[Buddha-l] Does 'momentariness' remove emotion from citta?

[Dan Lusthaus]

> I was wondering if an unfortunate consequence of Abhidhamma 
> over-theorizing, in turning citta into a series of 'thought-moments,' is 
> that emotion ends up  being removed from citta.
> Mahabodhi

You seem to be confusing citta with its caittas (cetasika). Citta is, if 
strictly rendered, a momentary apperceptive vector. It can have a variety of 
"felt textures", such as lobha (greed), dosa (hate), moha (dullness), mana 
(conceit), issa (envy), macchariya (selfishness), etc. -- which may have 
emotional or affective resonance -- but also phassa (sense contact), vedana 
(pleasure/pain/neutral), sañña (associative-thinking), cetana (volition), 
ekaggata (single-pointedness of mind), jivita (life-force), manasikara 
(focus, attention), vitakka (initial analysis), vicara (sustained analysis), 
viriya (effort), etc., which involve more than emotion. A cetasika, the 
momentary content of the apperceptive vector, is distinct from the citta. So 
greed, hatred, etc. are not intrinsic to citta, but rather are the parade it 
witnesses and the modalities with which it perceives. Citta is "accompanied" 
by caittas, but not reducible to them.

A list of the full Theravada cetasika list is at
http://www.palikanon.com/english/intro-abhidhamma/appendix_ii.htm

The Yogacara (mahayana) list of 100 dharmas (which includes citta dharmas 
and caitasika dharmas, as well as rupa, asamskrta, etc.) is at
http://www.acmuller.net/yogacara/outlines/100dharmas-utf8.htm

The horrible indecision of the term "heart-mind" is useful as a reminder 
that the ubiquitous dichotomy constantly being drilled into Western minds, 
viz. the heart trumps the mind/brain every time (compelling those who buy 
that nonsense to vote for seeming idiots like W. Bush, because he ain't 
smart, but he's a "compassionate" [=heart] conservative), is a bogus 
dichotomy.

Think of it this way. Citta is like a mirror -- the surface is simply what 
it is, and reflects whatever colors, shapes, etc. appear before it. Citta 
apperceives emotions, thoughts, ideas, mental activities of all sorts. In 
itself, it is dispassionate --- hence those who translate it without "heart" 
are more faithful to the traditional understanding.

Dan