The early Buddhist thinkers emphasised the unitary nature of the mind. The ''

Sarvastivadins The ''Sarvāstivāda'' (Sanskrit and Pali: 𑀲𑀩𑁆𑀩𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀺𑀯𑀸𑀤, ) was one of the early Buddhist schools established around the reign of Ashoka (3rd century BCE).Westerhoff, The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy ...

'' in order to explain the unity of the mind described the mind as a ground or base which they called Cittabhumi. They rejected the realm of unconsciousness, ''alaya-vijnana'', postulated by the '' Yogacarins'' of

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

who believed that from the realm of unconsciousness arose the conscious mind and the objects. But the ''Sarvastivadins'' recognised five types of ''Cittabhumi'' from which psychological phenomenon arose.

Citta ''Citta'' (Pali and Sanskrit: चित्त; pronounced ''chitta''; IAST: ''citta)'' is one of three overlapping terms used in the '' nikaya'' to refer to the mind, the others being '' manas'' and '' viññāṇa''. Each is sometimes used i ...

i.e. the mind, that alongside Manas, Buddhi and

Ahamkara Ahaṁkāra (Sanskrit: अहंकार), 'I-making' is a Sanskrit term in Saṃkhyā philosophy that refers to the identification of Self or Being with 'Nature' or any impermanent 'thing'. Reference in Bhagavad Gita Ahaṁkāra is one of t ...

is an internal organ, whose function is recollection, constituted by three Gunas viz Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, reflects the self in accordance with any one of its modified states, ''

vritti Vritti (Vrutti) (Sanskrit: वृत्ति, Harvard-Kyoto: vṛtti, Gujarati: વૃત્તિ), means "streams of consciousness",it is also a technical term used in yoga meant to indicate mental awareness against disturbances in the medi ...

'', which are ''

Pramāṇa ''Pramana'' (Sanskrit: प्रमाण, ) literally means " proof" and "means of knowledge".Vikalpa Vikalpa (a ''nom de guerre'' meaning 'alternative') is a Bhutanese politician. He was the general secretary of the Central Organising Committee of the Bhutan Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist-Maoist). In January 2008, news reports surged saying tha ...

'' which is mere verbal idea caused by meaningless words, ''Viparyaya'' which is knowledge of things as they are not, ''Nidra'' or dreamless sleep and ''

Smrti ''Smriti'' ( sa, स्मृति, IAST: '), literally "that which is remembered" are a body of Hindu texts usually attributed to an author, traditionally written down, in contrast to Śrutis (the Vedic literature) considered authorless, that ...

'' or memory. These reflections result in the self being afflicted by ''Klesas'' – Avidya (wrong or false knowledge), ''Asmita'' (false notion or perception), ''

Raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradition, and as ...

'' (attachment), ''Dvea'' (aversion), and ''Abhnivesha'' (fear of death). Thus, the mind may remain in five different levels which mental levels or functions or stages, five in number, are known as Cittabhumi These five stages of the mind, as defined by Vyasa, are:- :• ''Ksipta'' or distracted. The distracted mind being overpowered by ''Rajas'' is extremely unsteady unable to concentrate or decide, and is the source of pleasure or pain. :• ''Mudha'' or infatuated. The infatuated mind being overpowered by ''Tamas'' succumbs to commit unrighteous acts influenced by violent emotions. :• ''Viksipta'' or occasionally steady. The occasionally steady mind, unsteady for most part, influenced by ''Sattva'' is able to withdraw itself from painful objects and become fixed on pleasurable objects. :• ''Ekagra'' or one-pointed. The one-pointed mind influenced by pure ''Sattva'' is able to withdraw from all objects i.e. totally introverted, to remain focussed on one object. :• ''Niruddha'' or restrained. The restrained mind also influenced by pure ''Sattva'' arrests all mental functions i.e. there is complete suspension of all mental modes and sub-conscious dispositions. The first three afore-mentioned stages of mind are unfit for concentration for they are attended by mental modes.

Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

is not possible in these conditions. Ordinary people live on the level of ''Ksipta'' or ''Mudha''. The last two mentioned stages are conducive to yoga and for

Samadhi ''Samadhi'' ( Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yo ...

. ''Ekagra'' stage is also called ''Sampramata yoga'' in which the mind assumes the form of the object itself. ''Niruddha'' stage is known as ''Samprajnata yoga'' or ''

'' in which nothing is known or thought of by the mind. In the Yoga system ''Buddhi'' (

intellect In the study of the human mind, intellect refers to, describes, and identifies the ability of the human mind to reach correct conclusions about what is true and what is false in reality; and how to solve problems. Derived from the Ancient Gre ...

), ''Ahamkara'' ( ego) and ''Indriyas'' (

senses A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system re ...

) are often called ''Citta''.

References

{{Indian philosophy, state=collapsed Buddhist philosophical concepts Philosophy of mind Indian philosophy