What carries and accumulates wholesome/unwholesome qualities

[Alex123]

Hello all,

What carries and accumulates wisdom (paññā) from moment to moment?
What carries and accumulates other wholesome qualities (such as alobha, adosa) from moment to moment?
What carries and accumulates unwholesome qualities (such as lobha or dosa) from moment to moment?

Is it bhavaṅga citta, or some other kind of citta?


With metta,

Alex

[ajahndoe]

There is nothing carried, only related. If you harm someone and they later harm you, this is not because you or any part of you carried anything. It is due to the attachment in the mind of another, a seed planted within their mind which ripens in the form of violence upon you. Causes of related Effects. This is how all things work, including our Karma and skillful means used to break the mind out of unwholesome states and views.

[retrofuturist]

Greetings,

Does the Abhidhamma talk about anything being "carried (by x)" or "accumulated (by x)?

I think you'd start there before asking the "what" does the carrying or accumulation.

Metta,
Retro.

[Alex123]

Hello Venerable Ajahn Doe, Hello Retro,


The question is about the mechanism that accumulates qualities such as wisdom or ignorance.

How does the mental quality that one has developed affect the future mental states?

If nothing is "carried", "accumulated" or "stored", then it is useless to develop anything as it will not affect anything in the future.

With best wishes,

Alex

[mikenz66]

Dear Members,

Please be aware that this is the Abhidhamma Forum. Off topic posts may be removed.

I would appreciate a detailed reply in terms of Abhidhamma, though I tend to think that Retro's reply sums it up reasonably well.


Mike

[meindzai]

For me it made sense when I started thinking in terms of each citta arising and passing, each citta conditioned by the one before it, each citta conditioning the one after it. From Nina van Gorkom at: http://www.buddhanet.net/budsas/ebud/ni ... bhi-03.htm

Each citta which arises falls away completely and is succeeded by the next citta. How then can there be accumulations of experiences in life, accumulations of good and bad inclinations? The reason is that each citta which falls away is succeeded by the next citta. Our life is an uninterrupted series of cittas and each citta conditions the next citta and this again the next, and thus the past can condition the present. It is a fact that our good cittas and bad cittas in the past condition our inclinations today. Thus, good and bad inclinations are accumulated.