta
5 sense-cognition (dvi-pancavinnana, seeing-consciousness, etc.), which is vipakacitta
6 receiving-consciousness (sampaticchana-citta), which is vipakacitta
7 investigating-consciousness (santirana-citta) which is vipakacitta
8 determining-consciousness (votthapana-citta) which is kiriyacitta
9 javana-citta ("impulsion", kusala citta or akusala citta in the case of non-arahats)
10 " "
11 " "
12 " "
13 " "
14 " "
15 " "
16 registering-consciousness (tadarammana-citta) which may or may not arise, and which is vipakacitta
17 registering-consciousness
A sense-door process does not
always run its full course. When a rupa impinges on one of the senses it
may happen that more than three bhavanga-cittas pass before the sense-door
adverting-consciousness arises, and then the process cannot run its full
course, but it is interrupted earlier, since rupa cannot last longer than
seventeen moments of citta. The rupa may have fallen away before the tadarammana-citta
is due to arise, and in that case the process ends with the javana-cittas.
The process of cittas which experience rupa may also end its course with the
votthapana-citta, determining-consciousness, and then the javana-cittas do
not arise. Or it may happen that the "vibrating bhavanga", bhavanga calana,
succeeds the past bhavanga, atita-bhavanga, but that the arrest bhavanga,
bhavangupaccheda (last bhavanga before the stream of bhavanga-cittas is arrested
and a sense-door process begins), does not arise and then there cannot be
any sense-door process. In that case there is a "futile course".
After a sense object has been
experienced through a sense-door it is experienced through the mind-door,
and then that object has just fallen away. Before the mind-door process
begins there are bhavanga-cittas and the last two of these are specifically
designated by a name. There are the following cittas:
bhavanga calana (vibrating bhavanga);
bhavangupaccheda (which is in this case the mind-door through which the cittas of the mind-door process will experience the object);
mind-door-adverting-consciousness (mano-dvaravajjana-citta) which is kiriyacitta;
7 javana-cittas;
2 tadarammana-cittas (which may or may not arise).
After the mind-door process has been completed there are bhavanga-cittas again.
