Grammatical Analysis
Cuti-citta: [nt.] death-consciousness; shifting consciousness; the final mind-moment. Formed by cuti (falling away, shifting, passing, dying) + citta (consciousness).
Orthodox Definition
In the Abhidhamma mapping of a single lifetime, the Cuti-citta is the absolute final moment of consciousness that arises in the physical body before biological death is complete.
It is critical to understand that the Cuti-citta does not perform the act of dying; it is simply the final flash of the baseline life-continuum (bhavaṅga) before the vital formations (āyusaṅkhāra) collapse. It shares the exact same ethical quality and object as the rebirth-linking consciousness (paṭisandhi) that started the life.
The sequence of death operates strictly as follows:
- Near-death active cognitive series (where a past kamma, karmic sign, or destiny sign appears).
- The Cuti-citta flashes and vanishes.
- With zero gap in time, the Paṭisandhi-citta (rebirth) arises in the new location.
For an Arahat, the Cuti-citta flashes and vanishes, but because the fuel of craving is gone, no paṭisandhi follows it. This is the exact moment of Anupādisesa-nibbāna.
Textual References
- Abhidhamma: Paṭṭhāna – Charting the contiguity condition (samanantara-paccaya) between death and rebirth.
- Textual: Abhidhammattha-saṅgaha (Chapter V: Vīthimutta-saṅgaha) – Precise mechanical breakdown of the four causes of death and the arising of the death-consciousness.
- Commentary: Visuddhimagga (Chapter XIV) – The structural definitions separating the functional ending of the life-stream from the popular concept of a “soul departing.”