The Bhvanga or life continuum

In Theravāda Abhidhamma, the concept of bhavaṅga-citta — often translated as the “life continuum” — plays a central role in explaining the continuity of consciousness between discrete moments of sensory or mental activity.

Consciousness, according to Abhidhamma, does not exist as a continuous stream but as a rapid succession of individual mind-moments. When no active sensory or mental object is present, bhavaṅga-citta arises. It serves as a kind of resting state or underlying background consciousness that sustains the continuity of the individual’s existence across moments of waking and sleeping life, and even between rebirths.

Bhavaṅga-citta is not engaged with objects in the way active cognitive consciousness is. It simply flows beneath the surface, maintaining the karmic identity of the being. When an object impinges on one of the sense bases, this passive state is interrupted, and active cognitive processes take over temporarily. After the object has been processed, bhavaṅga resumes its quiet flow.

This model allows the Abhidhamma to explain both the continuity of personal identity across moments, and the law of karma, since latent tendencies and karmic seeds are carried in the life continuum. Bhavaṅga thus bridges the gap between discrete consciousness-events without requiring any enduring self or soul.

Understanding bhavaṅga encourages deeper reflection on the non-substantial nature of self. What appears as a solid “me” is revealed as an intricate pattern of arising and ceasing processes, woven together moment by moment by conditions — with no unchanging entity at the core.

“Just as a flowing river is composed of distinct but connected currents, so too is the mind composed of momentary consciousness, bound together by causes and conditions.”
— Visuddhimagga, XIV. 115 (paraphrased)