Citta
Citta2 (nt.) [Sk. citta, orig. pp. of cinteti, cit, cp. yutta> yuñjati, mutta>muñcati. On etym. from cit. see cinteti].
I. Meaning: the heart (psychologically), i. e. the centre & focus of man's emotional nature as well as that intellectual element which inheres in & accompanies its manifestations; i. e. thought. In this wise citta denotes both the agent & that which is enacted (see kamma II. introd.), for in Indian Psychology citta is the seat & organ of thought (cetasā cinteti; cp. Gr. frh/n, although on the whole it corresponds more to the Homeric qumo/s). As in the verb (cinteti) there are two stems closely allied and almost inseparable in meaning (see § III.), viz. cit & cet (citta & cetas); cp. ye should restrain, curb, subdue citta by ceto, M i.120, 242 (cp. attanā coday' attānaŋ Dhp 379 f.); cetasā cittaŋ samannesati S i.194 (cp. cetasā cittaŋ samannesati S i.194). In their general use there is no distinction to be made between the two (see § III.). -- The meaning of citta is best understood when explaining it by expressions familiar to us, as: with all my heart; heart and soul; I have no heart to do it; blessed are the pure in heart; singleness of heart (cp. ekagga); all of which emphasize the emotional & conative side or "thought" more than its mental & rational side (for which see manas & viññāṇa). It may therefore be rendered by intention, impulse, design; mood, disposition, state of mind, reaction to impressions. It is only in later scholastic lgg. that we are justified in applying the term "thought" in its technical sense. It needs to be pointed out, as complementary to this view, that citta nearly always occurs in the singular (=heart), & out of 150 cases in the Nikāyas only 3 times in the plural (=thoughts). The substantiality of citta (cetas) is also evident from its connection with kamma (heart as source of action), kāma & the senses in general. <-> On the whole subject see Mrs. Rh. D. Buddh. Psych. Eth. introd. & Bud. Psy. ch. II.
II. Cases of citta (cetas), their relation & frequency (enumd for gram. purposes). -- The paradigma is (numbers denoting %, not including cpds.): Nom. cittaŋ; Gen. (Dat.) cetaso (44) & cittassa (9); Instr. cetasā (42) & cittena (3); Loc. citte (2) & cittamhi (2). -- Nom. cittaŋ (see below). Gen. cittassa only (of older passages) in c˚ upakkileso S iii.232; v.92; A i.207; c˚ damatho Dh 35 & c˚ vasena M i.214; iii.156. Instr. cittena only in S i. viz. cittena nīyati loko p. 39; upakkiliṭṭha˚ p. 179; asallīnena c˚ p. 159. Loc. citte only as loc. abs. in samāhite citte (see below) & in citte vyāpanne kāyakammam pi v. hoti A i.162; cittamhi only S i.129 & cittasmiŋ only S i.132. -- Plural only in Nom. cittāni in one phrase: āsavehi cittāni (vi) mucciŋsu "they purified their hearts from intoxications" Vin i.35; S iii.132; iv.20; Sn p. 149; besides this in scholastic works=thoughts, e. g. Vbh 403 (satta cittāni).
III. Citta & cetas in promiscuous application. There is no cogent evidence of a clear separation of their respective fields of meaning; a few cases indicate the rôle of cetas as seat of citta, whereas most of them show no distinction. There are cpds. having both citta˚ & ceto˚ in identical meanings (see e. g. citta -- samādhi & ceto˚), others show a preference for either one or the other, as ceto is preferred in ceto -- khila & ceto -- vimutti (but: vimutta -- citta), whereas citta is restricted to combn w. upakkilesa, etc. The foll. sentences will illustrate this. Vivaṭena cetasā sappabhāsaŋ cittaŋ bhāveti "with open heart he contemplates a radiant thought" S v.263=D iii.223=A iv.86; cetasā cittaŋ samannesati vippamuttaŋ "with his heart he scrutinizes their pure mind" S i.194; vigatâbhijjhena cetasā is followed by abhijjāya cittaŋ parisodheti D iii.49; anupārambhacitto bhabbo cetaso vikkhepaŋ pahātuŋ A v.149; cetaso vūpasamo foll. by vūpasanta -- citto A i.4; samāhite citte foll. by ceto -- samādhi D i.13≈; cittaŋ paduṭṭhaŋ foll. by ceto -- padosa A i.8; cp. It. 12, 13; cetaso tato cittaŋ nivāraye "a desire of his heart he shall exclude from this" S iv.195.
IV. Citta in itṡ relation to other terms referring to mental processes.
1. citta≈hadaya, the heart as incorporating man's personality: hadayaŋ phaleyya, cittavikkhepaŋ pāpuṇeyya (break his heart, upset his reason) S i.126; cittaŋ te khipissāmi hadayan te phālessāmi id. S i.207, 214; Sn p. 32; kāmarāgena cittaŋ me pariḍayhati S i.188>nibbāpehi me hadaya -- pariḷāhaŋ Miln 318 ("my heart is on fire"); cp. abhinibbutatto Sn 343=apariḍayhamāna -- citto SnA 347; cittaŋ adhiṭṭhahati to set one's heart on, to wish DhA i.327.
2. c. as mental status, contrasted to (a) physical status: citta>kāya, e. g. kilanta˚ weary in body & mind D i.20=iii.32; ātura˚ S iii.2 -- 5; nikaṭṭha˚ A ii.137; ṭhita˚ steadfast in body & soul (cp. ṭhitatta) S v.74; ˚passaddhi quiet of body & soul S v.66. The Commentators distinguish those six pairs of the sankhārākkhandha, or the cetasikas: citta -- kāya -- passaddhi, -- lahutā, etc. as quiet, buoyancy, etc., of (a) the viññāṇakkhandha (consciousness), (b) the other 3 mental khandhas, making up the nāma -- kāya (DhsA 150 on Dhs. 62: Compendium of Phil. 96, n. 3); passaddha˚ D iii.241, 288. -- (b) intellectual status: citta>manas & viññāṇa (mind>thought & understanding). These three constitute the invisible energizer of the body, alias mind in its manifestations: yañ ca vuccati cittan ti vā mano ti vā viññāṇan ti vā: (a) ayaŋ attā nicco dhuvo, etc., D i.21; (b) tatr' assutavā puthujjano n' âlaŋ nibbindituŋ, etc. S ii.94; (g) taŋ rattiyā ca divasassa ca añña -- d -- eva uppajjati aññaŋ nirujjhati S ii.95, cf. ThA. 1 on 125. -- Under ādesanā -- pāṭihāriya (thought reading): evam pi te mano ittham pi te mano iti pi te cittaŋ (thus is your thought & thus your mind, i. e. habit of thinking) D i.213=iii.103; A i.170. -- niccaŋ idaŋ c. niccaŋ idaŋ mano S i.53; cittena niyyati loko "by thoughts the world is led" S i.39=A ii.177 (cp. KS 55); apatiṭṭhita -- citto ādīna -- manaso avyāpaṇnacetaso S v.74; vyāpanna -- citto paduṭṭha -- manasankappo S iii.93; paduṭṭha -- citto=paduṭṭha -- manaso PvA 34, 43.
Retro.