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ON BUDDHIST NIRVANA 1. Citta
According to Buddhists there is no ātman over and above citta. For them citta itself is ātman. Their citta is momentary. A continuum of cittakşanas maintains its identity. In other words, one continuum remains always different from another; no cittaksana belonging to one continuum can become a member of another continuum. Moreover, there is a strict order of cittaksaņas of one continuum. No cittaksanas belonging to one continuum can exchange their places or points. They are governed by the principle of dependent origination (pratītyasamutpāda), that is, causation. Thus, a continuum of cittáksanas closely resembles what the Jainas call. ātmadravya and cittaksaņas what they call ātma-paryāyas. As a matter of fact, even Jainas do not accept ātma-dravya over and above citta-dravya. What they call ātman is citta only. Their citta is pariņāminitya? (variable constant). The classical Sānkhya philosophy posited ātman over and above citta, whereas the Jaina and the Buddhist philosophers did not. The Jaina gave the name 'ātman' to citta while the Buddhist mostly did not give the name 'ātman' to citta. This gave rise to the wrong belief that Buddhists are anātmavādins while Jainas are ātmavādins.
The Buddhist citta, like the Jaina ātman, is prakāśasvarūpa. Again, like the Jaina ātman, it is endowed with two faculties - jñāna and darśana and hence two veils jñeyāvarana and klešāvarana are recognised by them. These two faculties could be regarded as two aspects of its parkāśarūpatā which Jainas call upayoga.
To shine in its own light is natural to citta. But the defiling elements like attachment, hatred, etc. are adventitious. From the beginningless time these defiling elements are mixed with cittacontinuum blurring its nature. Buddha's preaching is centered on how to remove these defiling elements and establish citta in its pristir state. On the removal of defiling elements establishment of citta in its natural state is called moksa or Liberation. Buddhists employ the term nirvāna for mokşa.
