Function of Bhavanga - What is the mind-door?

What is the mind-door? It is different from the sense-doors. The sense- doors are the following rūpas: eye-sense, ear-sense, smelling-sense, tasting- sense and body-sense. Body-sense is all over the body. The mind-door is not one of these rupas. One may wonder whether the mind-door is nāma or rūpa. We should consider how the first citta of the mind-door process adverts to the object. The first citta of the mind-door process which adverts to the object is the mano-dvārāvajjana-citta. This citta does not advert to the object through one of the five senses. Therefore, the mind-door must be nāma; it is a citta. The citta which precedes the mano-dvārāvajjana-citta is the bhavangupaccheda-citta (arrest-bhavanga). The bhavangupaccheda-citta is the mind-door through which the mano-dvārāvajjana-citta adverts to the object.

 

The study of the different sense-door processes and mind-door processes

which take their course according to conditions will help us to see realities as

elements which are beyond control, devoid of self. We may, for example, be

infatuated by a beautiful sound we hear. What we take for a long moment of

hearing are many different moments which do not stay. Even when we do not

know yet what kind of sound it is, sound has already been experienced

through the mind-door since cittas succeed one another extremely rapidly,

arising and falling away. Neither does sound stay, it falls away.