Just tell me this, What is consciousness?

Consciousness arises in the heart base.

How does a consciousness arise? It arises through one of the five sense doors and also through the mind door.

When a material thing like the "sensitive" [portion of the] eye takes as object a material thing called the visual object, there arises visual consciousness.

When the conditions are fulfilled, nothing in the world can stop the visual consciousness from arising. The conditions are that there should be an eye base and a visual object and light and attention, the latter being called manasikāra [reflection].

In other words, if the eye were nonexistent as, for example, in the case of a blind person, there can be no visual consciousness. If there is no light but rather complete darkness, visual consciousness cannot arise. There must also be attention:

With so many competing stimuli, which may be a visual or auditory stimulus or any of the five sense stimuli, whichever catches the attention of the mind produces the corresponding sense consciousness.

Similarly, for an auditory consciousness to arise there must be an ear base, the appropriate sound waves, and the medium of air (or any suitable transmitting medium), and attention (manasikāra). If the ear organ were nonexistent, as in the case or the deaf person, there cannot be an auditory consciousness.

There must be a medium for sound waves to travel, and the waves must be within a frequency range for that particular ear. Once again, attention is a must.

Similarly, for an olfactory consciousness to arise, there must be the nose organ, the smell stimulus, and the medium of air, and attention.

Similarly for a taste consciousness to arise, there must be the tongue organ and the object that is tasted, saliva as the medium, and attention.

Similarly for a touch or tactile consciousness to arise, there must be present the sensitive part of the body, and the object that is felt, the medium to convey the sense, and attention. Sometimes the sense of touch is defective or has deteriorated, and people have been burned for lack of the sense of touch.

It will be seen that the mental factor of attention or manasikāra must always be present.

The following table shows how consciousnesses arise.

Six Sense Organs

1. eye (cakkhu)
2. ear (sotā)
3. nose (ghāna)
4. tongue (jihvā)
5. body (kāya)
6. mind element (mano)

Six Sense Objects

1. visible object (rūpa)
2. sound object (sadda)
3. smell object (gandhā)
4. taste object (rasa)
5. tangible object (photthabba)
6. mental object (dhamma [thing])

Six Consciousnesses

1. visual consciousness (cakkhu-viññāna)
2. auditory consciousness (sotā-viññāna)
3. nasal consciousness (ghāna-viññāna)
4. taste consciousness (jihvā-viññāna)
5. tactile consciousness (kāya-viññāna)
6. mind-consciousness (mano-viññāna)

NOTE: The mind base is ordinarily referred to as the heart base (hadaya-vatthu). The mind base is clearly stated in the Vibhanga, the second treatise of the Abhidhamma ["The Higher Teaching"], to be non-material, see the couplet section of Interrogation and Analysis of the Bases (Paragraph 171, Section 2).

A full course-of-cognition, also called a thought-process, occupies 17 thought-moments. Thoughts are either through one of the five sense doors or through the mind door.

When an object is presented to the mind through one of the five sense doors or the course-of-cognition or thought process runs as follows:

1. atīta bhavanga, past bhavanga
2. bhavanga calana, vibrating bhavanga
3. bhavanga upaccheda, arrest bhavanga
4. dvāra-vajjana, sense door consciousness
5. pañca viññāna, sense consciousness
6. sampatticchana, receiving consciousness
7. santīrana, investigating consciousness
8. votthapana, determining consciousness
9. javana, impulsion
10. javana, impulsion
11. javana, impulsion
12. javana, impulsion
13. javana, impulsion
14. javana, impulsion
15. javana, impulsion
16. tadālambana or tadārammana
17. registering consciousness

When a sense object enters the field of presentation, it produces a perturbation in the stream of being [or becoming] (bhavanga) at No. 2 and causes it to vibrate, which is arrested at No. 3 at the threshold of consciousness.

At No. 4 the five door adverting [turning attention to] arises, accomplishing the function of adverting, and then it ceases. The stimulus impinges on the "sensitive" sense organ. It is here that a thought commences with the arising of attention, which has to be present for a consciousness to arise.

There are seven mental concomitants (cetasikas) that must arise with every thought. They are a must, and attention is one of the seven cetasikas that arise.

It is a mano dhatu [mind element] and not yet mano-viññāna [mind consciousness]. There are three mind elements in all, namely... More