Dear Bhante,
> As I said in an earlier post, the suttas generally assert that it is the defilements that are to be dispelled, not viññāṇa, while it is viññāṇa that departs from bhava with the passing away of the arahant (as in SN 12:38: … ārammaṇametaṃ na hoti viññāṇassa ṭhitiyā. Ārammaṇe asati patiṭṭhā viññāṇassa na hoti. Tadappatiṭṭhite viññāṇe avirūḷhe āyatiṃ punabbhavābhinibbatti na hoti).
Cetana sutta, SN 12:38, tells about the viññāṇa becoming unstationed (appatiṭṭhita) during the lifetime of the Arahant. Otherwise it wouldn't indicate an acting subject:
Yato ca kho bhikkhave, no ceva ceteti, no ca pakappeti, no ca anuseti, ārammaṇametaṃ na hoti viññāṇassa ṭhitiyā.
"But when one doesn't intend, arrange, or obsess [about anything], there is no support for the stationing of consciousness."
Please note here a similar transition between subject-oriented description in the first part of the sentence, and impersonal description in the second part. When viññāṇa is unestablished, subject-oriented terms no longer apply.
This event of viññāṇa becoming unstationed during this lifetime is the essence of attaining Nibbana in this lifetime. Sariputta describes the diṭṭha-dhamma-nibbāna in Naḷakalāpiyo sutta, as:
Tāsañce āvuso, naḷakalāpīnaṃ ekaṃ apakaḍḍheyya, ekā papateyya, aparañce apakaḍḍheyya, aparā papateyya. Evameva kho āvuso, nāmarūpanirodhā viññāṇanirodho, viññāṇanirodhā nāmarūpanirodho.
"If one were to pull away one of those sheaves of reeds, the other would fall; if one were to pull away the other, the first one would fall. In the same way, from the cessation of name-&-form comes the cessation of consciousness, from the cessation of consciousness comes the cessation of name-&-form.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.067.than.html
This reliance of viññāṇa on nāmarūpa is described in Mahanidana sutta as having a foothold (patiṭṭha) in it:
‘‘‘Nāmarūpapaccayā viññāṇa’nti iti kho panetaṃ vuttaṃ, tadānanda, imināpetaṃ pariyāyena veditabbaṃ, yathā nāmarūpapaccayā viññāṇaṃ. Viññāṇañca hi, ānanda, nāmarūpe patiṭṭhaṃ na labhissatha, api nu kho āyatiṃ jātijarāmaraṇaṃ dukkhasamudayasambhavo paññāyethā’’ti? ‘‘No hetaṃ, bhante’’.
"'From name-and-form as a requisite condition comes consciousness.' Thus it has been said. And this is the way to understand how from name-and-form as a requisite condition comes consciousness. If consciousness were not to gain a foothold in name-and-form, would a coming-into-play of the origination of birth, aging, death, and stress in the future be discerned?
"No, lord."
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.15.0.than.html
In Sutta terms, this can be described as 'touching' (phusati) Nibbana ( http://dhamma.ru/forum/index.php?topic=230.msg13227#msg13227 ). In the terms of Commentary - lokuttara jhana, with Nibbāna as object.