Appendix to Chapter 8

The cittas which are accompanied by vitakka and vicāra

Both vitakka and vicāra arise with 44 kāmāvacara cittas, the ten dvi-pañcaviññāṇas are excluded.

As regards jhānacittas, vitakka accompanies only the three rūpāvacara cittas of the first stage of jhāna, whereas vicāra accompanies the three rūpāvacara cittas of the first stage of jhāna and the three rūpāvacara cittas of the second stage of jhāna (of the five-fold system), thus, altogether six rūpāvacara cittas. In the cases that the function of paṭisandhi is performed by rūpāvacara vipākacitta, the citta is not always accompanied by vitakka and vicāra. The rūpāvacara vipākacitta of the second stage of jhāna (of the five-fold system) is not accompanied by vitakka, but it is accompanied by vicāra. The rūpāvacara vipākacittas of the subsequent stages of jhāna are not accompanied by vitakka nor by vicāra. As regards arūpāvacara cittas, they are of the same type of citta as the rūpāvacara cittas of the fifth stage of rūpa-jhāna, thus, they are not accompanied by vitakka nor by vicāra.

When lokuttara jhānacittas, lokuttara cittas accompanied by jhāna-factors of the different stages of jhāna, are taken into account, there are forty lokuttara cittas instead of eight. Among these there are eight lokuttara cittas accompanied by the jhāna-factors of the first stage of jhāna, thus these are accompanied by both vitakka and vicāra. The lokuttara cittas accompanied by the jhāna-factors of the second stage of jhāna (of the five-fold system) are accompanied by vicāra but not by vitakka. The lokuttara cittas accompanied by the jhāna-factors of the higher stages of jhāna are without vicāra, since vicāra has been abandoned at those stages. Thus, there are sixteen lokuttara cittas accompanied by vicāra. When cittas are counted as 121 (including forty lokuttara cittas), vitakka accompanies:

  • 44 kāmāvacara cittas

  • 3 rūpāvacara cittas

  • 8 lokuttara cittas

—altogether: 55 cittas

As regards vicāra, this cetasika accompanies:

  • 44 kāmāvacara cittas

  • 6 rūpāvacara cittas

  • 16 lokuttara cittas

—altogether: 66 cittas

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