CH11: Viññāṇa (Consciousness)

At-a-glance: Present Effect • Vipāka-vaṭṭa

A. Definition & place in DO

• Viññāṇa = knowing of an object at a sense door; six classes per SN 12.2: cakkhu-, sota-, ghāna-, jivhā-, kāya-, mano-viññāṇa (eye/ear/nose/tongue/body/mind-consciousness).

• Placement (Ch02): Present Effect—the first result after the C1 hand-off from saṅkhārā (Past Cause) (SN 12.1).

• Round (Ch03): Vipāka-vaṭṭa (result).

• Role in the cascade: conditions nāma-rūpa → saḷāyatana → phassa → vedanā (SN 12.1).

• Scope note: This chapter treats functional consciousness in DO, not philosophical theories of “mind.”

• Practice hook: noticing “just knowing” helps separate result from the craving that often follows later.

B. Mechanism (how this link conditions the next)

• C1 (Past→Present): Saṅkhārā ripen into viññāṇa—the stream is “lit,” enabling name-and-form to organize around the object/door.

• Viññāṇa → Nāma-rūpa: once knowing is present, mental factors & bodily form configure the episode (labeling, feeling tone, posture, etc.).

• Onward flow: nāma-rūpa entails six bases → contact → feeling; at feeling the live pivot to taṇhā can occur (C2).

• Rounds view: viññāṇa itself is result; the trouble starts later if kilesa is added to that result.

C. Practice (micro-drills, 1–3 minutes)

1. Door-ID (60–90 sec)
   Let any stimulus arise. Whisper the door: “eye / ear / nose / tongue / body / mind.” Then add: “knowing happened.” Stop there—no story. Feel the simplicity of result.

2. Know–Name–Note (2 min)
   When a moment of knowing appears, move through: Know (recognize “just knowing”), Name (state the door once), Note the next two steps forming: “phassa → vedanā.” If an urge appears, mark it as taṇhā and soften jaw/chest/hands.

3. Six-in-Sixty (class warm-up, 1 min)
   Teacher points around the room (visual, sound, scent, taste cue, touch, thought). Learners call the matching viññāṇa in Pāli once, then English once. Keep it brisk.

D. Cross-links

• Ch10 Saṅkhārā (upstream intentions that hand off via C1).

• Ch12 Nāma-rūpa (the immediate downstream organization).

• Ch13–15 Saḷāyatana → Phassa → Vedanā (how knowing becomes felt experience).

• Ch06 Three Connections (C1 spotlight; watch C2 later at feeling).

Sources

SN 12.1; SN 12.2.

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QR Footer (left → right)

• Audio QR-CH11-AUD1 — “Just Knowing: a 3-step recognition.” (Alt: “QR to audio: viññāṇa recognition practice”)

• Video QR-CH11-VID1 — From C1 to Feeling: a live walk-through. (Alt: “QR to video: saṅkhārā→viññāṇa→vedanā demo”)

• Slides QR-CH11-PPT1 — Present-Effect start: viññāṇa→nāma-rūpa diagrams. (Alt: “QR to slides: consciousness deck”)

• Prompt QR-CH11-PRM1 — Six-in-Sixty facilitator script. (Alt: “QR to prompt: six-door callout script”)

Next: Ch12 — Nāma-rūpa (Name-and-Form).