Citta - Are there components of a citta?

Yes — in Abhidhamma, a citta is not a “solid thing,” but a single moment of consciousness with distinct components that always arise together.

Let’s break it down clearly:

🧠 Components of a Citta

A citta (consciousness moment) is made up of:

1. Citta Itself

• The chief knowing function — the awareness of an object.
  
  

• It’s like the “core” or “bare attention” that takes an object.
  
  

• But citta never comes alone — it’s always accompanied by mental factors.
  
  

2. Cetasikas (Mental Factors)

• These are mental companions that arise together with citta and color its experience.
  
  

• Abhidhamma lists 52 cetasikas, but each citta has a different combination.
  
  

✅ Universal Cetasikas (Always Present in Every Citta):

Mental Factor (Pali)

Function

Phassa (Contact)

Brings object + sense faculty + consciousness together

Vedanā (Feeling)

Experiences the object as pleasant, unpleasant, neutral

Saññā (Perception)

Recognizes, labels object

Cetanā (Volition)

Coordinates the mind, generates kamma

Ekaggatā (One-pointedness)

Focuses attention on the object

Jīvitindriya (Mental life faculty)

Maintains vitality of citta

Manasikāra (Attention)

Turns mind toward object

So at minimum, each citta = citta + 7 universal cetasikas.

🔄 Variable Cetasikas

• On top of the universals, cittas may have:
  
  

  • Wholesome factors (faith, mindfulness, wisdom, compassion)
    
    

  • Unwholesome factors (greed, hatred, delusion, wrong view, envy)
    
    

  • Occasional neutrals (energy, decision, joy, etc.)
    
    

Thus, the quality of a citta (wholesome, unwholesome, functional) depends on which cetasikas arise with it.

3. Object (Ārammaṇa)

• Not strictly “part” of citta, but inseparable — every citta must have an object.
  
  

• Without an object, no citta can arise.
  
  

🔑 Key Insight

So a citta is not a single indivisible “soul particle.”
It’s a package:

• A moment of knowing (citta)
  
  

• Its co-arising mental factors (cetasikas)
  
  

• Knowing some object
  
  

And this whole package lasts for a very short moment (less than a billionth of a second according to commentaries), then conditions the next citta.

🖼️ Visual Breakdown

CITTA = [Core Knowing Function]

      + [Cetasikas (Feeling, Perception, Volition, etc.)]

      + [Takes an Object]

If any part is missing — e.g. no object, no cetanā, no contact — that citta cannot arise.

Would you like me to give you a table of the 89 types of citta (classified by wholesome/unwholesome, sense-sphere/fine-material/immaterial/supramundane) so you can see how these components vary?