Citta was one of the chief lay disciples of the Buddha

Gautama Buddha

Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...

. He was a wealthy merchant from Savatthi. His life and character were so pure that near his death, had he wished to be a chakravartin

Chakravartin

Chakravartin , is a term used in Indian religions for an ideal universal ruler, who rules ethically and benevolently over the entire world. Such a ruler's reign is called sarvabhauma. It is a bahuvrīhi, literally meaning "whose wheels are moving", in the sense of "whose chariot is rolling...

, it would've been granted. However, he turned down this wish as it was temporal. He became a saint that became a non-returner

Anagami

In Buddhism, an anāgāmi is a partially enlightened person who has cut off the first five chains that bind the ordinary mind. Anagami-ship is the third of the four stages of enlightenment....

.

In an early sutta (SN IV.297-300), Citta is asked by Nigantha Nataputta (Mahavira

Mahavira

Mahāvīra is the name most commonly used to refer to the Indian sage Vardhamāna who established what are today considered to be the central tenets of Jainism. According to Jain tradition, he was the 24th and the last Tirthankara. In Tamil, he is referred to as Arukaṉ or Arukadevan...

) if he believes the Buddha who says that there is a concentration free from deliberation and thought. He initially gives an ambiguous answer, but then turns out not to believe, but to know these things from his own experience obtained while practicing the jhanas.

External links

• http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/disciples14.htm
• "Citta" in the Buddhist Dictionary of Pali Proper Names.