lokuttara citta
Supramundane consciousness
[ loh-KOOT-ta-ra CHIT-ta ]
Seeing it in life
Supramundane cittas arise at the moments of path (magga) and fruition (phala) of the four stages of awakening, taking nibbāna as their object.
In short
The 8 (or 40) path and fruition cittas taking nibbāna as object.
The analysis
Eight lokuttara cittas are counted in the basic scheme — four path (magga) moments and four fruition (phala) moments, one pair for each stage of awakening. Expanded by jhāna level, the count reaches forty. Every lokuttara citta takes nibbāna directly as its object, which is what makes it supramundane — it isn't a refined version of ordinary experience, it's consciousness meeting the unconditioned.
Where it sits
Lokuttara sits as the fourth and highest plane of citta, above sense-sphere, fine-material, and immaterial. Path-citta arises once per stage and permanently uproots specific fetters; fruition-citta follows immediately as its result.
Nothing in ordinary experience is a stand-in for this — the texts are specific that lokuttara citta is categorically different from even the most refined jhāna, because its object is the unconditioned.
Commonly mistaken for
A peak experience or altered state. Lokuttara citta is defined by its object (nibbāna) and permanent effect (uprooting fetters), not by intensity.
Gradually approached through ordinary practice alone. It's the result of specific insight reaching a threshold, not a smooth extension of everyday calm.
Abhidhammattha Saṅgaha I, IX.
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