Robert Kirkpatrick wrote:

> From commentary translation of Samyutta nikaya by Bhikkhu Bodhi
> (p771 vol 1): "..one citta is not able to endure for a whole day or a
> whole night. Even in the time of a fingersnap many hundred
> thousands of kotis of cittas arise and cease.(1 koti =10 million)"

This could be a case of hyperbole for emphasis. If you think it is
literally true, could you please explain how this works in the light of
current neurophysiological knowledge ? Do cittas occur independently of the
mind or are they derivative from it ? Please correct me if I am wrong, but
is it not a Theravadan doctrine that two or more cittas do not occur
simulataneously ? If so, the text is claiming that 10,000,000,000,000
cittas occur sequentially in less than a second. From what I have read
about the brain, I think it is physiologically impossible for neurons to
fire so quickly.

Best wishes,
Stephen Hodge