Bhikkhu Bodhi & Allan R. Bomhard (2007). 《A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma》. Charleston Buddhist Fellowship. p.37~38.
Five-sense-door adverting consciousness (pañcadvārāvajjanacitta): When an
external sense object impinges on one of the five physical sense organs, before the
appropriate sense consciousness can arise — for example, eye-consciousness seeing a
form —, another consciousness must have arisen first. This consciousness is the fivesense-
door adverting consciousness (pañcadvārāvajjanacitta), which has the function of
adverting (āvajjana)31 to whatever object is presenting itself at one of the five sense doors
(dvāra). This consciousness does not see, hear, smell, taste, or touch the object. It
simply turns to the object, thereby enabling the sense consciousness to arise in immediate
succession.32
31 This is the turning of the mind towards an object. Āvajjana forms the first stage in the process of
consciousness. When an object of the five physical senses is involved, it is called “five-sense-door
adverting consciousness” (pañcadvārāvajjanacitta); in the case of a mental object, “mind-door adverting
consciousness” (manodvārāvajjanacitta). Cf, Nyanatiloka, Buddhist Dictionary: Manual of Buddhist
Terms and Doctrines (fourth revised edition [1980]), pp. 30—31.
32 A single unit of sense perception (for example, visual consciousness), being conditioned through a sense
organ and its corresponding object, forms in reality an extremely complex process, in which all the single
phases of consciousness follow one another in rapid succession, performing their respective functions, for
example:
“As soon as a visible object has entered the range of vision, it acts on the sensitive eye-organ
(cakkhu-pasāda), and, conditioned thereby, an excitation of the subconscious stream (bhavanga-sota) takes
place.
“As soon, however, as subconsciousness is broken off, the functional mind element, grasping the
object and breaking through the subconscious stream, performs the function of ‘adverting’ (āvajjana) the
mind towards the object.
“Immediately thereupon, there arises at the eye-door, and based upon the sensitive eye-organ, the
eye-consciousness, while performing the function of ‘seeing’ (dassana)…
“Immediately thereafter, there arises the mind-element, performing the function of ‘receiving’
(sampaṭicchana) the object of that consciousness…
“Immediately thereafter, there arises…the mind-consciousness element, while ‘investigating’
(santīraṇa) the object received by the mind-element…
“Immediately thereafter, there arises the functional, rootless mind-consciousness-element,
accompanied by indifference, while performing the function of ‘determining’ (votthapana) the object…
“Now, if the object is large, then immediately afterwards there flash forth six or seven ‘impulsive
moments’ (javana-citta), constituted by one of the eight wholesome (kusala) or twelve unwholesome
(akusala) or nine functional (kiriya or kriyā) classes of consciousness.
“Now, if, at the end of the impulsive moments, the object at the five-sense doors is very large and
at the mind-door clear, then there arises, once or twice, one of the eight root-accompanied kamma-resultant
classes of consciousness of the sense-sphere, or one of the three rootless kamma-resultant mindconsciousness-
elements… Because this consciousness, after the vanishing of the impulsive moments,
possesses the faculty continuing with the object of the subconsciousness, taking the object of the
subconsciousness as its own object, thereby, it is called ‘registering’ (tadārammaṇa, literally, ‘that object’
or ‘having that as object’).” (Visuddhimagga XIV, 115ff.)
If, however, the sense-object is weak, then it reaches merely the stage of “impulsion” (javana), or
of “determining” (votthapana); if very weak, only an excitation of the subconsciousness takes place.
The process of the inner, or mind, consciousness, that is, without participation of the five physical
senses, is as follows: in the case that the mind-object entering the mind-door is distinct, then it passes
through the stages of “adverting at the mind-door” (manodvārāvajjana), “the impulsive stage,” and “the
registering stage,” before finally sinking into the subconscious stream. Cf, Nyanatiloka, Buddhist
Dictionary: Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines (fourth revised edition [1980]), pp. 227—228.