Intellect

The faculty of the mind that generates reasoning, speculating, deduction, planning.  Intellect, together with the thinking mind and consciousness, forms the mind of the ordinary person, or worldly mind, or false mind.  It is focused on the future and is the basis for intelligence and personality.

The “awakened intellect” (V: trí năng tỉnh ngộ) refers to the intellect that has been awakened to the spiritual teachings of the Buddha.  It leads us to study the Buddha’s teachings, reflect on them and put them into practice.  Although language is still involved at this stage, this is a critical step in our spiritual journey.  The Buddha refers to such a person as someone “who has entered the holy stream” (V: Nhập dòng thánh).

Refer to the text “The Three Aspects of Knowing” for more details.

P and S: citta, V: trí năng