For English speakers, one of the challenges of learning about Buddhism comes from the shortcomings of English translations of Asian texts. And this is not necessarily because the translators are doing a bad job.

Especially in the older commentaries and sutras, many words are used that have no simple English equivalent. Dukkha is a good example. Understanding dukkha is critical to understanding the Four Noble Truths. The word most often has been translated as “suffering,” but more recently scholars have decided that “stressful” or “unsatisfying” come closer to what it actually means. But those words aren’t precisely right, either.

Buddhism has a rich vocabulary of words that describe different aspects of our mental and psychological functions. Unfortunately, in English these words, with their distinctive meanings, are lumped together and translated as “mind.”

Read More: “Mind and Buddhism: Lost in Translation.”

This article looks at three words that are used frequently in the Sutta-pitaka. They are, in Sanskrit, citta (sometimes spelled “chitta”), vijnana and manas; or in Pali, citta, vinnana, and mano. They don’t mean precisely the same thing, but in English translations they are all variously rendered as “mind,” “thinking,” “heart,” “consciousness,” and many other things.

Mind in Early Buddhism

In early Buddhist texts, the three words for “mind” were used nearly interchangeably, and their distinctiveness must be found in context. For example, in the Assuttava Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya 12.61), the Buddha said that that an ordinary, unlearned person sees them all alike

“But, indeed, that which, monks, is called ‘mind’, or ‘thought’, or ‘consciousness’, the ordinary person, in every way unlearned in spiritual knowledge, not enough to turn away, not enough to become detached, not enough to be released.” [K. Nizamis translation]

The translator notes that “mind,” “thought,” and “consciousness” are citta, manas, and vijnana, respectively. In this context, he said, citta is “subjective mind,” manas is “cognitive faculty,” and vijnana is “sensory consciousness.”

Let’s look at these words in more detail.

Citta

Of these three words, citta is probably the most commonly used. It also has the richest variety of definitions. Many Buddhist books tell us that citta is the heart-mind, because it includes emotions as well as thoughts. However, vijnana and manas, in different ways, also take in emotions and thoughts, so “heart-mind” doesn’t necessarily help us understand why citta is distinctive.

In Theravada Buddhism, citta is the mind of subjectivity. It is the mind of our “inner” experiences, as opposed to the mind that projects outwardly to external objects. Some modern scholars explain citta as the cognitive foundation of all our psychological functions.

Sometimes citta is used to mean something like “mood” or “state of mind.” Sometimes it is discussed in the plural, as if we are all packing many cittas. An enlightened insight is the result of a purified citta.

In Mahayana Buddhism, citta is most often associated with bodhicitta, or the desire to realize enlightenment for the sake of others. In some schools it is also associated with alaya vijnana, the “storehouse consciousness” that contains all the impressions of previous experiences.

Read More: Citta

Vijnana

We most often encounter vijnana as the fifth of the Five Skandhas. In that context, vijnana is the function of mind that connects a sensory stimulus, such as a sound, to the corresponding sense organ, such as the ear. “Awareness” is, arguably, a bit closer to the meaning of vijnana than “mind.”

Yogacara is a philosophical branch of Mahayana Buddhism that emerged in India in the 4th century CE. Yogacara is also known as Vijanavada, or the School of Vijnana. It focuses on the nature of vijnana and the nature of experience. Yogacara identifies eight modes or levels of vijnana.

Read More: Vijnana

Manas

Manas comes a bit closer to the western idea of “mind,” although it still isn’t exactly the same thing. Manas includes intellect, but it also includes heart and intention.

Log before the life of the Buddha, manas was understood in the Vedic traditions as the ground of emotions, thoughts, and personal identity. In the context of the Rig Veda, (ca. 1500-1000 BCE) it is sometimes translated as “soul.”

In Buddhism, manas came to be associated with volition and with the mental functions that create karma. When you hear that karma is created by “body, speech, and mind,” the mind in this case is manas.

In Yogacara, manas is the mind of delusion or the mental processes that create an illusion of a permanent self.

Read More: Manas

[This is an article I wrote for the Buddhism section of About.com. However, since About.com has removed it from their servers, all rights revert to me.]