adhimokkha
Decision, resolve
[ ah-dee-MOHK-kha ]
Seeing it in life
Adhimokkha settles the mind on the object as ‘thus,’ opposing vicikicchā (doubt).
In short
Conviction about the object — releases the mind from doubt.
The analysis
Adhimokkha settles the mind on its object as 'thus' — a conviction that resolves ambiguity, opposing vicikicchā (doubt) directly. The texts compare it to a firm judge's decision, or a boundary post planted decisively in the ground. It's one of the six occasional cetasikas, arising in many but not all cittas.
Where it sits
Adhimokkha's specific opposite is vicikicchā, one of the five hindrances — where doubt can't settle on the object as 'thus,' adhimokkha resolves that indecision.
The moment a wavering decision finally settles — not more information arriving, just the mind resolving to treat the matter as decided — is adhimokkha, distinct from whatever reasoning came before it.
Commonly mistaken for
Certainty about being correct. Adhimokkha is a settling quality of mind, not a guarantee of accuracy.
Stubbornness. The factor describes resolving ambiguity in a given moment, not an inflexible refusal to reconsider.
Abhidhammattha Saṅgaha II.
Related terms