Opening up citta

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(Excerpt from the Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin on Zoom - Mon May 29th 2023)

[Tadao] Why is it so difficult to become aware of moha-mula-citta?

[A. Sujin] What about citta, no matter it is moha[-mula] or seeing or thinking, what is citta? When there's the understanding of citta, no doubt about the moha-mula-citta or any kind of citta because of understanding what citta is. Is seeing very difficult... to understand the citta which sees? Or [is it] easier to understand than the moha-mula-citta?

[Tadao] No, they're all difficult.

[A. Sujin] That's why no doubt by the moha-mula-citta or lobha-mula-citta or dosa-mula-citta... because not enough understanding of citta... is that right? But when there is the understanding of the nature of citta no doubt about any citta. That's why even citta itself, alone... we don't talk about the other mental factors like cetasikas: anger and so on... just citta itself, it's not lobha, it's not the dosa, it's just the reality [which is] now experiencing the object. If you think about moha-mula-citta or lobha-mula-citta, can there be the moment of understanding citta itself? The reality which experiences the object, why there cannot be the understanding of citta? because there is the attention to understand something else, not minding about the citta at all.

That's why even at the moment of seeing there is no understanding of seeing, the reality which sees, no doubt about it, just thinking about the object but when it's time to consider whether even the reality which is the chief of all, without it no world, no thing appearing at all, but it's ignored or it's forgotten all the time. So, how can it become closer, that moment of seeing, to understand seeing itself, the moment of experiencing an object, don't mind [about] the object at all. That's why don't mind whether it is with vicikiccha or whatever, but the reality which is citta has to be known, otherwise there cannot be letting go of the idea of self, to have higher or clearer degree of understanding, even [of] seeing right now, as it is.

That's why, study each word which represents each reality as it is, citta is citta, not any cetasika at all. That's why there is doubt about this and this kind of citta and that kind of citta, but in truth it's no understanding of citta, isn't that right? For example, right now, is there any understanding of just the reality which experiences the object? It has to begin to understand that: when citta is the object, nothing can be together, nothing can appear together, it's only the nature of the reality which is experiencing the object right now, not minding about the object, but the reality which experiences is there. No doubt about citta, but there is always doubt because of the accumulation of ignorance, not understanding whatever is there in life, even it's there all the time from birth to death, from life to life, hidden all the times.

That's why in the Tipitaka there's the word "opening up citta" (ceto/citta vivarana) because it's covered up so very thickly with ignorance and the idea about such and such, and so consider: when there is the beginning to attend, just to attend, to the characteristic which sees or experiences, no matter what, sound or sight, but the reality which experiences is there. That's why there is citta-anupassana-satipatthana, why citta? All kinds of cittas, no matter it is seeing, hearing, smelling, moha-mula-citta or whatever, are there as citta-anupassana-satipatthana.

It means that the reality which experiences, even it's there, it's not attended at all, just talking about it, it seems like there is fully understanding of the truth of it, but not at all. It's only the first stage.