Citta: The Aware Mind Stream

In Patanjali's framework and Abhidharma psychology, citta is not a unified self but a rapidly flowing sequence of momentary conscious events. Each moment arises, exists, and passes away, conditioned by previous moments and mental formations. Understanding citta as a stream rather than a solid entity is fundamental to Buddhist psychology's deconstruction of ego. Patanjali's yoga emphasizes stabilizing this turbulent stream through practice, while Abhidharma analyzes its precise mechanics: which mental factors accompany each moment, how karma conditions the flow, and where intervention becomes possible. This distinction between perceiving mind as entity versus process fundamentally reshapes how practitioners engage with psychological transformation, revealing that what we call "self" is actually an impersonal process amenable to systematic analysis and mastery.