Reference: SC: Psychology
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Citta, Cetasikas, and the Stream of Consciousness
Buddhist psychology, systematized in the Abhidhamma (Abhidharma), developed a radically different yet equally sophisticated understanding of mind and mental illness. Rather than locating mind in a physical organ, Buddhism conceived citta (consciousness/mind) as an “ever-flowing stream” continuously changing from conception to death and continuing into subsequent lives.
Accompanying each moment of citta were cetasikas (mental factors)—52 distinct psychological qualities that determine the ethical character and phenomenological texture of consciousness. These include:
Seven universal cetasikas present in every moment of consciousness: contact, feeling, perception, volition, one-pointedness, life faculty, and attention
Thirteen particulars that can be wholesome, unwholesome, or neutral depending on context
Twenty-five beautiful (wholesome) cetasikas including compassion, loving-kindness, mindfulness, and wisdom
Fourteen unwholesome cetasikas that constitute the essence of mental illness
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The Nature of Mental Illness
In perhaps the most radical conception in ancient psychology, Buddhism equated all mental defilement with mental illness. The Buddha taught: “Those beings who admit to being freed from mental illness even for a moment are difficult to find in the world, except those who have destroyed the contaminants”. From this perspective, only fully enlightened beings (arahants) are truly mentally healthy; everyone else suffers from varying degrees of mental illness.
Mental illness manifests through unwholesome states (akusala dhamma)—mental factors that are (1) mentally unhealthy, (2) morally blameworthy, (3) unskillful, and (4) productive of painful results. These states arise conditionally and are impermanent, making them treatable.
The fourteen unwholesome cetasikas divide into two categories:
Four universals appearing in all unwholesome consciousness:
- Moha (delusion/ignorance)
- Ahirika (shamelessness)
- Anottapa (fearlessness of wrongdoing)
- Uddhacca (restlessness/agitation)
Ten occasionals appearing in specific unwholesome states:
- Lobha (greed), dosa (hatred)—the two primary unwholesome roots
- Ditthi (wrong view), mana (conceit)
- Issa (envy), macchariya (miserliness/pretense)
- Kukkucca (worry), vicikiccha (doubt arising from temptation)
- Thina (sloth), middha (torpor)—together constituting one of the Five Hindrances
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Madness and Possession
Beyond this universal “metaphorical-evaluative” sense of mental illness, Buddhist texts also recognized literal pathological madness. The Pali Jataka commentary provides an eightfold classification of madness types, acknowledging both naturally-caused conditions and possession—not just by demons but by Mara, understood simultaneously as a deity and a phenomenological reality.
Possession traditions existed across Buddhist cultures. Tibetan Buddhism recognized dön zhugs pa (possession by grahas)—spirits that could enter practitioners during intense meditation, especially in states of deep samadhi. The Shurangama Sutra describes fifty types of mental demons that can attack practitioners who cling to unusual experiences or visions during meditation, potentially causing insanity with extreme emotional swings between joy, sadness, and mania.
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Treatment and Practice
Buddhist treatment focused on cultivating wholesome cetasikas while eliminating unwholesome ones through the Noble Eightfold Path:
- Right View as the foundation, correcting the fundamental delusion that fuels all mental defilement
- Meditation practice—but with significant caveats about the risks of improper practice leading to possession or psychotic breaks
- Moral conduct to eliminate shamelessness and fearlessness of wrong
- Mindfulness to observe mental states without attachment
- Mantra recitation—considered safer than visualization practices that can invite possession
- Taking refuge in the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha) as protection against negative entities
The tradition emphasized that those with “firm conviction” in the Dharma and who practice daily merit dedication cannot be harmed by demons. Nevertheless, practitioners were warned against clinging to visions or unusual experiences, as “if one claims to see Buddhas and bodhisattvas, these are demons”—meaning either literal entities or subjective delusions.
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