Volume 33, 2026
Beyond “Mixed Motives”: Cetasika Micro-Dynamics and Theravāda Moral Dilemmas
Indrajith P. Karunanayaka
Independent Researcher
The act of compassionate lying, or causing harm to save a life, poses a deep ethical question. Although many Buddhists accept breaking a precept out of care, the Theravāda Abhidhamma is widely seen as a rigid system that denies this possibility. Previous scholarly debates on this issue have overlooked the crucial role of momentariness. This article examines the psychological mechanics of moral habituation to show how such acts are structurally possible. Drawing on the Dhammasaṅgaṇī, the Atthasālinī, and the Abhidhammattha Saṅgaha, the study demonstrates that compassion and the intention to deceive cannot blend into a single mixed state. Instead, they arise in a rapid, alternating karmically active phase of cognitive impulsion (javana) sequence. I argue that this process is driven by the strict rules governing mental factors (cetasikas) and the repetition condition (āsevana paccaya) that reinforce the ethical character of each moment. By highlighting the threshold of determining consciousness (voṭṭhapana), this momentary analysis resolves long-standing debates about mixed motives. The analysis clarifies how compassionate deception functions moment by moment and explains why training in moral conduct (sīla) must doctrinally precede concentration (samādhi) and wisdom (paññā).